Boot Ranch

The 18-hole layout at Boot Ranch Golf Club is the focal point of a residential development located to the north of Fredericksburg. Opened in 2005, the course brings Palo Alto Creek into play at several holes.

Architect Jim Lipe commented as follows: “When I designed Boot Ranch Golf Club near Fredericksburg, Texas for Hal Sutton, I was given a fantastic piece of the Texas hill country. Great elevation change, beautiful flowing streams with natural waterfalls, trees and rock formations. The land was full of natural golf holes, and the exercise was to gather the best to form a routing that maximized all the attributes of the property. I am very proud of the result.”

The course closed for four months in June of 2017 for a major renovation by contractor Heritage Links. The idea was to enhance the playability without altering the playing experience. One aspect of play may now seem easier than before – reduced difficulty of getting out of bunkers – but that’s more than countered with faster, firmer greens.

All the greens were converted from bentgrass to TifEagle Bermuda to provide a superior playing surface and better tolerate the Hill Country climate and irrigation with reclaimed water. A number of the putting surfaces were softened to counteract the faster putting speeds of the newly installed Bermuda grass.

Most of the improvement work focused on bunkers, which involved installing new Bunker Solutions liners and irrigation. Fairway bunkers were filled with a mix of bright “bunker white” sand blended with the slightly reddish native sand, and grassed areas in waste bunkers were removed. Many of the greenside bunkers were either reduced in size or removed.

The par four closing hole was lengthened, transforming one of the toughest finishing holes in the state into a challenging par five. A one-acre putting park – designed by former Nicklaus Design associate Chet Williams – was also introduced, featuring the largest green in Texas as a centre for family fun and friendly competitions.