Horseshoe Bay Resort - Slick Rock Course

Slick Rock is the most gettable of the courses at Horseshoe Bay. I shot a 77, one of the few times I broke 80 this year, so a career round isn't out of reach if you play well from the correct tees. Easy doesn't mean boring like it might at your local muni. There's a bit of water, doglegs and bunkers to engage your game and your mind. The "Million Dollar Hole" is cool, but the reality is it should be a par 3 playing over those waterfalls not a tee shot with a driver, which renders the hazard out of play.

Being part of the Horseshoe Bay Resort, the clubhouse and amenities are pretty much what you'd expect. Everything is kept quite meticulous and nothing is left without some sort of thought nor personal touch.

The golf cart attendants are like stealthy hunters waiting for their prey. They don't miss a beat. They're quick to either unload your bags or meet you wherever you park in order to assist you with your bags. And after the round they'll help just the same along with cleaning your clubs, etc.

It's always nice to see the newer style carts -- multiple big drink holders, USB ports, nice sized soft towels, rain cover, a cooler preloaded with bottled water and ice, and the soft brake system wherein you don't have to click it to lock it.

The course has an ample driving range with a number of colored yardage target flags. There's one putting green that can easily handle a half dozen or so players and it's a nice sampling of undulation to prepare you for your upcoming round.

All of the tee boxes were played a bit but in nice shape. The fairways also showed that golfers play here. Some courses just show more than others. With the irrigation system and course maintenance, this course's fairways allow you to go after the ball and take a divot. Therefore, you see more divots accordingly. And being a membership based course, these players are likely a bit more on the serious side. I do like that they use a very dark brown 'dirt' instead of sand. For some reason, I just don't care for the look of normal sand; it's not visually appealing in a fairway. And there are several sand boxes to use for refills along with ball washers located around the course.

Another nice feature is the ice machine with cups and cold water located as part of the nice bathroom facilities on the course.

One thing you don't see too often are disappearing cart paths. Most courses have paths from the first tee box to when you leave the 18 green. Here, the cart path often stops when you reach the fairway and pics back up next to the green. I don't mind it one way or the other; it's just different to see that.

Are you a long bomber with that turtle-on-a-stick driver? Well get ready to be disappointed. The vast majority of par 4s will have you reaching for that 3W, 5W, or hybrid as they have a nice dogleg left/right at about 230 yards. So you think you can cut it over the trees, or houses, or whatever? Well, I can't say I'd advise it. It's almost as if they left a particular grouping of trees in place just tall and long enough to prevent your cutting any corners. Play smart my friends.

What could this course use to improve the player experience? I'd like to see some sort of large hole layout display at each tee box. You know the kind -- showing the hole, the hazards, and standard yardage for the various tee boxes. Having never played this course before, we found the GPS based golf apps on our phones very helpful in determining the hole layout, doglegs, hazards, et al. Now I'd normally say they could also use 100-150-200-250 red/white/blue/yellow painted stripes on the cart paths but they don't always have a path so that's not exactly an option. They do, however, have flat plate markers in the fairways. Hopefully you're using GPS in some manner. Hmmm, aside from cost, I wonder why higher priced courses don't always have GPS and scoring in the carts.

70+ bunkers! Now re-read that sentence. The bunkers are certainly in nice shape, but I found way too many of them during this round. And the thick grass surrounding some of them was so perfect that I actually reached down to touch it because it looked fake. I'm not really sure what type of grass it was.

Now there are also a dozen +/- water hazards. But other than one random burner that went swimming, we didn't seem to have any trouble with them.

The greens are very, very nice. They were certainly on the speedy side as we had numerous shots run past the hole far more than we were comfortable -- and that was after we thought we were adjusting for the speed. I especially appreciate the nice collars that I believe were added during the 2016 renovation. And soft! I've never had to fix so many ball marks in my life. That's a sign of a very well maintained course with excellent conditions.

Might I suggest some sort of stay-n-play package; it'll make for a great weekend with your significant other and/or fellow golfing friends.

This was the third and final round we played at HSB. Ram Rock is a tough track to follow, but Slick Rock did an admirable job.

This was certainly the easiest course of the bunch, but conditions were top notch. The fairways are very generous, and even offline there isn't too much terrible trouble. The greens are also accessible and friendly.

The layout of the course is fun, but not particularly challenging for good players. If you're driving the ball well you can overpower the course a little bit and you generally don't have to think twice about blasting a driver.

The resort makes a big deal out of the recent renovations to the course. You can definitely tell the work paid off. Tee to green everything was in great shape. The "million dollar" hole (#14) wasn't all that impressive, but at least it got a catchy name!

This was an enjoyable way to end our trip, and it's a course anyone can enjoy. It'd definitely worth a try if you're in the area.

We had played this course back in the early 1970s when it was new. It didn't seem very difficult back then.
Now we are talking about a different layout.
This course is in amazing condition, because the hill country just had one of the harshest winters in many years. The greens on the back nine have recovered nicely from a fungus. They are impressive.
When you arrive at the course you are greeted by friendly and helpful cart attendants. The pro shop guy was a bit confused because I had already checked out.
It took him awhile to figure it out.
The starter here is a very brusk individual, more suited for non-public contact work.

Slick Rock follows the Robert Trent Jones, Sr. concept of “hard par, easy bogey.” The front nine is strategically routed through colorful outcroppings of Texas granite and a magnificent mixture of trees: native oak, persimmon, willow, Chinese tallow and eldarica pine.
The back nine is open and rolling with Crenshaw Bentgrass greens and 419 Bermuda tee boxes. All in great shape.
Robert Trent Jones Sr. has used
his bunkers to dominate the greens approach on many of these holes.
This wide spread use of bunkers here, is consistent with the "hard par, easy bogey" policy.
Slick Rock is home to Horseshoe Bay Resort's awe-inspiring "Million Dollar Hole"* (No. 14) featuring a winding cart path that takes golfers on a ride through a waterfall that spans more than 35 yards.
There is more brick and tile work on the cart paths and surrounding walls here than any other course.
The original developer/owner Norman Hurd created this magnificent course as a part of three great golf courses in what was once a barren, undeveloped area south of lake LBJ.

Slick Rock Golf isn't just a walk in the park, it's
an adventure in first class golf.

* based on 1970s costs.