BASTROP, TEXAS – The Wolfdancer Golf Club roared onto the Austin, Texas golf scene in 2006. Buoyed by an incredible setting and a thought-provoking, challenging layout – all under the respected Hyatt brand flag – Wolfdancer was immediately bestowed prominent national awards including GOLF Magazine’s “Top 10 New Courses You Can Play” while at the same time storming to the top of regional and state rankings.
The centerpiece of an easy-to-arrange, one-stop resort destination that includes a world-class spa, premier accommodations, horseback riding – all in the form of a luxurious base camp from which to experience Austin’s legendary culinary, arts and music scenes – the sprawling, 405-acre Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa is a 491-room destination resort comfortably adjacent to a larger, 1,100-acre natural park. Hyatt Lost Pines is truly a hidden wonderland equally idyllic for traveling golfers, family getaways and corporate retreats.
For those in the know, this resort offers an elegant, backwoods experience minutes away from the hustle and bustle of civilization. Hyatt Lost Pines is located 20 miles of east of the “Live Music Capital of the World” and just 13 miles due east of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Highway 71, yet feels completely secluded in its sleepy farmland surroundings buffered by the McKinney Roughs nature preserve.
Designed by Arthur Hills/Steve Forrest and Associates, the 7,205-yard, par-72 Wolfdancer Golf Club was named after the land it occupies formerly belonging to the Tonkawa American Indian tribe, who performed ceremonial dances covered in wolf skin and imitating the behavior of wolves by dancing on all fours. A golf course is only as good as the land it sits upon, and the property at Hyatt Lost Pines is superb. The Hills layout rambles over a dramatic, 150-acre stretch of terrain dotted with oak, cedar elm and pecan trees and cut by the Colorado River, which dramatically frames the right side of layout’s memorable finishing holes.
Wolfdancer Golf Club features an unexpectedly large amount of rolling, wooded and flowing topographical variance resulting in one resort and one golf course, yet three entirely different experiences: A true cross-section of Texas Hill Country geography playing through three eco-systems. Holes one through four are set on covered rolling prairie land, five through 12 on a heavily wooded ridgeline and 13 through 18 along a shaded valley bordering the Colorado River. A former owner of the land, Marjorie “Tiny” Leach, is a legendary cattle rancher who once owned an Austin leather shop, “Tiny’s Leather Shop,” and today the Wolfdancer starter’s hut stands in her honor.
While the Hill Country is chock full of layouts designed by names like Fazio, Crenshaw and Trent Jones Sr., Wolfdancer is the only design save Hyatt Hill Country Golf Club credited to the equally well-respected golf course architect Arthur Hills. With Wolfdancer, Hills delivers a classic layout capable of challenging the Texas single-digit handicapper while delivering an unforgettable resort experience for the visiting family or transient golfer.
Wolfdancer is indeed hungry like the wolf, legitimately staking claim as Austin’s toughest track from the black tees. Holes dubbed “Through the Trees” and “Random Long” serve as a warning of what to expect at Wolfdancer – as well as a reminder to check one’s ego at the door. While the tips at Wolfdancer are manageable only by low single-digit handicappers, the middle-back tees are rated 74.3, and four shorter sets of tees are available daily down to under 5,000 yards from the women’s, making the golf course navigable, fun and interesting for golfers of all level of playing ability.
Much of Wolfdancer’s front nine careens over bold, rolling ground where there was little earth movement required and featuring some jaw-dropping views of the countryside. The opening nine and the first two holes after the turn were built on a meadow above the Colorado River, meaning the speed and direction of the wind factors significantly, particularly on higher ground. “I like the sound of the wind in Texas rushing through the trees,” course architect Hills said. “It can really add to the quality of a golf experience in a very subtle manner.”
Generally wide open off the tee, the Wolfdancer fairways are enjoyably generous. It is the approach shots that define the character of Wolfdancer, with scoring opportunities rising and falling upon the execution of a player’s shot into the greens, which can be difficult to hit particularly when those aforementioned Texas winds start howling. Make no mistake, this is not a resort course where low scores come easily, as the Bermuda grass green complexes – varied in size and typically longer than wide – are challenging for golfers of all ability.
Widely considered one of the most exhilarating public golf courses in the Southwest, Wolfdancer represents a striking combination of strategy and swagger: A sturdy, sophisticated and balanced golf experience suggesting at various times during a round the stark simplicity of Scottish seaside golf, the tradition of classic American parkland golf and the heroic school of golf course design.
Hyatt clearly knows how to deliver the complete golf experience, and its Wolfdancer Golf Club creates a balance between maintaining the site’s natural beauty and designing a golf course that feels like it has been there forever. The massive landscape and topography are highlighted by this well conditioned course, which represents luxury in a beautifully rugged setting – and at times will take your breath away.
In addition to the upper-tier conditioning and service one comes to expect from a golf course associated with a Hyatt resort, the Wolfdancer Academy of Golf was established to promote and deliver a unique one-on-one customized golf learning experience, while the golf experience at Wolfdancer also includes a 13-acre driving range, a full-scale practice facility featuring 10 target greens and eight tee boxes, and a short-game area with two chipping greens and bunkers, and GPS units in each golf cart. Visitors not wishing to travel with their golf clubs to the resort can take advantage of the Callaway club rental program, while the Wolfdancer Academy of Golf offers individual instruction and family and group clinics by PGA certified instructors.
A beautiful clubhouse features outstanding cuisine and beverage selection at Major Neighbors Grill, while the Wolfdancer Golf Shop offers the latest trends and fashion in men’s and women’s apparel, cutting edge game improvement golf equipment and accessories, and men’s and women’s locker rooms. Annual memberships are available with unlimited golf, use of driving range and practice facility, as well as discounts on other golf and resort amenities included in family and individual memberships.
Home to a variety of outdoor activities including horseback riding trails visible from points of the golf course, rafting on Texas’ Lower Colorado River, full-service Spa Django, eight dining options, live music and a water park featuring a 1,000-foot Crooked River with two-story water slide, Hyatt Lost Pines is also convenient for business or leisure visitors – a truly luxurious, family-friendly golf resort.
Learn more about Wolfdancer Golf Club and various packages at www.WolfDancerGolfClub.com or 512-308-WOLF.
Contact:
Martin Armes (919) 608-7260, martinarmes@nc.rr.com
Brad King (336) 306-9219, king@bradkingcommunications.com
