Playing the land: Loraloma golf course will play along the Pedernales in Lake Travis
The Scottish golf architect responsible for the original layout at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon and the highly ranked Gamble Sands in Washington has signed on to design his first course in the southern United States — and it’s set to be built right here in Austin.
David McLay Kidd will design the course for the new, private Loraloma community in Lake Travis. The layout is scheduled to open to preview play in late 2024 with a full opening in the spring of 2025. Kidd will break ground on the course this month.
Loraloma will be a 2,200-acre masterplan community in the Hill Country, built with a goal of respecting the land’s natural beauty, as stated in a news release announcing the plans. Areté Collective is the development company in charge, and plans call for premium amenities including fitness, wellness, culinary, equestrian and nature-based experiences along with golf. Turnkey homes will range from two-bedroom to five-bedroom cottages, villas and estates, with a selection of custom homesites.
“The Loraloma landscape is vastly more visually inspiring than most of what exists in the Austin area today,” McLay Kidd said in the release. “Our goal is to open up this compelling landscape to golfers for a world-class experience, and I will tread very lightly to preserve and protect this land so that it can be enjoyed and embraced for generations to come.”
Several of the holes will play along cliffs above the Pedernales River while others are placed atop peaks offering dramatic elevation changes and views of the Hill Country and Balcones Escarpment. The course is slated to play to a par of 72 at 7,060 yards across 120 acres. The greens will be bent grass, and the fairways will be zoysia.
“Areté Collective is thrilled to partner with such an accomplished architect to bring this course to life, and we hope that every member and resident who plays golf at Loraloma feels McLay Kidd’s sense of exploration and adventure while exploring this vibrant landscape,” said Tom Hogan, co-founder and CFO of Areté Collective and a former CFO of Augusta National Golf Club. “The rules of golf require the player to play the ball as it lies, and the beauty of the Loraloma course is the fact that he has designed a sustainable course around the existing lay of the land.”
Texas Ex Hossler enjoying solid fall
Less than two years ago, golf pundits insisted that once a Longhorns product broke through for his first victory, the floodgates would officially open.
Scottie Scheffler did just that, putting together a spectacular stretch of golf that made him one of the sport's biggest names.
Could Beau Hossler follow that exact script? The former Longhorn has played well of late and many are calling for him to get his debut PGA Tour win sooner than later. At the Shriners Children’s Open last week in Las Vegas, Hossler tied a career best with an opening-round 62 and finished tied for seventh, netting a comfortable $238,000 in paycheck for the week in the process. Hossler has credited his approach game for his improved scoring.
"My wedge play is starting to get really good, inside probably 140," Hossler said after the opening round. "I feel like I can hit it in there tight or have a very nice look pretty much every time, and that was something I was struggling with for a few years. That's been significantly improved.”
Hossler has only missed one cut in his last eight starts and has moved up to 51st in the FedEx Cup Fall standings, meaning he’d be eligible for the first two Signature events if the season ended today.
A laissez-faire attitude has helped the California transplant relax and enjoy the game, and he’s hoping the results will eventually land him in the winner’s circle.
“Obviously I was pretty disappointed not to finish in the top 50 after the Playoffs. With that said, I think my game right now is as good as it's been in years, which is exciting,” Hossler said. “To be honest, I don't really think there's any pressure. There's guys out here playing for their card. That would be pressure. Finishing 52 or 65 or whatever … that's a couple tournaments in the spring, obviously, but I'm just out here trying to compete, get better, and win golf tournaments. It provides an opportunity to do that, and seems like out here if you play well, things kind of take care of themselves.”
Birdies and bogeys
∙ Just five weeks into a new season, the NCAA has severed ties with Spikemark for its official scores and rankings. The NCAA announced Monday that Clippd will take over after a series of false starts and empty promises from Spikemark. “A leader in the golf technology industry,” according to the NCAA, Clippd will take over from Spikemark “following an agreed handover period.” The NCAA notes that Spikemark approached Clippd for help. Clippd reports its site has been able to publish more than 75 percent of all Div. I college golf tournaments. In July, the NCAA announced Spikemark Golf would become the provider for all golf scoring and ranking services utilized by the NCAA beginning with the 2023-24 season. Spikemark took over the service role previously provided by Golfstat. Nine days later, Golfstat responded with a statement saying the company wasn’t going away, though its role was going to be reduced.
∙ Chase Johnson from West Palm Beach, Fla., won the Advocates Professional Golf Association at Jimmy Clay earlier this month. Designed to bring greater diversity to the game by developing African-Americans and other minorities for careers in golf, the APGA is in its 14th season having grown from three events in its debut to a full-fledged eight-event series. The total purse was $25,000 for the tournament sponsored by Farmers Insurance. Johnson fired rounds of 68 and 67 to collect the win. Michael Bradham of San Antonio was the top Texas finisher.
∙ The Austin Varsity Games are back, and golf will kick off the series. The deadline for the 50-and-over event is Oct. 20 and golf will be held Nov. 2 at Jimmy Clay. Those interested can call (512) 978-2480 or email varsityGames@austintexas.gov.
Tim Schmitt is the managing editor for Golfweek, golf coordinator for the USA Today Network and lives in Round Rock. Jason Lusk contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Private course Loraloma is scheduled to open in 2025 in Lake Travis
