Bandit golf course is a 18-hole public facility situated at 6019 FM 725 New Braunfels, Texas, located half an hour away from downtown San Antonio near Lake McQueeney. The golf course was designed by Keith Foster and opened its doors in November 1997. Bandit golf course plays par 71 and is 6,909 to 6,928 yards long while playing on weekdays costs one $69 which includes the cart.
This price tag speaks volumes. This golf course is ranked among the Top 10 Public Courses in Texas by Golfweek while $69 per round in midweek is not quite what such a golf course should cost.
What a round actually gets you
Here is the whole proposition in one place before the detail.
| What you want to know | The answer |
|---|---|
| Where it is | 6019 FM 725, New Braunfels, Texas, roughly 30 minutes from San Antonio |
| Public or private | Fully public, with memberships available but never required |
| Who designed it | Keith Foster, with Kevin Hargrave credited alongside him |
| When it opened | November 1997 |
| Par and length | Par 71, playing about 6,909 to 6,928 yards from the gold tees |
| Weekday green fee | $69 Monday through Thursday, with the cart included |
| Weekend green fee | $105 Friday through Sunday, cart included |
| Phone | 830-609-4665 |
| The standout amenity | A Toptracer range and a 12,000 square foot practice green |
The gap between Thursday and Friday
Pricing here is built around a hard split between the working week and the weekend, and the difference is large enough to plan a trip around.
| When you play | Mon to Thu | Fri to Sun | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular, open until 3pm | $69 | $105 | A $36 swing for the same golf course |
| Twilight, 3pm to 5pm | $59 | $69 | The weekend twilight rate matches the weekday regular rate |
| Super twilight, 5pm to close | $46 | $51 | The cheapest way onto the property |
| Nine holes | $49 | $69 | Holidays priced with the weekend |
| Military | $60 | $95 | Available all week |
| Senior, 60 and over | $59 | $70 on Friday | Non-holidays, and the weekend rate applies to Friday only |
| Junior | $42 | $50 | Before the free-play policy below is applied |
The line to circle is the weekend twilight at $69, which is exactly how much it costs for a Monday morning tee time. This will get you a spot on one of the top 10 courses in Texas on a Tuesday price. If your time is even a little flexible, that is where you find the best deal.
Sales tax in Texas will be applied at check-in, so the prices shown above are a bit less than what goes on your credit card. Range balls cost $11 for a small basket with 35 balls and $22 for a large basket with 70 balls. Callaway club rental is $70 by calling ahead.
Juniors play free, and almost nobody mentions it
Buried in the rate card is one of the more generous junior policies at any public course in Texas.
| Who qualifies | What they get |
|---|---|
| Golfers 18 and under | Play free alongside a paid adult round, Monday through Friday at any time |
| Golfers 18 and under, weekends | Also free with a paid adult round after 1:30pm on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays |
| College students up to 22 | Pay the junior rate with a valid college ID, Monday through Thursday any time |
| College students, weekends | Junior rate from Friday through Sunday and holidays after 1:30pm |
| What it means in practice | A parent and a teenager can play a Tuesday for the price of one round |
For families living around New Braunfels or San Antonio, this policy ensures that the treat becomes a normal affair for them. This is the most definitive message regarding the type of club they want to become, which is a real golf course that does not discriminate against whom they allow to play on it.
The course Keith Foster built
Foster is well known for his work in America’s golf architecture, where he mainly specializes in restoring championship courses and not designing them from scratch. The Bandit golf course, as Foster’s design, demonstrates that the designer understands the need to adapt the routing to the topography of the land.
The golf course lies within rolling Hill Country topography on Long Creek and the shore of Lake McQueeney. Significant elevation changes and undulations, natural streams and ponds, and the Bermuda fairways characterize this layout. The deer and the hawks can be seen while playing out here.
With a par of 71, measuring 6,909 yards, and with the rating around 73.6 to 73.7 and slope between 133 and 134, the course from the back tees will give any golfer a challenge. The figures differ slightly due to the sources and are insignificant to affect the game of any particular hole.
