Austin rocks, rolls, and swings with great public golf

Wolfdancer

Texas’ capital city of Austin used to be a sleepy secret, its verdant rolling hills along massive lakes and rivers mostly isolated. Austin’s combination of laidback lifestyle and “keep-in-weird” attitude all but assured that only those folks that really wanted to live there did, and those that preferred the hustle and bustle of the big city were encouraged to move on to Houston, or Dallas, or even — to a lesser extent — San Antonio. 

But that was 35 years ago, and since then – and especially since the turn of the 21st century – Austin has been a boom town, carrying the suburbs around it to huge growths in population. The city itself has a population of nearly 1 million, almost three times the amount of people that lived there in 1980. The metro area is home to 2.3 million folks. 

The golf scene in Austin has not grown at such a rate – in fact, it’s barely grown at all. There are six municipal courses run by the city of Austin’s Parks and Recreation, and all those facilities were open prior to 2000.  

Several of the near and outlying suburbs have very good public access courses, and there is fine resort play available at the Omni Barton Creek Resort, at the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort in Bastrop, at the Lakeway Resort some 30 miles to the west and at the Horseshoe Bay Resort about a half-hour’s further drive into the Hill Country. 

But the amount of golf available is not in line with an all-weather region that sports more than 300 days of sunshine. Yes, it’s a fact that Austin is the “Live Music Capital of the World,” and has dozens of the best barbeque restaurants in the nation and has literally hundreds of activities to enjoy besides golf. 

That’s not to say Austin is not a golf town – it is. In fact, in 2008 Golf Magazine named Austin as America’s top city for golf. It’s just not a “golf only” destination, and that’s just fine with us.  

Below we outline a half-dozen of the best public access courses in the area; play two of these a day and throw in time for trip downtown to hear some music and people watch and lunch at one of the plethora of smoked meat establishments or Mexican food restaurants and you can have Texas-sized good time and a whale of a four-day golf trip. 

Wolfdancer

Wolfdancer GC is three courses in one 

We will begin with the finer-than-fine Wolfdancer Golf Club at the posh but Texas-centric Hyatt Lost Pines Resort in Bastrop. The wild and wooly Arthur Hills designed course is part of the resort by allowing outside public play as well, and it has to be on top of the bucket list courses in the area. 

Wolfdancer GC is set in the rolling hills along the banks of the Colorado River and among stands of tall “lost” pines. The 7,205-yard, par-72 course opened in June 2006 and makes the most of the region’s terrain and natural beauty.  

On many golf courses, an architect is lucky to have two desirable golf environments in which to create distinct golf holes. At Wolfdancer GC, Hills and associate Steve Forrest had three: high prairie, forested ridgeline, and a sparsely wooded floodplain along the river bank. 

Things change – and get a lot harder – when you leave the stunning 12th green and descend to the river valley below. The final six holes run back and forth in the flatlands along the Colorado and cut through the old, broad-canopied oak, cedar, and pecan trees. 

Star Ranch GC, the home of the friendly bounces 

Moving northwest and up the Texas 130 toll road to the town of Hutto is Star Ranch Golf Club, the centerpiece of a huge (and getting bigger every day) community and one of the friendliest places you will ever play golf.  

The course, designed by the Austin-based partnership of Roy Bechtol and Randy Russell and opened in 2001, is heaving and gorgeous and green. Mounding along its edges catches shots that are a little offline and return them into play – shots over the mounds find a much worse fate. Located atop a hill, the course follows the natural contours of the land while using a central lake and prevailing winds to create an experience both formidable and fun. 

Grip it and rip it on the 13th, which, at 532 yards is a reachable par-5 and poses little trouble until you get to the green. The fun really begins at the 14th, which at 376 yards challenges you to hit 3-wood or a long-iron between two sets of fairway bunkers to a landing area that is downhill. The shallow, three-tiered green sits on a rock ledge, with a stream in front and a cactus garden behind.  

And thanks to Star Ranch‘s “all-inclusive” package, players get a round of golf with cart, unlimited range balls and breakfast and lunch for one low rate. Replays, as available, are also at a discounted rate. 

Star Ranch

Avery Ranch GC rewards the big hitter 

Native Americans were the first to utilize the site that became Avery Ranch Golf Club, set about 20 minutes west of Star Ranch. But once the Spanish came into the area in the 1800s, they attempted to strengthen the frontier against Indian attacks by building a military post near the headwaters of Brushy Creek, a water body that runs in and around the course here, and it affects play and lends beauty on many holes.  

Avery Ranch Golf Club opened in 2002 and has thrived with continual activity thanks to its maintenance standards, clubhouse, dining area and, most importantly, its design and playability.  

The course, which occupies 226 acres within a burgeoning community, was designed by Andy Raugust – who worked with Jack Nicklaus for several years, including contributions on the design of the spectacular Cabo Del Sol in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. At Avery Ranch, Raugust blended gently rolling hills with oak-lined fairways and a 60-acre lake.  

