Luling Sport

Luling Sport brings Golden Age-influenced design to a stretch of Texas cattle-ranch country that has long lacked courses of genuine architectural ambition. Kyle Franz has routed his layout through a network of natural barrancas — dry ravines ranging from around 3 to 9 metres in depth — that create alternate fairways and multiple strategic routes on virtually every hole.

History of Luling Sport

Owner Matt Andresen purchased a 1,100-acre ranch property on the southwestern edge of the Texas Hill Country to establish Luling Sport as a 36-hole private destination. The site sits in a transitional zone between the Blackland Prairies, Post Oak Savannah, and Hill Country, characterised by rolling meadows, small streams and ravines feeding into the San Marcos River, and clusters of live oaks.

Kyle Franz — whose reputation was built on acclaimed restorations of Mid Pines, Pine Needles and Southern Pines in North Carolina — was commissioned to design the first course, targeting Golden Age-influenced architecture with firm, fast conditions and a walking-only format. Construction was led by Don Mahaffey of Greenscape Methods alongside LaBar Golf, with Josh Cooper serving as Director of Agronomy during the grow-in phase. The Franz course opened in 2025.

A second 18-hole layout — designed by Ogilvy Cocking Mead (OCM) — began construction in 2024. OCM's design occupies the southern and eastern portions of the property, with a routing described by the firm as resembling a traditional out-and-back links, featuring small pot bunkers and movement-shaped earthworks inspired by courses of the Scottish coastline.

Course Layout & Playing Experience

The Franz layout is routed through the barrancas and live oaks concentrated at the centre of the 1,100-acre site. Fairways are generous in width, reflecting the Golden Age preference for strategic options over penal corridor design, while the green complexes feature wild contouring that rewards ground-game thinking.

The natural barrancas — some rugged and exposed, others grassed for visual variety — serve as the primary strategic device throughout the round. Franz has used them to create chains of bunkers and alternate routes that allow players to choose their line of attack on nearly every hole. Grassing from tee to green is Stadium zoysia, selected for its compatibility with the firm, bouncy conditions the design demands. Putting greens are seeded with Lazer zoysia, a variety developed at nearby Texas A&M University.

Luling Sport operates as a walking-only club, targeting fewer than 10,000 rounds per year to preserve conditioning and the intimacy of the experience.

Verdict

Luling Sport represents one of the most architecturally ambitious new private clubs in Texas. Kyle Franz has applied the same ground-game philosophy that defined his North Carolina restorations to a raw piece of cattle-ranch land — using the site's natural barrancas to generate the strategic variety more typically associated with courses many decades older. With an OCM second course taking shape alongside it, the property has genuine long-term significance for American golf.