La Loma at Fort Sam Houston Golf Course

We played the brother course here Salado Del Rio several years ago and liked it.

La Loma Grande in the midst of winter is in brutal condition.

There are too many bare spots on the fairways and tee boxes. The fairways are full of bumps and ruts.

The greens while dormant are still easy to putt.

There are a lot of retired guys playing slowly out here. The slowest foursome would not consider allowing a much faster twosome to play through.

later I spoke with Francisco in the pro shop and he suggested we call him and they would take care of it.

There are no rangers on this course.

This layout will get lots of play in season. It is a great deal for active duty military.

They will want to see your Golf Now receipt here. I told Joe the manager that this was the first time I have been asked.

Your reservation number is posted on the tee sheet daily along with the time and name by Golf Now.

The greens keeper here has a big challenge going forward. We will return to later in the season looking for improvements.

First off, I need to disclose that I played nine holes from La Loma Grande and nine holes from Salado Del Rio. The reason is because those holes are the original holes (front nine on La Loma and holes 1-3 and 13-18 on Salado) designed by legendary architect A.W. Tillinghast. Turns out Tillinghast did much of that work some 80-plus years ago when he was working on Brackenridge Park, which was restored wonderfully a few years ago. But back to the Fort Sam Houston course and those 18 holes: First off, it's a terrific routing anyway you slice it. Play either course and the 18 integrated into the original designs really works well. There's plenty of room off the tee and both courses are very walkable. With classic greens complexes, a smattering of bunkers and even a little elevation change and a few water hazards, playing here is solid golf. Both courses tip out at around 6,800 yards, so the golf will challenge good players as well as higher handicappers. No. 3 on La Loma, by the way, is right next to the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. And at just $35-$45 or so for civilians (less for military and retired military), it's also a bargain.

while checking in our t time was at 12:00 and the person in the clubhouse let me know that I could not check in before 12:00 (unusual)(and that it was 12:18 instead of 12:00, he said that was military time?) and could not get a cart until we checked in because we were not a military person. the other 2 people that checked in for our 12:00 t time were military and they checked them in right away and then at that time decided that then I could check in also get a cart. was this because I wasn't military or because I was a women checking in to a military golf course not sure but left a bad feeling for me. I understand that the military personnel need their play time but I think they could of been a little more friendly to the people that are playing there that are not military if they are offering t time to us.

The course was really nice. My issue was with the GolfNow booking. After I booked my round, I arrived at the course and the attendant informed me that they don’t take GolfNow reservations. I showed him my confirmation email and was told that didn’t matter. My 10:05 reservation turned into an 11:45 tee time.