Premier Central Texas vacation destination is ready for prime time.
Horseshoe Bay Resort has never been a modest proposition. The place has a lot to offer its guests, including opportunities to play 54 holes of golf, attend a golf school, and take part in all sorts of water recreation, racquet sports, and enjoy exquisite dining along with an action-packed sports bar.
But Horseshoe Bay Resort, founded more than 50 years ago in the Texas Hill Country on Lake LBJ, about 45 minutes from Austin, Texas, never stands pat. The owners and management there continue to refine all aspects of the resort year after year. There’s no better example of that than the golf experience itself, which is arguably in its golden era.
This year, the whole nation will be able to witness how good the golf is firsthand as the Golf Channel’s Big Break returns with a full season of episodes filmed at Horseshoe Bay Resort, featuring all four courses, three of which are open to resort guests. (Horseshoe Bay’s fourth championship course, Summit Rock, is members-only) These championship layouts have never been better and continue to improve.
“The thing I’m most excited about is showcasing the variety and quality of golf that we have,” said Anthony Holder, PGA director of golf operations at Horseshoe Bay Resort.
Holder added that Big Break X Good Good (sponsored by the popular golf influencer group, Good Good) really showcases the 7,000-acre Texas Hill Country resort, which is situated around a beautiful lake and all its amenities.
“For a long time, I think we’ve been this sleepy little secret,” he said. ”I think hosting this season of Big Break, called Big Break X Good Good, really puts us out there in a resonant way that brands Horseshoe Bay Resort as a national bucket list destination.”
The event will begin to air on Golf Channel in August, bridging the gap between the long-running reality show’s legacy viewer and Good Good Golf’s growing legion of YouTube golf fans.
Horseshoe Bay Resort being ready for its closeup coincides with the continuing upgrades of the resort itself, which most recently have included the popularity of a new dining yacht, on-water obstacle course, playground, and the new 10,000 sq ft Live Oak Pavilion near the Whitewater Putting Course, which sits adjacent to the 250-room tower hotel. The new pavilion is perfect for a variety of functions, including award ceremonies and corporate or family gatherings.
As for golf, Holder said it’s been a combination of both the people, and the physical improvements. Horseshoe Bay has long-tenured associates in the golf department, which has created a high level of collaboration, communication, and expectations.
“Now, we’re really getting into the fine tuning of getting ahead of the guest experience. So that’s something I’m extremely proud of,” said Holder, adding that they emphasize a great work-life balance among employees to breed creativity and production.
On the product side, Holder said the owners have invested heavily back into the asset, which in this case, is the collection of resort courses, all designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. It included renovations in 2018 and 2019 on the Apple Rock and Ram Rock courses. It encompassed expanding the greens complexes, retaining walls, cart paths, fountains, and leveling tee boxes. Similar work was done on Slick Rock in 2015.
There are several ongoing projects, too, including renovating the bathrooms on Apple Rock and Ram Rock, enhancing the teeing area on the driving range, a new roof on the Slick Rock cart barn, $100,000 worth of work in tree trimming to enhance turf health on all the courses, and new bunker sand.
In 2027, Slick Rock and Ram Rock will undergo a complete irrigation replacement as well as more bunker work and tee box leveling. Apple Rock is scheduled to get the same work four years later. So it’s always ongoing.
It’s also paramount that conditions across the three resort courses are consistent with each other. They all have bentgrass greens, zoysia collars, and 419 Bermuda on the fairways and tees. The goal is for all three courses to play the same in terms of conditions and green speeds, Holder said, which is made easier by having a director of agronomy who oversees individual course superintendents.
“Every single year, we’re getting better and better and better, and finding new ways to enhance the playing experience,” Holder said.
One of the biggest game changers recently has been the addition of the new Horseshoe Bay Resort Golf Academy, headed up by Director of Instruction Bobby Steiner. The state-of-the-art 3,000-square foot facility is equipped with indoor/outdoor lesson bays as well as eight covered practice bays equipped with Toptracer Range technology.
Horseshoe Bay officials knew it would help attract guests who wanted to improve their games through clinics and schools as well as enhance the member experience, but it proved to be far more valuable. They’ve been able to tie it into their men’s and women’s golf association functions as well as their nine-holers and introductory classes. It’s also served as a great spot for other special events as well as bringing in VIP groups looking for a unique experience.
“So we can put them there at the Golf Academy and do some fun contests,” Holder said. “The cherry on top is that it’s a great hook for prospective members when they’re doing their site tours and see all the technology and amenities in that large space.”
The impetus of Big Break X Good Good goes back to the Good Good Lone Star Shootout, an event Horseshoe Bay did with the influential social content creator collective last June. It was a 12-hole event that featured Good Golf Creators and celebrity athletes (like Reggie Bush and Matt Ryan), who formed two-man teams in a competition, exhibition, and even a concert.
“After having them here and seeing some of the contrast, and the variety of golf that we have, and also all of the amenities around that, they felt like it was a good fit and they felt really comfortable with us,” said Holder.
Big Break will include a couple of members from Good Good as well as 10 other male players. The winner of the competition will get a spot in the upcoming Good Good Championship on the PGA Tour to be conducted this November in nearby Austin.
And while Big Break is another milestone for Horseshoe Bay, you can expect the resort to keep on growing and evolving. There has been talk about possibly adding even more courses, like a tour-level championship layout and perhaps a shorter course for resort guests. So stay tuned.
To see everything that is new at Horseshoe Bay Resort, visit HSBResort.com.
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