*****The Bull at Boone’s Trace is now called Boone’s Trace National Golf Club.*****

Besides Old Silo, The Bull at Boone’s Trace was the course that I wanted to play the most on my trip. It was one of those courses that I thought I’d love, based on everything I could find online.

I booked a 9am time for $49 and showed up early to hit a few range balls and putt. If I could have found a way to play the course in the afternoon I saw times for ~$30, which would have been super! I’ll mention early in the review that I had the Bull pegged as a premier course, while it actually turned out to be more of a good-value course. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed my round here – partially thanks to my lowest score in five years!

The Bull is characterized by two different nines, with the back being the stronger nine, in my opinion. The front is open, flatter and has more homes surrounding it than the back. I wouldn’t call the front nine boring, it just felt like the homes took away from the design a bit.

The 6th and 7th holes are probably the best holes on the front, as they each require some strategy from the tee. The 6th is a reachable par-5, however the tee shot needs to be right of a big tree in the fairway for the best chance to find the surface in two. The 7th is a short par-4 where a layup will result in a blind shot to the green. A more aggressive tee shot will open up the look at the green.

The back nine still has some homes, but they seemed hidden better from play. I thought the collection of holes on the back was much more solid, too! The 11th is one of the best, as it is a short downhill par-4 with a tough tee shot. The 13th is a fun, reachable par-5 with a tight second or third shot through some trees while the 14th is a clever downhill par-3.

I played the tips and the course only played 6659 yards as a par-72 (71.6/136 for the rating and slope). I thought the main challenges came from small greens and a couple awkward landing areas on tee shots. Overall, I enjoyed the elevation change and thought the course rewarded good shots, while allowing some recovery on the poor ones.

The Bull was in good shape with thick, challenging rough to hit from and nicely maintained fairways and tee boxes. The greens were slower than they looked, but still rolled well.

Overall, I’d recommend The Bull if you are looking for a good-value public course in the Lexington area. It turned out to be a great place to kick off the Kentucky portion of this golf trip. An added bonus is that the course is very convenient to the I-75 for those traveling with the clubs.

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