The Quarry Golf Course

A piece of San Antonio was beautified in the early 1990s when Keith Foster drew the assignment to convert the old Alamo Cement plant from an abandoned eyesore into one of the most unique courses in Texas.

Foster's 6,740-yard, par 72 layout opens up with a true links-style front nine, void of trees and featuring tall grasses and several creeks. It is the easier and more basic of the two sides. The front is fun and is an adequate warm up for the roller-coaster ride that starts on No. 10. The back nine plays entirely in an abandoned rock quarry with 100-foot-plus walls rising on three sides.

Nos. 12 and 13 both feature a quarry lake and involve spanning the 90-foot bridge over the water. No. 13 is a 362-yarder that doglegs left along the lake. Hole 15 plays 520-yards-plus into a green that lies at the base of a huge stone wall, offering the always-entertaining option of banking the approach onto the green. No. 17 is the most dramatic, requiring a tee shot over a deep ravine highlighted by a 40-foot waterfall, then doglegging left over the quarry wall.

Getting there : From Downtown San Antonio, take Highway 281 north 4 miles to East Basse Road. Turn right, and drive 1 mile to the course. The cou