2019 Valero Texas Open: Inside the Course (Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio Review)

The PGA Tour is back in the Lone Star state this week for the Valero Texas Open, the third oldest event on the PGA Tour dating back 95 years to 1922.  It's currently played on the 7,435 yard, par-72 Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio, which was designed by Greg Norman with Masters champion Sergio Garcia serving as consultant. 

 

Since the Oaks Course debuted in 2010 as the tournament venue, it]s constantly ranked as one of the toughest courses on the PGA Tour schedule.  Narrow fairways lined with oak and mesquite trees, 54 bunkers (some of them more than 12-feet deep), and difficult-to-hold, raised greens with menacing undulations and run-off areas are the primary defenses.  The rough is generally short, but miss the first two cuts and knee-level native grass can be maddening.  When the south Texas winds kick up, anyone’s round can be ruined. 

Oaks is a challenging layout with a nice mix of long and short holes making it a fantastic test of golf.  A large percentage of approach shots will come from 150-200 yards out putting a premium on ball-striking, but there's no denying many of the holes weigh in at big-boy yardages.  Two of the par-5s measure over 600 yards, and last season the four par-5s ranked as some of the toughest par-5s on Tour.  The 8th and 18th holes annually play over-par. 

 

Three of the four par-3s are over 200-yards long and well protected by deep bunkering, while four of the 10 par-4s play over 450-yards long.  The par-4s will present the greatest challenges for players with six of them ranking as the most difficult holes on the course.  And the exceptional closing stretch on Nos. 16 through 18 will deliver high drama with a potentially drivable par-4 and a risk-reward par-5. 

Signature Hole 
No. 16 is one of the most recognizable holes in golf with a unique bunker in the center of the green similar to Riviera's No. 6.  This 183-yard, par-3 hole is generally a great birdie opportunity, but deep bunkers on both sides can make bogey just as likely as birdie. 

 

Pin locations are usually in the front of the bunker or left or right of it, and any of these locations can be challenging when the wind is blowing.  Never to my knowledge however, has a pin location been cut directly behind the center bunker.  Now that would be a golf shot. 

Bogey Alert 

The most difficult hole on the course has traditionally been the par-4, beastly 474-yard, ninth hole that often plays into the wind.  No. 9 is the only hole on the course without any bunkering, but you’re in big trouble if you miss the fairway. 

 

In 2011 Kevin Na set a PGA Tour record for worst score on a par-4 chopping his way to a nightmarish 16.  A long narrow green is protected by dangerous fall off on all sides, with a sharp back-to-front slope.  And the greenside rough can be just plain nasty. 

Birdie Watch 

The 591-yard, par-5 18th hole plays is a great risk-reward hole and plays uphill with a right-to-left sloping fairway.  Because of its length you're probably going to want to lay-up (unless downwind tempts you to go for it in two.  But you still need an accurate positioned second shot for the best angle into the green. 

 

On approach you're firing at a three-tiered putting surface protected by three bunkers and a creek guarding the front.  You're stepping into the tee box expecting birdie most of the time on No. 18.  Because the green is split into three levels, it can have some tricky hole locations.  Find the right spots and a birdie or par is almost a certainty.  Hit the wrong level however, and it's anything goes.