New public course opens in Texas

Kissing Tree Golf Club in San Marcos, Texas, opened for daily-fee play on Monday, Oct. 1. Managed by Troon Golf, Kissing Tree is the first new public, 18-hole golf course to be built in Texas in the past six years. 
 
Designed by renowned golf course architect and Texas resident Gary Stephenson, the course enhances the natural character of the land’s footprint in the Texas Hill Country, bringing the slopes and contours of the landscape into the fairways and greens. The 6,600-yard, par-72 golf course offers multiple sets of tees for golfers of all abilities to enjoy. To provide golfers with pristine and consistent year-round playing conditions, Tifway 419 Bermudagrass has been used on the tee boxes, fairways and rough, while greens are TifEagle Bermuda grass. 
 
Kissing Tree Golf Club has already earned certification as a Signature Program facility with Audubon International. The Audubon Certification Program for Golf is an award-winning, environmental and conservation assistance program created to help golf courses protect the environment, including wildlife and habitat management, and adhere to comprehensive sustainable resource management principles. 
 
“Kissing Tree Golf Club puts true Hill Country golf right in local golfers’ backyard,” Dirk Gosda, president at Brookfield Residential Texas, said. “As our residents who have already been previewing and playing the course can attest, the views and topography provide a challenging, yet accessible and enjoyable, golf experience for everyone. The natural beauty of the property really shines through, and the greens are pristine. We can’t wait for the public to join our residents on the links.”
 
Following the natural movement of the land, golf holes at Kissing Tree offer wide playing corridors, with green complexes accepting shots from various angles. In addition to the 18-hole golf course, Kissing Tree Golf Club also features a short game practice facility, an extensive practice range and a practice putting green.
 
“The course offers all levels of golfers a fun and exciting round of golf,” said Josh Clay, general manager of Kissing Tree Golf Club. “From drivable par 4s that incorporate risk-reward water hazards around the green to reachable par 5s, golfers will have plenty of chances to make birdies and eagles.”
 
Troon is overseeing the clubhouse, course operations, course agronomy and golf shop retail. Troon will also manage the food and beverage operation, which will include a food truck in the near future. Troon is the largest third-party manager of golf and club operations in the world, providing levels of service and course conditions once only available at private clubs. The future clubhouse restaurant, Tarbox & Brown, will combine Texas hospitality with ranch-to-table comfort food to create an experience focused on family, fun and the art of home cooking. 
 
Kissing Tree is the first baby boomer-centric community designed specifically for the spirit of Texas, with the lifestyle, homes and amenities geared toward the active adult lifestyle of those 55 and better. Homes range from approximately 1,400 to 3,400 square feet and prices range from approximately $285,000 to $500,000. Kissing Tree Golf Club serves as the centerpiece of the community, with a collection of indoor and outdoor amenities surrounding it, including eight pickleball courts, six bocce ball courts, horseshoe pits, an 18-hole putting course, a biergarten, live music stage, demonstration kitchen, community classroom and more.