Among holes that leave a mark on a golfer, there are the par 4 hole 7 and the par 5 hole 18, which gives the round a finish worth staying sharp for.
Which tees to play
Seven tee sets is unusually generous and the forward options go genuinely short, which makes this an easier course to bring a mixed group to than most layouts of this standard.
| Tee set | Yardage | Rating | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 6,909 | 73.7 | Low handicaps only, and a real examination from back there |
| Green | 6,368 | 70.9 | The sensible default for most regular players |
| Blue | 5,847 | 68.6 | Mid to higher handicaps, and the better choice in summer heat |
| Stone | 5,204 | 65.4 | Shorter hitters, seniors, and improving players |
| Copper | 4,408 | 62.7 | Juniors and beginners, rated at 66.0 for women |
With so much variation in elevation, the distance on the scorecard will almost never be the same as the actual distance you will play. You should err on the side of being conservative and tee off from an extra set further up than your pride might dictate.
The practice facility and the programs
The practice side is a bigger part of the offer here than at most public courses.
| What is on site | The detail |
|---|---|
| Toptracer range | Ball-tracking technology on the range, which is still uncommon at this price |
| Practice green | A 12,000 square foot putting surface |
| Short game | Chipping and putting areas alongside the range |
| Instruction | Private lessons plus Learn to Play Golf and Play Better Golf programs |
| Junior development | Junior camps and a junior academy |
| Weekly competition | A Wednesday night nine-hole two-person scramble through the warmer months |
| Food and drink | The Bandit Grill, with online ordering |
The Toptracer range is more important than one would think. It takes the bucket of balls and quantifies it into practice, and having the Toptracer range at the golf course that costs $69 makes it more likely that local golfers will come back rather than go to San Antonio.
What golfers say
The review record here is strong across the board, which is less common than you would think for a course at this price.
| What is being rated | Score | What golfers mean |
|---|---|---|
| Layout | 4.9 | The design and the elevation change get consistent praise |
| Conditions | 4.9 | Turf quality is a strength rather than a caveat |
| Friendliness | 4.9 | Staff rate as highly as the golf course does |
| Value | 4.8 | Driven largely by the cart being included |
| Pace of play | 4.8 | Good overall, though slow rounds do come up |
| Amenities | 4.8 | The range and grill carry this |
Nothing goes lower than 4.8, with the class coming in at 4.9 on average out of 5, with nearly 98 percent of those rating the course recommending it. The only complaint is that of pace on busy days, with fivesomes coming up more than once, but that’s standard business for a popular public golf course.
When to play, and the Texas heat
The course is open year round, which in central Texas means the question is not whether you can play but whether you will enjoy it.
Here is how the year tends to break down for golf in this part of the Hill Country.
| Time of year | What to expect | How to play it |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | The best combination of temperature and course condition | Peak demand, so book early and expect weekend rates to hold |
| Summer | Genuinely hot, with afternoons punishing on a hilly walk | Take the earliest tee time or go super twilight at $46 |
| Autumn | Comfortable again, and the course quietens down | The sweet spot for visitors who can choose their dates |
| Winter | Mild by national standards, with occasional cold snaps | Cheapest conditions on the calendar and rarely crowded |
Elevation gain is the one thing people don’t take into account as much in July and August. This isn’t an easy course, and doing a round of it during the mid-afternoon hours in the Texas summer is quite tough, even using a cart. That’s part of the reason why the super twilight rate is available, and there’s plenty of daylight after 5 pm in summer.
One final word about dress code: no metal spikes, and regular golf dress code rules apply as always.
