MARCH 19, 2025 www.wintertexantimes.com 14 WINTER TEXAN TIMES @Sharyland Dental Care www.sharylanddentalcare.net Richard A. Young D.D.S. 2407 E. Griffin Pkwy. – Mission, TX - 956-581-2773 GENERAL DENTISTRY EXCEPTIONAL CARE Since 1982 Now Accepting Cigna Medicare Advantage We’re All About Smiles Invest in your smile, and change your life. Your smile and your health deserve the best in decision making!!! • For dental care you can trust and have confidence in • Come See Us At Sharyland Dental Care RioValleyEstates@gmail.com • www.RioValleyEstatesTX.com Whether Your Ideal Location Includes • Pool & Spa • Rec Hall • Shopping • Dining • Fun Activities, Entertainment & Dancing Where You Call Home Makes All The Difference 715 N. Westgate Dr. • Weslaco • 956-968-2708 Expwy 83 Business 83 W Pike Blvd Panther Dr Westgate Dr Location! Location! Location! Only 2 Blocks Off I-2, And Beyond To The Entire RGV Within 5 Blocks Of All You Need Has The Location You’re Looking For! Rio Valley Estates widely and welcomed all. No. 5 ranks as one of the most scenic holes in the entire Valley. From there one can see the entire river and take a deep breath to enjoy their surroundings. Long Island Village golf course (33840 S. Garcia St., Port Isabel), an 18-hole par-3 course where most holes are less than 100 yards, seems at first like a quick pit stop on the way to the Island. It’s much more than that. One thing is guaranteed, you won’t be too many holes in before you realize that this could be the most challenging course you’ve ever played. Those little half-swing 100-yard holes sometimes take a 200-yard swing to get them just to the green as the infamous South Texas wind takes its anger out on anyone with a golf club. Golfers have claimed that the wind is a knock-down wind; others say they’ve seen it blow in two different directions, all within the time a ball is hit from tee to green. Golf has a long history in the Rio Grande Valley and very few courses have had a greater impact than that of Valley International Country Club, 301 McFadden, in Brownsville. Great names blazed a path on this course and not just the best from the Valley, which include Al Escalante and Tony Butler, but also Jimmy Demaret and Hall-ofFamer Ben Hogan. The championship course is demanding but tries to offset that with four sets of tees to ensure beginners can enjoy their round. The short course allows golfers to work on their short game and have a quicker round. Its signature – and No. 1 handicap hole – is a 421-yard par-4 dogleg right. The fairway is tight so you can make or break your score right from the tee box. You also have to hit it far enough to make GOLF From pg. 13 sure the pine tree forest is cut off from being in the way for your approach shot. Anything but perfection and you might need a calculator to keep track of your score – or an eraser on the end of your pencil. Brownsville Golf Center, located at 1800 W. San Marcelo Blvd., is a simple – not necessarily easier – course, but you still have to survive it. Even after a great round in the blistering sun and hairdryer-like heat, you still have to persevere with the massive 580-yard par-5 No.18 that awaits you before you can be set free. You’ll not only need to be physically capable of getting to the green in three (maybe two depending on whether or not the wind is blowing in your face – isn’t it always?) but you also need your mental toughness. The hole is a dogleg left and the key is to draw around the dogleg and cut off a few yards. Hit your tee shot too long and straight, and the hole is longer. Draw it nicely and you could leave yourself 250 yards out for a long, but possible second shot onto the green. There’s water on the left, houses on the right so do the “simple” thing, go long and straight down the middle. River Bend Golf Course. Photo by Henry Miller
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