Like and Follow Golf Oklahoma
Photo: Scott Varner and family at Slick Rock’s “Million Dollar Hole”, where players follow a winding path across a 35-yard waterfall.
By Ken MacLeod
Oklahoma golfers who have yet to experience the charm of Horseshoe Bay Resort just north of Austin, listen to the advice of Scott Varner, the popular and ultra-successful Northeastern State University golf coach.
Varner must be the No. 1 proponent of the once sleepy now thriving getaway set in the Texas Hill Country on the shores of Lake LBJ. He has been spending at least a month there every summer since his father first lugged him and a friend there during his sophomore year at Stillwater High School in 1978.
“Dad found out about it and drove us down there so we could get tuned up for the state championship,” Varner said. “The only lodging then was right by where the Yacht Club is now and the only course was Slick Rock. We thought it was pretty spectacular.”
Varner and his friend Terry Carpenter led Stillwater to the state championship upon returning, and his father Rodney Varner bought a house just left of the fifth green at Slick Rock. Rodney died soon after of cancer, but the Varners have returned to Horseshoe Bay like sea turtles to their nesting ground ever since.
In that time he, wife Monica Kay and sons Michael and Brian have witnessed the transformation of the resort community to one that offers about every amenity and convenience imaginable to its members and visitors.
Whitewater 360 Sports Club
In addition to Slick Rock, designed in 1971 by Robert Trent Jones Sr., the esteemed architect came back in 1981 to design Ram Rock, considered the most challenging of the three courses open to the public. Perhaps taking pity on us, Jones Sr. lightened up a bit when he added Apple Rock in 1985. All three are extremely scenic and all have undergone extensive recent renovations.
A fourth course, the private Summit Rock designed by Jack Nicklaus, is open only to members but for those who live in that stratosphere it is probably well worth the investment, a tremendously entertaining course to play and that doesn’t apply to all Nicklaus’ designs.
Summit Rock is a Jack Nicklaus Signature designed 18-hole layout.
Varner has spent his four decades enjoying the three other venues.
“They are three quite different golf courses,” he said. “Slick is easier today than when it opened and we were hitting persimmon woods. Ram still kicks people in the teeth. Apple is the most scenic and probably in between the two as far as difficulty.
“At the time they built Ram Rock, it had the highest course rating in the country, surpassing Oak Tree National. And that was its selling point. Apple Rock came on and was voted Best New Resort Course in the U.S. by Golf Digest. It has spectacular views and is a blast to play.”
View from the 10th tee at Apple Rock overlooking Lake LBJ.
The Varners not only play a lot of golf, they take advantage of all the lifestyle opportunities the resort presents, including working out, hiking, paddle boating, water sports, side trips to the legendary Blue Bonnet café in Marble Falls or into Granbury, where popping in on a Willie Nelson show used to be commonplace. And Austin with all of its music and entertainment is less than an hour away.
And if you’re Varner, you know all the best spots among the resort’s many fine and casual dining establishments that have opened, including the Yacht Club, the Cap Rock clubhouse, Whitewater 360 Sports Club, featuring the famous Whitewater Putting Course, the Waterfront Bar and Grill in Marina Village and much more.
“At Slick Rock, the burgers are legendary,” Varner said. “You go there on a Thursday night for their $5 burger, get to know the people. The culture there is and the amenities are two of its biggest selling points. And we just love the Hill Country.”
Varner will have a new place to hone his game in 2025 as a new indoor/outdoor teaching center and range is near completion at the base of the current Cap Rock driving range, which services the Ram Rock and Apple Rock courses.
Other amenities include numerous resort pools, the Bayside Bay Spa, eight hard court and six clay tennis courts, eight pickleball courts, a Kids Club and numerous shops.
The hotel where most traveling golf groups will stay is first class in terms of rooms, pool, hot tubs, workout facilities and dining.
“The way it’s grown and the number of amenities has been astonishing to watch,” Varner said. “I remember when a house that was owned by the Jaffe family (HSB owners) was featured on The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Now that house is dwarfed by others on the lake.”
For information on golf trips, go to hsbresort.com.
