Bastrop State Park
Golf course
### Golf course

Bastrop State Park was one of the few state parks in the Texas to have a golf course, and the only one to have up to 18 holes. In the 1930s, the CCC designed and built the golf course along with the WPA and the Bastrop Golf Club. Named the Lost Pines Golf Course, it was originally built as a nine\-hole course. The golf course hosted golfers as early as 1936 and was part of the CCC's intended park design. It was expanded to an 18\-hole course in 1995\. The golf course occupied  of the park and operated successfully for over 70 years. However, after the 2011 wildfires, golfer attendance greatly reduced and revenues decreased by at least thirty\-five percent. The course's main water pump broke in October 2014, delaying the seedings of the course's greens and decreasing revenue even more.

In January 2015, Bastrop State Park closed the golf course due to financial struggles but expressed plans to repurpose the land for recreation. Park authorities said they wanted to construct an amphitheater, a nature center, and several hike and bike trails over the golf course. These facilities would include an education center on the ecology of the Lost Pines and the endangered Houston toad, new picnic sites, natural playscapes, and a restored lake. The backbone of this project was a proposed trail system that included a  hike\-and\-bike trail, a  educational trail, a  hike\-only trail, and a  long sidewalk connecting Bastrop State Park's entrance with the city of Bastrop through Chesnut Street.

The golf course's closure was not favorably received by some Bastrop residents, who said that the course was an amenity that attracted visitors and added to the park's beauty. For decades, the golf course operated as a leased concession; the TPWD tried twice to search for new operators but were unsuccessful in closing a contract and were forced to close the golf course. Two years prior, the golf course's maintenance worsen as it began to get overgrown by weeds and grass. Required repairs to the golf course's irrigation system and the high costs to protect the endangered Houston toad hindered the course's viability. Other factors like droughts, wildfires, and flood damaged also worsened the park's condition and furthered the park's decision to close the golf course permanently.

According to a survey from the TPWD, fifty\-seven percent of respondents in 2015 said that they favored the park's project to close the golf course and implement the new additions. Additionally, a vast majority of Bastrop residents, roughly around ninety percent, said in a parks study that year that they were interested in more trails and outdoor programs. These responses were factors in the TPWD's decision to move forward with closing the golf course and pushing for a "tribute green" program to educate [future generations](/wiki/Future_generations "Future generations") on the role that Lost Pines Golf Course played in Bastrop State Park's history. "We have to look past the golf course at this time," principal planner Matt Fougerat said in 2015\. "We can’t go back."

TPWD estimated that this project would cost between US$4\.2 and US$5 million to complete. Bastrop State Park funds were not enough to cover the estimations, and park authorities said that the money would have to be approved and funded by the Texas Legislature, which approves fundings for parks every two years. The money, however, is not guaranteed, and park planners said that it could be close to a decade before the funding is approved for this project in Bastrop State Park. In 2014, state officials cut TPWD funding by US$36 million. Considering that the TPWD had a backlog of US$800 million in repairs when Bastrop State Park submitted the proposal, this considerably delayed the golf course renovation.


What would happen if the Lost Pines Golf Course was not closed and renovated?