Hal Sutton is more than just the golf course architect for Boot Ranch, the exclusive private club community in the Texas Hill Country. The 14-time PGA TOUR winner is now the club’s brand ambassador on the PGA TOUR Champions circuit.
Sutton, 60, whose original design at Boot Ranch debuted in 2006, will wear the Boot Ranch logo and has filmed a commercial to be shown this spring during select PGA TOUR and PGA Champions television broadcasts.
Sutton is scheduled to make his return to competition this weekend at the Oasis Championship in Boca Raton, Fla., his first tour start since May 2017. Sutton has played only six tour events in the past three years while focusing on course design projects and teaching academy.
Follow Sutton on the PGA TOUR Champions as he plans to play in every tournament he can through early September. The tour dates are:
FEB 8 – 10: Oasis Championship (The Old Course at Broken Sound, Boca Raton, FL)
FEB 15 – 17: Chubb Classic (The Classics at Lely Resort, Naples, FL)
MAR 1 – 3: Cologuard Classic (Omni Tucson National, Tucson, AZ)
MAR 8 – 10: Hoag Classic (Newport Beach CC, Newport Beach, CA)
MAR 29 – 31: Rapiscan Systems Classic (Fallen Oak, Biloxi, MS)
APR 19 – 21: Mitsubishi Electric Classic TPC (Sugarloaf, Duluth, GA)
APR 26 – 28: Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge (Top of the Rock, Ridgedale, MO)
MAY 3 – 5: Insperity Invitational (The Woodlands CC, The Woodlands, TX)
MAY 9 – 12: Regions Tradition (Greystone G&CC, Birmingham, AL)
MAY 23 – 26: KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship (Oak Hill CC, Rochester, NY)
MAY 31 – JUN 2: Principal Charity Classic (Wakonda Club, Des Moines, IA)
JUN 7 – 9: Mastercard Japan Championship Narita Golf (Club-Accordia Golf, Narita-shi, Chiba, JPN)
JUN 21 – 23: American Family Insurance Championship (University Ridge GC, Madison, WI)
JUN 27 – 30: U.S. Senior Open Championship Warren Golf Course (Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN)
JUL 11 – 14: Bridgestone SENIOR PLAYERS Championship (Firestone CC, Akron, OH)
JUL 25 – 28: The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex (Royal Lytham and St. Annes, Lancashire, ENG)
AUG 16 – 18: DICK’S Sporting Goods Open (En-Joie GC, Endicott, NY)
AUG 23 – 25: Boeing Classic (The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge, Snoqualmie, WA)
AUG 30 – SEP 1: Shaw Charity Classic (Canyon Meadows G&CC, Calgary, AB, CAN)
SEP 13 – 15: The Ally Challenge (Warwick Hills G&CC, Grand Blanc, MI)
SEP 20 – 22: Sanford International (Minnehaha Country Club, Sioux Falls, SD)
SEP 27 – 29: PURE Insurance Championship (Pebble Beach Golf Links, Monterey Peninsula, CA)
“We cannot think of a better person than Hal Sutton to represent Boot Ranch on the professional golf tour,” said Emil Hale, general manager of the club. “Hal shares the same vision as our membership, that passion for the game of golf and culture of friendship that results in experiences to be remembered forever.”
In 2017, Sutton oversaw a $2 million renovation of the bunkers and greens on the Boot Ranch golf course and 34-acre practice park, which incorporates natural Texas Hill Country elevation changes, slopes and valleys, and indigenous vegetation. Sutton’s focus in this project was to enhance the playability without altering the experience. “My key was to figure out a way to challenge the best players while offering higher-handicap golfers the chance to play golf and have more fun,” explained Sutton.
Sutton also was instrumental in helping Boot Ranch members revive the nearby Fredericksburg community’s junior golf and high school golf programs. His expanded new role continues that support through the return of the “Birdies for Billies” program that benefits the Junior Golf Foundation of Fredericksburg. Funds are raised through Boot Ranch pledges for each birdie and eagle Sutton makes on tour this year. (“Battlin’ Billies” is the nickname for Fredericksburg high school’s athletic teams.)
“Connecting to the community, embracing the people, and giving back is important,” Sutton said. “I want kids to understand the game I love so much. Learning the golf swing helps, but getting kids outdoors and onto the golf course is the greatest teacher of all.”
Nominated last year for the World Golf Hall of Fame, Sutton was ranked in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for more than 100 weeks during his PGA TOUR career.
