After my morning out at Wolfdancer I had a bit more time than I planned. Of course that meant an extra round! I knew a couple courses out in Bastrop existed but I hadn’t really researched either of them. One of the courses was Pine Forest Golf Club and it was about 15 minutes away from Wolfdancer, so it was geographically convenient to play while on the east side of town. 

Their online tee sheet looked wide open so I rolled the dice and decided to head over there to see what it looked like. The good news was that the parking lot was empty. The bad news was that the course didn’t look to be in good shape based on the holes I could see from the road.

Since I was already there I figured I’d just blaze around it rather than having to come back one day and add it to my list. Plus, I really wanted to get over to Butler Park Pitch & Putt and explore a little that evening!

My quick-paced plan worked great. I played through a huge group (6 or 7 players I think) and got to the 16th hole in less than 2 hours. I caught up with a foursome there and just found some shady spots while they took their time. I ended up playing in about 2.5 hours so I was very happy with that pace.

I’ll get all the bad news out of the way early – the conditions weren’t very good at all. Though, for $32 it wasn’t the end of the world. On a handful of holes I struggled to tell where the fairways stopped and where the rough began. There were large areas of hardpan/dirt and generally very little grass, at least compared to the average course. The grass that was there was inconsistent heights and types. 

The greens were acceptable and rolled fine, just slowly as they were fuzzy. I know the Texas summer didn’t do anything to help the conditions, but if you are considering a round here you might wait until things cool off. 

That part out of the way, Pine Forest is located in a beautiful area and I thought the design has some good bones! The course’s setting is easily its best quality, and it even has plenty of homes nearby.

Pine Forest is laid out along the Colorado River and the bluffs that border it. What you end up with is a quasi-mountain style course that really forces you to think about where you want to hit it. The course has a bit of a target golf feel to it and a bit of funk. I played the blue tees which are 71.8/132/6569. 

A few holes are flatter with river views while the other holes play through the bluffs. There are multiple greens here that are surrounded by pines and exposed-rock hillsides. Also, you get some great elevated tee shots! As you’ll see in the pics, the course has potential.

The par-3’s (there are five of them) at Pine Forest were my favorites as they have some big drops down to the greens. The 3rd, 12th and 16th could all be considered the signature hole at Pine Forest. 

The 3rd (170 yards) and the 12th (180 yards) are very similar (good) holes. They both drop at least a club down to the green and are framed by trees in the background. I was very happy to club both of them right and make a couple pars my first time here!

If conditions improve some I think Pine Forest is worth the drive from Austin (for those golfers who like to explore), but as things stand currently I wouldn’t go too far out of your way to play it.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):