How it compares nearby
New Braunfels sits in a crowded pocket of Texas golf, so it is worth knowing where this course lands against the alternatives.
| What you are looking for | Where The Bandit sits | The trade |
|---|---|---|
| Best value with a cart | Strong, at $69 midweek including the cart | You give up the weekend, where it jumps to $105 |
| Design quality | A Golfweek top 10 public course in Texas | Little to trade, which is why the value score runs high |
| Convenience from San Antonio | About 30 minutes out on the I-35 corridor | Courses inside the city are closer but generally flatter |
| Practice facilities | Toptracer range and a 12,000 square foot green | Among the better public practice setups in the region |
| Family golf | Juniors under 18 play free with an adult | Hard to match anywhere in the area |
If you are building a Texas golf trip around San Antonio and Austin, this is the course that justifies the short drive off the freeway rather than one you have to plan a day around.
Getting there, and the wider trip
Being situated on the I-35 corridor between San Antonio and Austin, it is very convenient to include New Braunfels in a trip in either direction.
From downtown San Antonio, the driving time takes roughly 30 minutes, while Austin and Houston are accessible by freeway. The city of New Braunfels, however, is famous for its Comal and Guadalupe rivers, the Schlitterbahn water park and its German history, thus making a golfing day fit much better into a family vacation rather than a dedicated golfing vacation.
Additionally, the club has its own hotel partners and arranges golf tournaments, banquets, weddings, so all the reservations are made directly at the club.
Where to follow the course
Worth a check before you travel, mainly for aeration dates and tournament closures.
| Channel | Where to find it | What it is useful for |
|---|---|---|
| @thebanditgolfclub | Course photos, conditions and event posts | |
| facebook.com/BanditGolfClub | Closures, scrambles and club announcements | |
| Official website | banditgolfclub.com | Rates, tee times, lessons and the grill menu |
| By phone | 830-609-4665 | Twilight start times and anything the site does not cover |
Since the accounts on both Instagram and Facebook are linked through the club’s own website, these accounts can be trusted. I could not authenticate that the club officially has an account on X or YouTube, and hence should be cautious of any claims.
Final take
Bandit Golf Course may well be one of the best bargains in all of public golf in Texas, and it comes down to some simple math. A Golfweek top 10 public course, a Keith Foster design, true Hill Country elevation changes, a Toptracer range, and a cart included, all for $69, on a Tuesday.
Play Monday to Thursday if possible, but if not, do the Saturday evening package for $69. Take a teen along, as they come with you for free. Go up a tee deck from where you would normally play. And stay a while after your round because the 18th, a par 5, is worth a drink after you finish.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Bandit golf course?
At 6019 FM 725 in New Braunfels, Texas, on the shore of Lake McQueeney. It is roughly 30 minutes from downtown San Antonio.
How much does it cost to play The Bandit?
A regular round is $69 Monday through Thursday and $105 Friday through Sunday, with the cart included. Super twilight after 5pm drops to $46 and $51.
Is the cart included at The Bandit?
Yes, the cart is included in the green fee. That is a meaningful difference from courses that bill it separately at $30 or more.
Who designed the Bandit golf course?
Keith Foster, with Kevin Hargrave credited alongside him. The course opened for play in November 1997.
Is The Bandit public?
Yes, it is fully open to the public and no membership is needed to book. Memberships exist but are optional.
Do juniors play free at The Bandit?
Golfers 18 and under play free with a paid adult round Monday through Friday any time, and after 1:30pm at weekends and on holidays. College students up to 22 get the junior rate with a valid ID.
How hard is the Bandit golf course?
From the golf tees it plays par 71 at about 6,909 yards with a rating near 73.7 and a slope around 134, which is a serious test. Forward tees run down to 4,408 yards, so it suits a wide range of players.
What is the signature hole at The Bandit?
The par-4 7th and the par-5 18th are the two holes golfers most often single out. The 18th gives the round a strong finish.
Does The Bandit have a driving range?
Yes, and it uses Toptracer ball-tracking technology. There is also a 12,000 square foot practice green plus chipping and putting areas.
When is the cheapest time to play The Bandit?
Super twilight from 5pm, at $46 Monday through Thursday. Weekend twilight at $69 is the best value if you can only play Friday through Sunday.
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