Boot Ranch Realty Team Grows
Eric Metzger and Mark Yarborough join broker Sean Gioffre at Boot Ranch Realty.
Texas Hill Country Haven
In its April 2016 issue, Cowboys & Indians magazine tells the story of a unique stone home inspired by the architecture of early German settlers.
by Allyn Hulteng, Cowboys & Indians, April 2016
Inspired by the unique stone homes built by early German settlers, this legacy retreat for a Houston couple marries historic architecture with timeless Texas style.
Boot Ranch Reports Record Home and Property Sales in 2016
Real estate sales at Boot Ranch surged in 2016 as a result of new ownership, new property releases and the announcement of significant amenity expansions. The exclusive private club community in the Texas Hill Country reported 58 sales in 2016, up from just 8 the previous year and 19 in 2014.
Developer sales volume on 50 properties exceeded $23.5 million, with a mix of land sales, shared-ownership Sunday Houses, and condominium residences. Eight resale transactions by Boot Ranch Realty accounted for another $6.1 million in volume.
Current property offerings include:
Home sites from one-half acre to 18 acres, priced from the high $200,000s to $2.5 million.
Sunday Houses, 4,500+ square foot vacation homes whose ownership and expenses are shared by eight families, with shares from the $400,000s.
Village Homes, which each comprise three luxury condominium residences priced from the high $800,000s to $2 million.
Terra Verde Group and Wheelock Street Capital acquired the 2,050-acre community from Lehman Brothers Holdings in mid-2015 and immediately set a course for expanding the real estate mix and enhancing amenities that appeal to families.
“More than 75% of the potential 450 properties permitted by the City of Fredericksburg remained to be sold at Boot Ranch when we acquired the community,” said Craig Martin, founder of Dallas-based Terra Verde Group. “We knew our success was dependent on communicating a clear vision for the finest private club community in Texas, with facilities, activities, and adventures you couldn’t find anywhere else.”
To that end, Terra Verde Group engaged Swaback Partners of Scottsdale, one of the nation’s leading private club design firms, to create plans to fulfill that vision. By fall, construction was underway on new amenities that include a 2.5-mile hike-and-bike trail from the Clubhouse Village to Longhorn Lake where a lakeside pavilion, a protected swimming area with beach, treehouses and jumping rocks will open next summer. Near the Clubhouse, a five-acre putting park and play field are planned for year-end completion. Long-range plans include a fitness facility, an expanded spa, and a Lake House at Longhorn Lake for casual gatherings and family activities.
Boot Ranch, which has been named by Golf Digest as one of America’s “Top 10 Golf Communities,” currently includes a Hal Sutton-designed golf course and 34-acre practice park; a 55,000 square-foot Clubhouse Village with dining, locker rooms, golf shop and lodge suites; spring-fed fishing lakes; a trap and skeet range; and the Ranch Club, which includes a pavilion with food and beverage service that seats 300, 3 pools and a Jacuzzi, lighted sport courts and a playground.
All property purchases include a multi-generational Club membership that extends privileges to the member’s parents, children, grandchildren, and spouses.
8th Year in DMN Top 10
The Boot Ranch golf course was named once again as one of the “Top 10 Courses in Texas” by The Dallas Morning News – placing sixth overall. This is the eighth year to be included on this prestigious list.
In addition, the 10th hole at Boot Ranch was selected one of the beautiful in Texas. The par-4 hole features twin 40-foot waterfalls. It has been the site of many weddings and was prominently featured in the movie Seven Days in Utopia, which was filmed largely at Boot Ranch in 2011. The Dallas Morning News journalist Mark Kazlowski, who played Boot Ranch in October, described the best and beautiful holes in an article titled “No Shortage of Drama or Beauty Here.”
The newspaper’s Sports Day staff has developed criteria based on conversations with its 97-member rating panel and others in the golf industry. This includes:
- Versatility: Does the course create a good mix for the high and low handicappers? Are better players challenged, while the high handicappers are able to enjoy play through the use of shorter teeing areas, alternative routes, location of hazards and accessible pin locations.
- Shotmaking: Are there various risks and rewards for shots throughout the course? Does it test accuracy, finesse, length and putting without overemphasizing any these skills? Do you have to use most of the clubs in your bag every time you play the course?
- Design: Is there a good balance in design? Differing lengths? Doglegs right and left? Uphill and downhill shots? Placement of hazards and bunkers? Contours and shapes of greens?
- Afterthoughts: How much do you remember about the course once you’ve played it? Do one or two holes stand out as great or bad? Are all 18 commonly good or bad?
- Beauty: Does the scenic value of the course add to the pleasure of a round? Trees, shrubs, hills, mounds, flowers, etc.?
- Maintenance: How would you rate the course conditions, factoring in all aspects — tees, greens, fairways, bunkers? Spring, summer, fall or winter when viewed?
- Enjoyment: How do you feel about being at the course? What about the amenities? From arrival to departure, was it a good, bad or indifferent golf experience?
PGA legend Hal Sutton designed the Boot Ranch course to complement – rather than confront – the scenic surroundings. More than simply a country club or championship course, the links at Boot Ranch are a celebration of the game itself. The Clubhouse Village provides plush men’s and women’s locker rooms, an award-winning pro shop and a variety of dining and entertaining venues to round out a day on the course. The Boot Ranch Director of Golf is Emil Hale.
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Acing the Golf Digest Top 10
The February 2015 issue of Golf Digest once again included Boot Ranch in its “Best Of” rankings. You’ll find Boot Ranch among the Top 10 Golf Venues in Texas for 2015/2016. Golf Digest has some 2,500 course-raters who who complete an intricate evaluation that takes into account ambiance, aesthetics, design variety, shot values and condition.
“In 2007, Boot Ranch was named one of Golf Digest’s Best New Courses in the entire country,” says Director of Golf Emil Hale. “Of course, we’ve also has been ranked among the Top 10 in Texas seven times by The Dallas Morning News.”
The latest issue of Executive Golfer may sum it up best in an article titled “Boot Ranch: A Game Changer in the Hill Country.” It states, “It’s an artful expression of luxurious Texas ranch-style living. Boot Ranch offers a Hal Sutton designed course, a 55,000 square-foot clubhouse, three resort-style pools, the outdoor Ranch Club sporting complex, trap and skeet range and overnight lodge suite accommodations for members and their guests only.”
