Georgetown Country Club Review

Texas Outside Rating: 8.7

Golf - Private Course · 18 Holes · Par 70
Georgetown
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Georgetown Country Club Review

Review of Georgetown Country Club - Georgetown, TX

Georgetown Country Club is a private member-equity club that opened as a nine hole course in 1927, making this course one of the oldest in Texas.  Another nine was added in 1954 giving Georgetown Country Club 18 holes (par 70) that are fun, demanding, and scenic.  With yardages ranging from 5445 yards from the tips to 4239 yards from the front tees, Georgetown Country Club may be one of the shortest courses in the Texas Hill Country. 

Its short but very demanding and requires some shot making and risk taking as it winds along and across the Middle San Gabriel River and up and down some fairly steep terrain with towering trees, cliffs, and sharp dog legs.  Georgetown Country Club will throw a little bit of every at you during your round - forced carries across the river, dramatic elevated tee boxes, dog legs left and right, plenty of trees that can block your shots, some very steep up-hill as well as downhill shots, sloping raised greens, and plenty of contoured and rolling fairways that are very tight to wide open.  To score well here you'll need some good shot making and club selection skills and be willing to take some risk-reward shots - and off the tee box you may want to keep the big dog in the bag and use whatever club you're most accurate with!  Some of the par 4s are short (243 to 283) and long hitters can try to go for the green - but miss long, left, or right and par will be challenging.

The front nine at Georgetown Country Club is really fun, very challenging, and loaded with lots of personality and some unique holes, for example:

  • #2 is a 357 yard par 4 with an elevated tee shot down a tight fairway and then left and across the River that crosses in front of the green 
  • #4 is a fun 523 yard par 5 with a drive over the River from a slightly elevated tee box and a second shot that needs to be near perfect to give you an approach shot that will avoid a sprawling oak that splits the fairway leading to a green with the River fronting it
  • #7 is only 133 yards but the green is across the River and natural area and up a 100' pluss huge hill

The back nine at Georgetown Country Club is a par 34 that is shorter by up to 200 yards and has the San Gabriel River that can come into play on 6 holes.  This nine is much more traditional and straightforward and more forgiving thanks to wider fairways and a tad easier approach shots.  The three par 3's are great and one par 5 is short at 439 yards but requires a carry across the River to a slight uphill fairway that turns right then left to the green.

The greens at Georgetown Country Club are average to large, a variety of shapes, and most have some slope.  When we played they had just been punched and were running a little slow.  Normally they run between and 8 to 9.  Most of the greens are raised and if you're a tad short on your approach, you're likely to roll back down and away from the pin. Some of the greens had some minor damage (29 days of over 100 degrees hasn't helped) but a new superintendent is doing an excellent job of improving the course conditions. 

Most of the fairways are tight, all have some slope or contour, and plenty of trees, hillsides, natural areas, and the River can cause problems.  When we played the fairways were in fair condition - the severe temperature and lack of rain has been challenging for Georgetown CC as well as the majority of Texas courses and as such the grass with thin and firm, which creates lots of extra roll that can be both good news if you can keep it straight and leverage the slope and contour and bad news if it takes you into some trouble. A few of the holes are side by side which means you may encounter fellow golfers in your fairway. 

There are no bunkers on the course!

Bottom line - a fun, short, scenic, and demanding course and a great value for members. 

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Blue 5,374 67.2 123
White 5,076 65.7 115
Gold 4,540 64.1 111
Red 4,239 65.6 109

Course Information

Greens Type:
Tif Eagle
Greens Condition
7.6
Greens Difficulty
7.5
Fairway Condition
7.4
GPS:
No
Walkable:
Hilly
Beware of water on 11 holes and the 0 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
8.7 out of 10
Beauty:
8.7
Difficulty:
8.7
Variety:
9.0
Fun to Play:
9.0
Value:
9.0
Condition:
7.5
Front Nine Rating:
8.8
Back Nine Rating:
8.6
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FEES & AMENITIES

Initiation Fees: Under $10,000
Monthly Dues: $201 to $400

Service is excellent, the pro shop is well stocked, and there is no range but the putting greens and short game area are adequate. The clubhouse is home to a good restaurant, patio, and lounge. Some of the other amenities include a pool and tennis courts. A 40 yard driving area is budgeted. The members are outgoing and very friendly

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Here's How Texas Outside Determines the Scorecard Rating

The Texas Outside rating scale ranges from 1 to 10 – a perfect 10 course would be something like this:  links along a cliff overlooking the Pacific ocean and bordered by tall trees; lush fairways on rolling hills with lots of natural hazards; water (which is crystal clear) on most of the holes; immaculate greens (but they are undulating and tough); lots of variety and character (each hole is completely different and includes blind shots, elevation changes, doglegs, and significant challenges); perfectly manicured traps with the whitest and prettiest sand you’ve ever seen; a nice club house with great food and a 19th hole; a GPS; plenty of beverage carts or your own cooler and ice; and it only costs $40 bucks! What this means is that you probably won’t find any 10s in Texas – try Cabo San Lucas, Pebble Beach, or some of the Hawaii courses! 
Texas Outside rates courses on the following:

  • Beauty – tall trees, rolling hills, beautiful houses, waterfalls, and similar stuff would score high; a 1 would be flat, bushes or cactus instead of trees, and some grass but mostly weeds
  • Difficulty – a straight, 300 yard par 4 with no traps or hazards, no out of bounds or water would probably get a 1; if it is a 460 yard par 4 over two ravines, with water along one side, natural hazards on the other, strategically placed traps or that dreaded tree right in the middle of the fairway, we are talking a 10. 
  • Variety – what would you give a course where all the holes looked and played exactly the same (“I thought we just played that hole!”); were side-by-side, which is good for finding or dodging other people’s balls, but not much fun; and you can see the flag from every tee box?  That’s right, it gets a 1.
  • Fun Scale – a 10 is where you walk off the course and say “now that was fun” and you can’t wait to get back, or you immediately turn around and play another 18 holes
  • Value – a 5 is $50 to $60, a 10 is $20 to $30, and 1 is $200 or so – of course all of this is dependent upon how you liked the course.  For example, if a run down, boring municipal course, with six players on each hole was only $10; it would still get a value rating of 1.
  • Condition – this one’s pretty easy – what condition are the fairways. A 10 commands very lush perfectly manicured fairways, compared to a 1, which has fire ants, weeds, and more dirt than grass!
  • Condition of Greens and Difficulty – very hard to read greens with lots of undulation and tough pin placement, rate very high on the difficulty scale.  Condition is self-explanatory.  

All of the above determines the overall score for the golf course.  In other words, we like courses that are pretty, fun, very challenging with a lot of variety, and fairways and greens in excellent condition – all for $40.  We also tend to play the courses that are affordable for the masses, which means in the $30 to $80 range. We rate hard and we haven’t found a 10 in Texas yet – don’t worry we haven’t given up and we’re still looking.