Rayburn Country Resort Golf Course — Hotel in Jasper

Rayburn Country Resort in Brookeland, Texas, sits nestled along the shores of Lake Sam Rayburn. It was built in 1968 to serve as the centerpiece of the master plan community, encompassing 3,300 acres of lakefront property. For golf lovers, there’s an 18-hole Robert Trent Jones golf course and an immaculate 14,000-square-foot clubhouse, as well as a hotel, a restaurant named Sammy Ray's, a family pool area, tennis courts, a fitness center, a marina, and banquet space. Future plans include hiking and biking trails, a bar and game room, a spa, and other improvements aimed at appealing to a wider variety of vacationers. Many of these amenities are available at no charge to residents of the community.

Guests have several dining options available. Sammy Ray’s is the ultimate bar and grill experience. It's perfect for either date night or treating the team to dinner after that big win. It’s also the area’s go-to venue on Friday with free live music.

The Angelina Room is located in the main clubhouse and offers a great selection of steaks and chops as well as some interesting seafood dishes. And, they have a pretty good Tex-Mex menu!

The golf course, once known as Rayburn Country Club, has undergone a significant transformation over the years. The front nine was designed by Jay Riviere and opened in 1968. The back nine was designed by legendary golf course architect Robert Trent Jones and opened in 1972. The 3rd nine, known as the Family 9, was designed by Robert Von Hagge.

The Front 9 was always a member favorite, probably because it was the easiest of the three layouts. The fairways are generous, water only comes into play once, and so do the bunkers. The Back 9 also has generous landing areas off the tee, although the many doglegs may have you second-guessing your club selection. The holes are much tighter, the approaches are more challenging, and the majority of the greens are elevated. When all 3 nines were playable, the Family 9 was the toughest, relying on shot placement and small greens. Driver was usually not a good choice of the tee, even on the 600-yard double dogleg.

After years of neglect, the front and back nines have been renovated, and decisions are being made on what to do with the 3rd nine. Now featuring over 150 feet of elevation change, this redesigned course has brought new life to the property and is quickly becoming a bona fide golf destination.

The golf course will appeal to all skill levels, as long as you pick the right set of tees! The designers did a fantastic job of blending the natural beauty of the surrounding piney woods with well-placed hazards, bunkers, and undulating greens. Skilled players will be presented with several risk/reward opportunities as they play the course; what they choose to do is up to them!

The course has several memorable holes. Number 6 is a picturesque par 4 that looks like something straight out of North Carolina. The hole plays 410 yards with tall pine trees lining both sides of the fairway, so keeping the ball in play will go a long way in posting a good score. The green is elevated and protected on each side by deep bunkers.

The 10th hole at Rayburn Country Resort is a dogleg left par 5 that plays downhill the majority of the way. I mention that because at some point, you’ll be faced with a downhill lie as you approach the green, something not all players are comfortable with, and may prohibit you from going for the green in two. Another deterrent is the “chasm” that crosses the fairway about fifty yards in front of the green, which is a lot wider than deep.

Number 16 is another great golf hole. It’s a dogleg right par 4, playing 442 yards (I’ve played shorter par 5s!). The tee shot is semi-blind, so just hit it down the middle. Your approach shot plays downhill into a very large green protected by grass bunkers on the left and a small pot bunker on the right. It will take two long and well-struck shots to reach the green...

I have been going to Rayburn for over 10 years for Golf Outings. The resort is definitely moving in the right direction, new additions are going to be great. The out door Bar and the Breakfast café are both amazing and ALL the staff is Amazing very helpful joke around a lot and you can tell they enjoy their jobs and the new owner. So if this wasn't a golf resort at its roots then it would get a 4.5 stars. However, the golf course the the main reason ALOT of people go to Rayburn Resort and the golf course needs a lot of attention. I am a 1 handicap and I like to play the ball down, however that is impossible here. The greens were very rough mainly due to the poanna (nasty crab grass, however once the temperature is above 65 all day that will die off naturally so that is understood) the greens got better as the 5 day trip continued. However, for a resort I will still only rate the greens 7 out of 10. The course its self had quite a few of dead spots in the fairways, which was painful. If you did hit grass then the grass and fairways were amazing. Still to many dead spots. I see all the buildings bars and restaurants they are building and I understand business I know those bring a ton more money in than golf, however a nice course it talked to amongst golfers and will help drive large groups. I will be going back in July and I will rerate these if there are changes which I hope there are for the positive. Staff = 10 Accommodation's = 8 Food/Bar = 10 Value = 10 Golf Carts = 10 (USB Speakers & Charger's Built in & work) Greens = 7 (need to roll better and faster, IMO) Fairways = 6 Over All Golf Course = 7.5 (Playable but needs...

Played here on the 10th and 11th of June. On Friday 10th we had a 1:40 tee time. When we arrived thirty minutes early there were no carts, as they were allowing players to play to consecutive rounds. Most of them parked their carts and were in the restaurant in between their rounds. Eventually we got a cart, about thirty minutes after our tee time. When we arrived at the first hole there was literally an 8some on the box. I told the gentleman inside and he told me to proceed to the 10th hole. This should never happen at any reputable course. It was quite ridiculous. The course was in okay shape, some tee boxes and greens need some work. During the round I saw a twosome on the course that were wearing tee shirts and brought it to the attention to the pro shop after the round and she told me the owner wanted to have a course "welcoming to all". We ate at the restaurant after our round and everything about the meal was fantastic. Service was great and so was the food. When playing Saturday morning, things were much better, we had a cart and pace of play was very good. Saw the cart girl multiple times during both rounds and she did a great job. Overall this place has great potential, and I will be back with the hope the golf experience improves. With the great things they have done to improve the resort (hotel, coffee shop, restaurant, and bar) I hope they will put the same energy/investment into making the golf experience better for...