The routing of the 7,448-yard Big Easy Ranch 18-hole course. The routing frequently changes direction and has the benefit of no considerations needing to be made to housing lots - all of which are located adjacent to the course. 12 holes in the routing will play from elevated tees, down and back up to elevated greens. It has similar Hill Country roll to the land, but some different elevation, vegetation and even some east Texas pine trees. That rolling property may be the closest terrain to what's on offer at Big Easy Ranch. Williams also worked onsite for Nicklaus at Summit Rock at Horseshoe Bay in the Texas Hill Country. The Texas-based architect is a well-known figure in the state thanks in part to his major role with Nicklaus Design at Whispering Pines north of Houston, a club considered by many panels as the best course in the state (it also has a par-3 course). To make it happen, Brown called back par-3 course architect Chet Williams. It's a lofty statement for a new course in a state full of modern trophy courses by notable names like Tom Fazio, Tiger Woods, Coore & Crenshaw and Jack Nicklaus. "We're going to do everything we can to be the top golf course in Texas," Brown told members at the groundbreaking ceremony in September. Members were turning up at the club not just to dine or hunt, but to play golf.īilly Brown (left) and Chet Williams (right) hold a ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony at Big Easy Ranch's new 18-hole championship course. So Brown channeled his ambitions into a stellar 9-hole, par-3 course and practice center that would be an amenity for the club's growing membership that was generally more interested in hunting, sporting clays and fishing.Įnter the 2020 golf boom, fueled largely by COVID-19 social distancing and work-from-anywhere, and Big Easy's par-3 course and learning center had never been busier. In fact, the nearest golf course to Columbus, The Falls Golf Resort, ended up closing in 2016. After all, it was the throes of the economic downturn and private golf clubs were struggling coast-to-coast. But with a membership building gradually, he was advised at the time by multiple architecture firms to hold off. When the club was originally developed in the early 2010s, owner Billy Brown, an avid golfer most of his life, was eager to start by building the full-size 18 holes. It's time to go big.Ībout halfway between Austin and Houston, Big Easy Ranch is the latest property to take dead aim at the present-day resurgence in golf with an ambitious new 18-hole course. COLUMBUS, Texas - Throughout the United States, golf facilities are going small: adding par-3 and putting courses or reconfiguring 27 or 36-hole layouts into 18 holes and a short course.īut at a tucked-away sporting ranch in east Texas, they've already been there.
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