Lady Bird Golf Course Review

Texas Outside Rating: 9.0

Golf - Public Course · 18 Holes · Par 71
Fredericksburg
Website · Locate This Course

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Lady Bird Golf Course Review

Review & Rating of Lady Bird Golf Course in Fredericksburg

Lady Bird Golf Course is just a couple miles from downtown Fredericksburg and it opened as a nine-hole course in 1969 and another nine was added in 1991.

In 2012, Jeff Blume redesigned several holes (ie, 5, 6, 7, 14, and 16) to help make the course a little softer, more forgiving and playable, and 200 yards longer.  In addition, a new irrigation system was added as well as all of the bunkers and greens were redone, new fairway grass was planted, and lots more.  Over $2 million was invested in the renovation of Lady Bird Golf Course and when we played for the first time since the renovation, we were very impressed with the changes, conditions, and playability of the redesign.

The front nine of Lady Bird Golf Course takes maximum advantage of the naturally rolling and hilly terrain and the meandering Live Oak Creek.  This nine will throw a little bit of everything at you that will test your nerves, course management, club selection, and accuracy.   For example, you'll find:

  • elevated tee boxes as well as big uphill shots to the green
  • forced carries over natural areas and the creek
  • some bunkers that seem to be where your ball wants to land
  • a couple of very interesting risk-reward opportunities
  • some pinched landing zones as well as some tight and tough approaches
  • raised and well-guarded greens

The front nine at Lady Bird Golf Course is very demanding and loaded with some really fun and unique holes like:

  • #1 a 402-yard par 4 with an elevated tee shot to a pinched landing zone thanks to a hill on the left and trees on the right and then a downhill shot over a grassy ravine to an uphill green with a right front bunker
  • #3 is a 512-yard par 5 that has an intimidating 200 yard carry over a natural area and the creek to an elevated fairway with a bunker in the middle and then a slight uphill shot to the green with a huge sprawling bunker on the right
  • #7 is a short, but challenging 302-yard uphill shot along a severely right to left sloping fairway (that can take your ball back down the hill, making for a very tough uphill approach shot), a large right-side bunker that can easily catch your drive,  and a significant uphill shot to an oblong well guarded green

After this nine you'll need a cold beer and you'll be ready for the back nine which will seem like a walk in the park. It's flatter, more open, and from our perspective plays much easier than the front nine of Lady Bird Golf Course. You will encounter some fairway mounding and lots of mounds, swales, grass bunkers, and collection areas around some of the greens, which puts a premium on your approach shots.

This nine is your opportunity to salvage a good score and walk into the clubhouse with your head held high!  Some of the holes we liked include:

  • the 10th hole is fun and demanding -  a 495-yard par 5 with a downhill tee shot on a sloping and rolling fairway, a lake to cross around 100 yards out, and an uphill shot past 4 bunkers to the green
  • #12 offers a good risk-reward shot to fly some trees and miss a bunker to shorten the hole on this short 308-yard par 4
  • #14 is deceiving the first time you play it - a long 611 yard par 5 that ends with 4 bunkers that you might think are protecting the green, but the fairway takes a sharp dog right to the raised green with swales, mounds, and 4 more bunkers

The Lady Bird Golf Course fairways range from wide to a tad tight but most are ample with a wide playable rough and no homes to worry about.  All the fairways are lined with stately oaks and a variety of other trees but the grass is short under most of the trees giving you a shot back to the fairway.  The fairways range from up and down roller coasters on the front nine to flat and straight on the back.  The fairways were in very good condition but firm and dry (like most Texas fairways) which meant lots of extra roll. 

All of the Lady Bird Golf Course greens were redone in 2012 and are fantastic.  The greens range in size and shape and most are about average size.  Most have some very minor and manageable slope and a few had some undulation and ridges.  We thought that they were in very good condition, ran true but a little slow (8 or so), and held the ball pretty well.  They were in very good condition.  

The bunkers at Lady Bird Golf Course were perfect with soft thick sand.  The bunkers ranged in size from small pot sized bunkers to large monsters.  Most had some very steep and deep faces. The edges could use a little trimming!

Bottom line - a must play if you're in the area, a fantastic and unique and challenging front nine and a traditional relaxing back nine, and a very reasonable rate! 

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Black 6,686 72.1 127
Blue 5,757 68.0 116
White 5,243 65.2 110
Gold 6,148 69.7 122
Red 4,598 65.0 112

Course Information

Course Architect:
Jeff Blume renovation
Greens Type:
Champion Bermuda
Greens Condition
9.0
Greens Difficulty
7.5
Fairway Condition
8.5
Bunker Condition
9.0
GPS:
Yes
Walkable:
Some hills
Scorecard
Course Map
Beware of water on 9 holes and the 44 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
9.0 out of 10
Beauty:
9.0
Difficulty:
8.3
Variety:
8.8
Fun to Play:
9.4
Value:
9.5
Condition:
9.0
Front Nine Rating:
9.3
Back Nine Rating:
8.5
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FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $33.00 to $48.00

Lady Bird Golf Course is home to a newly built 10,000 square foot clubhouse with a fully-stocked golf shop, good restaurant (the burger is outstanding!), and a great meeting room for corporate outings or tournaments. Practice facilities include a 20 station driving range and two practice greens. The staff is friendly and outgoing. The carts have a great GPS system that includes music.

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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.