Centerpiece of expansive neighborhood north of Austin takes advantage of unique terrain
JARRELL, Texas — Site preparation work for an extraordinary, nine-hole par 3 golf course is already underway at Atlas Ranch, the Roy Bechtol-conceived and -designed track that will act as the centerpiece of an expansive community set about 45 minutes north of Austin.
Bechtol’s golf course will be a set of par 3s that measure from 80 to 120 yards that will be a perfect amenity for the neighborhood that could grow to as many as 1,000 homes over the next decade.
Atlas Ranch’s course will channel the Spieth Lower Forty at the University of Texas Golf Club in Austin that was designed by Bechtol and PGA TOUR professional Jordan Spieth. Atlas Ranch will offer holes that can be played as a refined but intricately designed practice ground for short game work as well as a gathering place for families and friends.
The course will be built on the edges of a former quarry that defines the Atlas Ranch property. Bechtol will leave many of the grass-covered dirt and rock piles on the course’s edges, making it a unique experience among other area developments that are mostly flat and undefined pasture and prairieland.
“Atlas Ranch is unique in the fact that the property has real character, allowing us to build a course that takes advantage of its attributes without forcing anything,” Bechtol explained. “Golfers will be able to use a few wedges and a putter and really test their game while having fun. We will make sure the greens complexes are challenging while not being too difficult.”
One of the most important aspects of the golf course at Atlas Ranch will be the total use of effluent water to irrigate the nine holes and its adjacent greenbelt. The construction crews have already begun “repurposing” the site’s dirt away from what was originally planned as an effluent field to the construction of the golf course, and process is moving at an accelerated timeframe.
“We all know how important water is as a resource in Texas and the course at Atlas Ranch will use only the water from the neighborhood and what Mother Nature provides as far as rain,” Bechtol said. “We will limit the grassing of the course to the corridors themselves and use the native grasses and trees and nooks and crannies and rock piles to make it special.”
The course could be ready for play as soon as this winter but a more realistic schedule would be a debut after the growing season in the Spring of 2025.
About Bechtol Golf Design
Bechtol Golf Design’s principal, Roy Bechtol, has designed more than 90 golf courses throughout the United States either as the lead architect or as a collaborator with other top golf course designers. Bechtol Golf Design combines cutting-edge technology with creative, traditional design practices to determine the best possible plan for blending golf with real estate.
Upcoming projects include Moonrocks in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia with Chet Williams and Corby Robertson; Austin Beach Club, a boutique club and a 12-hole par 3 course near the Austin, Texas airport, in collaboration with Jim Fazio; and an 18-hole signature design and par 3 course in the north-central Texas town of Brownwood; and Bastrop River Club, which will feature a nine-hole regulation course and another nine with eight par 3s and a final par 5 that runs along the Colorado River.
The Bechtol-designed Heath Golf & Yacht Club on Lake Ray Hubbard east of Dallas was just named as a first-round qualifying site for the U.S. Open, a rare honor that’s garnered by less than two percent of the United States’ more than 19,000 golf courses
Additionally, Comanche Trace in Kerrville, Texas – a course designed by the team of World Golf Hall of Famer Tom Kite, Roy Bechtol and his former partner Randy Russell – just celebrated its 25th anniversary for exclusive membership.
Bechtol Golf Design’s completed projects, both individually and in conjunction with some of the world’s top designers, include:
Heath Golf & Yacht Club (Heath, Texas)
The University of Texas Golf Club (Austin, Texas)
The Golf Club of Texas (San Antonio, Texas)
RiverPlace Country Club (Austin, Texas)
Comanche Trace (Kerrville, Texas)
The Legends Golf Club (Kingsland, Texas)
Somersett Golf & Country Club (Reno, Nevada)
Grey Rock Golf Club (Austin, Texas)
The Golf Club at Star Ranch (Hutto, Texas)
Black Bear Golf Club (Delhi, Louisiana)
ShadowGlen Golf Club (Manor, Texas)
The Ambush at Lajitas (Lajitas, Texas)
Frio Valley Ranch (North Uvalde County, Texas)
Barton Creek Resort (Austin, Texas)
Great Hills Country Club (Austin, Texas)
El Paso Country Club (El Paso, Texas)
Diamondback Golf Academy (San Antonio, Texas)
Escondido Golf & Lake Club (Horseshoe Bay, Texas)
Vaquero (Dallas, Texas)
The Hills of Lakeway (Lakeway, Texas)
Austin Country Club (Austin, Texas)
