AUSTIN, Texas – Design attributes are being refined and prepared for construction at the Roy Bechtol-designed “Scheff’s Kitchen” at the University of Texas Golf Club, a total renovation of the practice facilities for the Longhorns men’s and women’s golf teams which make their home at the club some 30 minutes west of the university’s main campus.
Scheff’s Kitchen is named for former University of Texas golfer Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top ranked golfer and PGA Tour player of the year, who made a considerable financial contribution to help bankroll the $1 million project.
Scheffler also helped Bechtol, the Austin-based golf course designer and land planner, with the design concepts of the team practice facility. “What an honor it is to work side by side with Scottie, the world’s No. 1 golfer, and have an opportunity to see the facility through the eyes of the best,” Bechtol said.
Construction at the facility will begin in June 2026, with completion currently targeted for Labor Day 2026.
The renovation of the practice facility includes the addition of multiple targets in the driving range; the raising of the teeing area to match one at the opposite end of the range; tree removal and relocation; the addition of artificial turf to replicate bunkering around target greens; the increasing in size and holding characteristics of targets; and drainage and turfing initiatives to allow for both maintenance and aesthetics.
“We are both expanding the practice area to accommodate as much length as the area will allow and make the facility a better extension of the club itself in both feel and functionality,” explained Bechtol, who returned a portion of his design and consulting fee on the project to the University’s Longhorn Foundation.
“We have limited acreage at the driving range and overall practice facility and we are adapting the area to the changes it now needs 22 years after it first opened.”
There will also be a new walkway for access to the UT Academy and additional parking spaces created closer to the teams’ Hannon Building.
Bechtol is a University of Texas alumnus and designed the UT Golf Club’s highly praised 7,412-yard championship golf course with former partner Randy Russell.
Bechtol also helped bring to life the facility’s unique six-hole Spieth Lower Forty, a set of par 3 holes fashioned with former University of Texas golf standout Jordan Spieth that features greens complexes patterned after some of the most famous in the sport.
“This is just the latest move to keep the UT Golf Club one of the preeminent college courses in the nation,” Bechtol said. “I am proud of the legacy that’s been established by our work at the club and appreciate that I have been and continue to a part of keeping the course and its facilities at the cutting edge.”
Internal project coordination will be conducted by University of Texas men’s golf coach John Fields; Steve Termeer, the club’s general manager and COO; Greg Garner, UT Golf Club’s head golf professional; Caleb Wade, the club’s course superintendent; and Brad Elder, a former All-America golfer at Texas and a member of the Texas Golf Hall of Fame.
“It’s also an honor and privilege to work with coach Fields and Steve Termeer and the UTGC pros and staff and to be a continued part of the battlefield for UT golf alongside Mike Meyers and Bill Duvall,” Bechtol said. “It’s a treat to give back to the University and perpetuate its legacy in the game of golf.”
Construction will be performed by Landscapes Unlimited of Lincoln, Nebraska.
