Horseshoe Bay Resort

Granite, water and three courses by one architect.

Horseshoe Bay Resort sits on the southern shore of Lake LBJ, a constant-level reservoir on the Colorado River about 50 miles north-west of Austin. It is the only resort in the continental United States with three courses by Robert Trent Jones Sr., which the resort calls the Texas Triangle. Two of them make the trip: Ram Rock, which the resort describes as the most difficult of the three, and Slick Rock, the original 1972 course with its waterfall hole. Golf here is for overnight guests and club members, so the room is your tee sheet. In return you get free shuttles to every course and packages that bundle the golf.

Horseshoe Bay Resort green fees and tee times.

The resort reserves all its amenities, golf included, for overnight guests and members of The Club at Horseshoe Bay Resort; the public can only dine at a couple of restaurants. Book a room, then reserve tee times on Ram Rock, Slick Rock or Apple Rock through the resort; its main line is 877.611.0112. No per-round green fee is published. The Tee It Up package (promo code RPGTIU) includes one round per person per night on any of the three Jones courses, with early morning times where available. The Unlimited RTJ Golf package (code UNLIMITED) gives unlimited rounds from arrival day to departure day, a US$25 nightly food and drink credit, a round on the Whitewater Putting Course and 15 per cent off retail in the pro shops. Room cancellations need 72 hours’ notice before arrival, and a late cancellation costs one night’s room rate, resort fee and tax; golf and other amenities need 24 hours.

The courses at Horseshoe Bay Resort.

Ram Rock (par 72, 6,926 yards)

Narrow fairways, big elevation changes, ten water hazards and natural rock outcrops. The resort’s hole guide describes the 4th as a par three to an island green split into two targets by bunkers, the 7th as a downhill dogleg-left par five and the 9th as a near right-angle dogleg left. On the back nine, the uphill 13th has a sharply raised green with a false front, the par-three 17th a green on three levels, and the 18th climbs to a large, deep green. The pro shop for Ram Rock is at Cap Rock.

Slick Rock (opened 1972)

The resort’s first course has more than 70 bunkers and 12 water hazards. Its signature is the 14th, the Million Dollar Hole, a slight uphill dogleg whose path crosses a 35-foot waterfall. The 7th is rated the hardest hole. Slick Rock has its own recently renovated clubhouse, looking over the 12th fairway, with the Slick Rock Grill & Bar.

The round, in perspective.

Jones Sr. built all three courses through Hill Country granite, creeks and oak, and rock outcrops and water hazards appear on all of them. Slick Rock opened first, in 1972, and helped revive the Texas State Open. Ram Rock followed, nicknamed The Challenger, and has hosted the Texas State Open and USGA qualifying. As part of a US$60 million resort refurbishment, Robert Trent Jones II rebuilt the bunkers on Ram Rock, cutting the sand area by about 40 per cent while making the bunkers deeper, adding mown chipping areas and recontouring greens; Patrick Reed hit the ceremonial first shot when it reopened in May 2018. Slick Rock was renovated first. The third course, Apple Rock, looks over Horseshoe Bay, runs beside Lake LBJ on the back nine and has a four-level green at the par-three 12th. A fourth, Jack Nicklaus’s Summit Rock, is for members only.

Know before you go.

Access

Overnight guests and club members only

Summit Rock

Members only

Dress

Collared shirts; no T-shirts or denim

Shoes

Soft spikes; tennis shoes allowed

Shuttle

Free from the hotel to all courses

Cancellation

24 hours for golf; 72 hours for rooms

Make the trip work.

With unlimited golf on offer, a three-night stay can cover all three Jones courses and a replay of the one you liked best. Ram Rock and Apple Rock are served by the Cap Rock pro shop, although the Cap Rock Clubhouse itself is for members; Slick Rock has its own clubhouse and grill. The resort’s 80,000-square-foot practice area is at Cap Rock Golf Club, and the 3,000-square-foot Golf Academy runs daily clinics and one-, two- and three-day schools with Director of Instruction Bobby Steiner. Rental clubs can be reserved with your tee time, but bring your own balls; both pro shops sell them if you forget.

Austin-Bergstrom (AUS) is 58.8 miles away, which the resort puts at about an hour by road; central Austin is roughly 50 miles east along TX-71. The resort warns that rideshare returns to the airport are unreliable, with drivers often cancelling, so hire a car or ask the resort’s transportation team to arrange a private car. Private pilots can land at the resort’s own airport, which has a lighted 6,000-foot runway.

Where it is.

Somewhere to settle in.

Rooms are in the Hotel Tower, the Palm Villas and the Residences, which include two- and three-bedroom villas and condos that suit golf groups. The Tower and Palm Villas get daily housekeeping. A resort fee of US$45 per room per night is charged, and self-parking costs US$17 a day. The Jungle Kids Club, with a climbing wall and a two-storey indoor jungle gym, helps mixed groups, and only guests in the Signature Condos can use the members’ Yacht Club beach.

Make a trip of it.

Lost Pines Golf Club, on the far side of Austin near Bastrop, sells public tee times online and makes an easy final round before an AUS flight. TPC San Antonio, south past Austin, works on the same stay-to-play basis as Horseshoe Bay, so a Hill Country trip naturally becomes two or three resort stays. Off the course, the resort’s marina rents boats for wake, ski and surf with lessons, and runs chartered pontoon cruises; there are Ford Bronco off-road outings, and the resort counts more than 50 wineries, distilleries and breweries in the area.

Find your season.

All four courses are open year-round but can close for weather or maintenance; the resort asks golfers to ring 877.611.0112 for daily status. Spring and autumn are the comfortable months. Lake LBJ is held at a constant level, so the waterfront stays a summer draw while golf moves to early mornings.