New golf course near Fort Worth, Texas, has been laid out over a 914-acre former ranch
By Richard Humphreys |
Bluejack Ranch, a new private club and community in Aledo, Texas, will open its golf course, designed by Tiger Woods’ TGR Design and Beau Welling, in autumn 2026.
The new layout is the second Bluejack course, with the first, Bluejack National, opening its doors in 2016. Bluejack Ranch is located just outside of Fort Worth on a 914-acre former ranch, with TGR Design having created a golf course that will be close to 8,000 from the Tiger tees. The project has been led by Andy and Kristin Mitchell, owners of Bluejack National, with former PGA Tour player and Fort Worth resident J.J. Henry involved as a development partner.
“The site is truly remarkable and very unique for the Fort Worth area” said Bryon Bell, president of TGR Design. “It features rolling topography, rock outcroppings and streams that run throughout the property. It really doesn’t feel like Fort Worth but more resembles Hill Country–type land.
“We worked to place golf holes in the very best locations to take advantage of the outstanding topography and natural features, allowing the course to work with the land. The goal was to fit the golf holes seamlessly into the landscape and highlight the beauty that was already there. In that sense, the process has been more about restraint than imposing our will on the land. The result is going to be something truly special, especially for this part of the world.”
Bluejack Ranch has been built on a former ranch near Fort Worth, Texas (Photo: Bluejack Ranch)
The design team have aimed to create an 18-hole layout that takes full advantage of the site, especially the creeks that wind though the property. “Holes like the third, which plays along a creek to the golfer’s right, and the fourteenth, which plays along a dramatic bluff with a creek to the golfer’s left, are great examples,” said Bell, who also highlights the twelve-to-fourteen stretch as three holes that encapsulate the playing experience at Bluejack Ranch.
The twelfth hole plays from one of the course’s comfort stations. “It’s our short par three, playing quite dramatically downhill,” said Bell. “At only 150 yards, the hole is really going to require a very precise shot to score well. The hole falls off severely to a ravine to the golfer’s right, while the left side features a deep depression golfers will also want to avoid, making for a tricky up-and-down if players miss the green. It’s really a classic short par three.”
The thirteenth hole is a long par four that plays over a ravine. “It stretches nearly 500 yards but typically plays downwind, and wind is a major factor in this part of the world,” said Bell. “With the ‘cape-style’ tee shot, the more players take on the ravine and bunkering to the right, the shorter the hole plays. If golfers play away from the bunkers, they’re left with a much longer approach shot into the green. It really requires strategy and decision-making off the tee. As it often plays downwind and features some interesting pin locations, a smart golfer may even be able to use the run-up area to the green in order to access front pins. It’s a hole one truly has to think their way around based on the conditions.
“The fourteenth plays over the creek, with a large bluff falling sharply toward the water. It’s a driveable short par four filled with risk and reward, heavily bunkered along the right side. The more players look to take on and the closer they play toward the stream, they will be rewarded with a better look into the green, but with significantly more risk. Playing away from the creek can leave golfers safely in the fairway, but it may also result in a tough lie in a fairway bunker. The green is angled in the same direction as the flow of the stream, again asking the golfer to think carefully about how they look to tackle the hole.
“What makes this stretch so interesting is that holes twelve, thirteen and fourteen are all very scoreable in many ways, yet each is filled with hazard features that can quickly lead to higher numbers. They are what we call ‘high volatility’ holes, which we really like because you can see very low scores, but also much larger ones. Over time, we think the smart player will have the most success navigating this stretch.”
TGR Design’s president Byron Bell says the goal was to fit the golf holes seamlessly into the landscape and highlight the beauty that was already there (Photo: Bluejack Ranch)
Like Bluejack National, there additional amenities at Bluejack Ranch. The masterplan also includes around 500 to 550 homes, a working ranch, an outdoor arena, a racquet club, tennis courts, pickleball courts, spas and wellness amenities, and on the edge of the property, there will be a 100-acre commercial and retail district.
Bluejack National has 480 members, with the Ranch expected to reach a similar level.
“The brand Bluejack really means something,” said Bell. “To us, it means the highest quality golf there is but also a great place to be with friends and family – the really human side of golf and the human side of lifestyle and living. They’re very different in many ways in terms of landscape. Bluejack National at the end of the day is going to feel highly manicured with tall pine trees and immaculate turf. Bluejack Ranch is going to have immaculate turf too, but the periphery is going to feel like more of the prairie and more rugged with native grasses and it much more open.”
The course is growing in and preparing to open in summer 2026 (Photo: Bluejack Ranch)
“Bluejack Ranch and National will be very similar in terms of experience and the overall feeling one will have with friends and family anywhere on the property,” said Bell. “Both represent just really high-quality experience. That said, the experiences themselves will be quite different because the environments are so distinct. There has certainly been influence from Bluejack National, which is imminently playable yet still capable of challenging the better player, while creating an atmosphere where people of all skill levels can play together and have fun. That same philosophy will hold true at the Ranch; it will simply be executed in a different way.”