It’s easy to see what attracted so many to the land as the scenery of Avery Ranch GC provides captivating views of Texas Hill Country. 

The 7,121-yard, par-72 track offers five tee placements to entice low handicappers while creating an enjoyable golfing experience for all skills. The back nine at Avery Ranch is a 3-3-3 blend of par 3s, par 4s and par 5s. Players who are long and accurate off the tee can take big swings, and big chances, at Avery Ranch GC. For middle- to high-handicappers, there’s a reward for being in the fairway.  

Avery Ranch

Lions Municipal GC fights for survival 

One of the first places this author played golf was at the city of Austin-run Lions Municipal Golf Course, just west of the heart of Austin’s downtown sector and north of Lady Bird Lake on green space that has become more precious by the minute. 

Nicknamed “Muny,” the course occupies more than 140 acres and is recognized by the National Parks Department as the first desegregated golf course south of the Mason-Dixon Line,  a facility that’s credited with breaking down the racial barrier in 1950. 

The 18-hole, 6,001-yard  course sits on the Greater Brackenridge Tract and opened in 1924. Though the land of the course is owned by the University of Texas, the city has leased it since 1936. But the leasing agreement has reportedly expired and the city and the university are still  trying to reach a new agreement to save the course. 

Muny is not a world-beater of a course, but it is important for Austin and its golf history. Its survival has become a cause celebre for many, including native Austinite Ben Crenshaw, who grew up three blocks from the first tee. 

It’s a fun round, with a handful of challenges and tight fairways and a quirky routing – but if you are in Austin to play golf, you have to play here. 

Falconhead GC checks all the boxes 

Many experienced players believe that Falconhead Golf Club, set in the west Austin suburb of Lakeway, is the finest public-access course in the area. Designed by Chris Gray and the PGA Tour Design Center, Falconhead offers outstanding and challenging golf in one of the most beautiful areas of Texas, so close to hulking Lake Travis that you can often smell the water. 

The course was the first constructed as part of the PGA Tour Signature Series projects (Falconhead has since dropped the PGA logo from its signage and scorecard) and is intended to give public players an upscale experience at a reasonable price while testing top players.  

This is a track you’ll mentally revisit long after the round. It’s fun, challenging for any skill level, and fair. Opened in 2003 Falconhead stretches to 7,302 yards from its back set of five tees, and can be a bear when the wind is up, which it always seems to be.  

The layout blends with and complements the terrain. Falconhead‘s most striking holes — the ones that impress you visually and technically – are its second, eighth, 15th, and closing holes. All these demand sound analysis from the tee.  

The eighth is the most photographed hole. The 184-yard par-3 was built out on a ledge that hangs over a pool of water and a flowing stream. It’s beautiful and can be downright daunting in its place right before the turn.  

Its minimalist nature here is evident in the subtlety of the greens. Don’t be fooled however, as this is a Hill Country course and the “valley effect” is ever present. Green speed and firmness must constantly be noted. 

Falconhead is a fun place to play and the experience is memorable. We’ve always been struck by the fact that we’ve been rewarded for good shot-making here. 

Falconhead

Onion Creek, birthplace of PGA Champions tour, is still a great test 

We will wrap up this feature on Austin-area golf with a little about Onion Creek Club, just south of the city but now in the middle of everything. Back in the late 1970s, golf fans became familiar with the club after it hosted the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf Tournament, the precursor to, first, the Senior Tour, and later the PGA Champions Tour. 

The course was designed by Jimmy Demaret and founded by Texas amateur golf legend Jimmie Connolly in 1974 and more than held its own against the great golfers of the black-and-white television days. 

In 1996, two-time Master’s champion Crenshaw and Bill Coore blended nine new holes with Demaret’s original design, in the process creating one of the most beautiful tracks in Texas.  

With its gently rolling fairways shaded by towering cypress, oak and pecan trees that line the banks of Onion Creek, the current 27-hole track (which can be played in its original configuration or as a combo of the Demaret-Crenshaw/Coore design) is still a thrill to play and a shotmakers’ heaven.  

Since Demaret initially sent a balata golf ball rocketing down the first fairway, Onion Creek Club has held a special place in golf history. It’s not the hardest course, but you have to be on your toes. Thanks to the various configurations, its relative flatness and overall beauty, it’s a course you don’t get tired of playing. 

Demaret never saw the tournament he co-founded with Fred Raphael turn into the tour that today awards millions of dollars each year to the players over 50. But you’d have to think he is looking down and smiling at the way Onion Creek has survived and thrived after almost five decades.  

After playing Onion Creek Club, you’ll understand why the great players of past generations enjoyed it so much. It’s a track for the ages – all ages that is – with a nod to the past. 

Onion Creek