Getting down to business on these San Antonio golf courses

If you're in the Alamo City on business and golf is part of your agenda, choosing the right spot can be critical, especially if time is a factor.

If you're putting together a corporate outing, entertaining clients or simply have a business meeting, then one of San Antonio's excellent resorts might be the ticket. Most offer plenty of meeting space, great golf, good food and a comfortable work environment.

On the other hand, if you're in town for a quick business meeting and simply want to catch a fast round, then location, the quality of course and pace of play are important factors.

Here, then, are five good options for the business traveler in San Antonio:

Not only is San Antonio's newest golf retreat, the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort, the perfect spot for two professional tours, but it's also an ideal location for business travelers and conferences.

With two courses to choose from at the TPC San Antonio -- the AT&T Oaks Course and the AT&T Canyons Course -- the resort can handle just about any corporate outing as long as it doesn't come during the PGA Tour's Texas Open in May or Champions Tour's AT&T Championship in October.

More important, though, the JW Marriott, which at 1,002 rooms is the largest JW Marriott in the world, is equipped for the business traveler and corporate events. The resort offers the largest convention and meeting space in San Antonio with 265,000 square feet, accompanied by the latest and greatest in audio/visual technology. The meeting space includes a 40,000-square-foot ballroom as well as a 40,000-square-foot exhibit hall, 19 breakout rooms and three outdoor event venues. Additionally, the resort has an extensive business center, wireless Internet and it can cater the meetings with gourmet food from its seven restaurants.

Like the JW Marriott San Antonio, the former home of the Texas Open, the Westin La Cantera Resort, also has two terrific golf courses for corporate events or a quick round for the business traveler. The original Resort Course, designed by Jay Morrish and Tom Weiskopf, is located next to the hotel, while the extremely scenic Arnold Palmer Course, which just celebrated its 10th anniversary, is about a mile away and has its own separate clubhouse.

The resort also offers more than 39,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor meeting space, including a 17,000-square-foot ballroom, divisible into two smaller ballrooms or as many as nine individual meeting areas. The Westin La Cantera also has another eight separate meeting rooms and two boardrooms as well as a 3,200-square-foot terraced event pavilion adjacent to the golf clubhouse, which offers panoramic views of the city lights below.

Additionally, La Cantera has a business center, tiered Internet service and a terrific selection of restaurants, which include both clubhouses.

For the business traveler, the best part about the Quarry Golf Club is its location. Just minutes from San Antonio International Airport, it's the perfect place to catch a quick round before or after business. And it's memorable as well. The back nine of this Keith Foster design was carved out of an old cement quarry, providing one of the more unique golf experiences in Texas.

Another bonus for the business traveler, though, is that the Quarry Golf Club is surrounded by the Quarry Shops and Restaurants -- dozens of them, in fact. The dining in the area is top-notch. The Quarry Golf Club also has a concierge, which can help hook you up to nearby hotels such as the Rivercenter Marriott, located just minutes away.

Located near Sea World, the 500-room Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort is a great vacation spot for families, but it's also a favorite retreat for business travelers and corporations. The resort has plenty of room for corporate golf events with its 27 holes designed by Arthur Hills. This beautiful shotmaker's course, which rolls through the Texas Hill Country, is the perfect way to wind down a conference or business meeting.

In terms of meeting space, the resort offers 33,000 square feet, including nearly 20,000 square feet of exhibit space. It also has 25 individual meeting rooms, all wired for audio/visual, telephones and special lighting. In addition, there are two large covered outdoor reception areas, perfect for cocktail parties or even a putting contest. Couple that with outstanding dining -- the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort specializes in regional cuisine -- and the resort is an ideal spot for company retreats or entertaining clients. It also has a business center and wireless Internet.

Talk about location, Brackenridge Park Golf Course is in the heart of San Antonio, right off the Riverwalk and just minutes from many downtown hotels. Its location makes it easy to take care of business in the morning, and spend the rest of the day with a client or two on the course. Add to that the fact that pace of play at Brackenridge Park is usually pretty quick and you'll have no problem getting plenty done in the course of the day.

The course is also a gem. Recently renovated, this classic A.W. Tillinghast design was the longtime home of the Texas Open. A literal walk in the park, the course is easy to navigate, fun to play and a great place to hang out. After golf, you can hang out in the restored classic stone clubhouse and even take a stroll through the Texas Golf Hall of Fame.