This pro golfer has turned real estate developer deep in the heart of Texas.

A few years ago 2004 American Ryder Cup Captain Hal Sutton resembled nothing what we’d expect of him . . . not a PGA golf pro nor a longtime businessman. Recently when we caught up with him in the Texas Hill Country where he’s building Boot Ranch, he resembled a construction foreman more than anything else. Sutton’s golf course and estate homes near Fredericksburg, Texas, have to be built to his exact specifications—even if that means he’s getting down in the dirt.

“Most golf courses are actually built by the guy running the bulldozer,” explains Sutton. “Sometimes it’s a guy with a 15-handicap who thinks he knows what he’s doing, and other times it’s just a guy running a bulldozer.” At Boot Ranch he has personally overseen the grading of every fairway, the construction of each bunker, and the slope of the greens. But that is no real surprise—building a housing and golf course project has been one of his dreams for a very long time.

The surprise is that between the time Sutton was a 1980s’ golf prodigy and the construction of Boot Ranch, he lost and rediscovered his golf swing and has become the inspiration for every 40-something jock who dreams of recapturing the old glory. Not only did Sutton recapture it, but at age 42 he also bettered the best player in the world when he battled Tiger Woods down the stretch to win the 2000 Players Championship by one stroke.

Now Boot Ranch is two years old, and it’s Sutton’s clear passion. There are 104 homesites with another 20 sold. Phase II is a year away from starting construction. “We have a lot of land,” Sutton emphasizes, “and the average homesite is 5.2 acres.”

Business is not a recent avocation for Sutton. After graduating with a business degree from Centenary College, he joined his father in the Louisiana oil and gas business and also involvement with cutting horses. Another part of his education was the Wednesday pro-am events on the PGA Tour. That’s when each pro in the tournament that starts on Thursday plays a round of golf with three strangers—usually local notables and businessmen who pay a handsome sum for the privilege, with the proceeds going to charity. For many pros it’s torture being teamed with a bunch of overzealous amateurs looking to show off.

“You view it as a hassle when you are a young player because you have to be selfish to be a great pro golfer,” Sutton recalls, but he notes that as a man’s twenties turn into his thirties, he takes a different view of the pro-am events. The groups usually include a fair number of CEOs, venture capitalists, and so forth—just the kind of people who can help a golfer with future business projects. “If you keep your eyes and ears open, you’ll learn a lot,” he points out. In the 1980s that meant a lot of golf. Sutton won numerous golf tournaments and was seen by some as the next Jack Nicklaus. Eventually though the wins began getting harder to come by and finally disappeared as Sutton devoted more of his time and energy to the oil business with his father. “I got burned out on it,” Sutton explains. “Basically I stopped working on my golf swing, stopped working as hard as I should.”

But the work never stops at Boot Ranch, which is about an hour’s drive from San Antonio, an hour and a half from Austin, and short flights from both. To maximize natural vistas at the development, Sutton has incorporated the area’s rolling hills into everything from home architecture to the location of the clubhouse and golf holes. Construction is ongoing with the women’s wing and luxury spa currently under way.

Sutton recalls that the land seemed natural for the golf course, which is now complete and playing rounds with abundant great (and challenging) holes. Boot Ranch’s signature hole is the 10th with a waterfall serving as a natural hazard. Sutton and his aides were walking the unimproved land pre-construction when they heard the sound of rushing water. They soon realized the falls were hidden by rocky outcroppings and brush, but they never had any doubt they would incorporate them into the course.

It’s easy to get to Fredericksburg by air. “Great little FBO, a very quaint airport,” reports Sutton, adding that prospective homebuyers can fly in to scout Boot Ranch and fly out the same day. Sutton owns a Falcon 200 and has two pilots—one has 23,000 hours and flew fighters in Vietnam while the other was chief of safety for the 2nd Bomb Wing for the Air Force. “I do what I am supposed to when it comes to flying,” he notes—“sit in the back.”

Sutton hopes Boot Ranch will develop into one of the great golf courses in the country and provide decades of value to homeowners. He also hopes to become synonymous with this endeavor like Bobby Jones came to be associated with Augusta National and Ben Hogan with Shady Oaks in Fort Worth. “You will probably see me a good bit on the Champions Tour,” emphasizes Sutton, who will qualify for the senior events in about two years. “But I see myself being around here a lot. I see Boot Ranch as a world-class development with many more phases to go and me right in the center of it.” —Russ Hubbard

For more information about Boot Ranch real estate property please visit bootranch.com or call 830.997.6200.

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