The Golf Club at Star Ranch - Where the Stars Come Out to Play

The Golf Club at Star Ranch has made its mark on the Austin-area golf scene as the home for “all-inclusive” golf, offering a greens fee, cart, range balls, breakfast and lunch buffets for one low price. But the best deal is no deal if the course isn’t up to par, right? Well, the General Manager of Golf Club at Star Ranch, Ricky Heine, also happens to be the President of the Golf Course Superintendent’s Association of America. Think his membership would allow him to keep his own layout in anything other than first-class shape?

Course conditioning is the first star at Star Ranch, but certainly not the Lone Star. The new “Star Player’s Club” offers unbelievable savings for loyal players who really want to improve their games. For $34/month, members get reduced greens fees, free range balls anytime, complimentary clinics and 7-day advanced tee time availability.

The latest star is the new practice facility featuring an entirely new driving range, a pair of short game practice greens, a separate wedge area with its own target green and an enormous practice bunker. Again, with game improvement in mind, Star Ranch offers numerous adult clinics and junior camps to go with their private and small group lesson packages.

Then there’s the real star of Star Ranch, the extremely player-friendly Bechtol/Russell design that uses the rolling terrain and many native areas to create a challenging test that is maturing as it heads into its seventh summer. Star Ranch measures well over 7000-yards from the tips of its par-71 layout, and with four sets of tees and very forgiving fairways, you can grip-it-and-rip-it off the tees. And despite water in play on a half-dozen holes, there really aren’t any forced carries.

But you might want to bring a solid iron game to put your brand on the scorecard. Precise approaches are necessary to avoid 66 bunkers and go pin-hunting on the big, but very sloping TifEagle greens that hold incoming shots quite well and putt true, but are known to be more than just a little quick.

You’ll likely pull four different clubs on the par-3s, the locally-famous 15th features a most intriguing tee shot over a creek and a rock wall in front and around the right hand side of the green. That short, but tricky par-3 begins a great finishing stretch that includes a par-4 bordered by water at the green and the grand finale, the shortest par-5 on the course, but all uphill to test those who think they can reach it in two.

Possibly the most popular star at Star Ranch is the pair of party pavilions for outings and special events, a new outdoor tournament pavilion near the practice area where outing participants can check in, get their bags on carts and get right to the range before their round. The older pavilion is being enclosed and turned into a special event area that can seat over 200 to enjoy the full-catering services at Star Ranch for weddings, parties and get-togethers of any size.

And we haven’t even mentioned the house of stars, the 15,000 square-foot clubhouse that sits high above it all as home to Traditions Café, a fireplace, fullservice locker rooms and a pro shop carrying all the latest apparel and equipment.

The stars are all aligned for a memorable round of golf at Star Ranch Golf Club, located in Hutto, just 20 minutes from the Austin airport and 30 minutes from downtown off the new tollway or FM 685. Visit www.starranchgolf.com or call (512) 252-GOLF.