After two late nights on this trip I wasn’t interested in a sunrise round somewhere, with a potential frost delay (brr!). So, I waited until things warmed up some and enjoyed a nice walk at Windcrest Golf Club, a nine-hole course that was 20 minutes away from where I stayed on Friday night.

I had a 12:30pm tee time over at La Cantera so playing at Windcrest still allowed me to scratch my new course itch, without a huge time commitment. I ended up walking in an hour and a half but could have got around quicker. By the time I finished, things were much busier!

Windcrest is located in a community with homes, a school and a post office nearby. I guess the best way to describe the course’s setting is that it feels like a park in the middle of town. Still, because of all the trees, I found it to have a secluded feel – especially early on a Saturday morning!

The course features three par-3’s, five par-4’s and one par-5. Even from the blue tees it isn’t long, as it plays 2,485 yards. The par-3’s are short and the par-4’s are all under 350 yards. So, it doesn’t look like much of a challenge on the scorecard.

And, if you hit it straight then you probably won’t encounter much difficulty here. However, if you drive it crooked (like me) then you’ll be in the trees all day because the fairways are narrow and in many cases trees overhang the fairways.

Windcrest’s other defense are its small greens, which slope off in all directions! I found myself with plenty of those 60 to 70 yard shots (sometimes after pitching out) and had to get creative and chase a lower shot onto the green. If you aren’t careful you can spend some strokes around the greens.

My favorite hole at Windcrest was the 124 yard par-3 5th. It plays over a pond that isn’t really in play, except on the worst of shots. The green is framed by what I think is a cypress tree, which added some nice definition.

For $15 the conditions impressed me. The greens rolled great and had a bit of pace to them. The fairways were fuller than I would have expected, given the all the shade from the trees.

Windcrest turned out to be an above average nine-hole course and I’m glad I played it. If you are nearby and don’t have enough time for eighteen holes somewhere then keep Windcrest in mind!

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):