Golfers in Austin, TX

[just plain bill]

justin leonard said playing golf in texas in the usual winds preps ya for all kinds of golf elsewhere...and tiger used to practice in wind and rainy conditions so that he would be the only one to handle it properly in tournaments...makes sense to me...when it's really windy, i kinda like playing...you know youre gonna get a tail wind at some point, and hit some big-boy tee shots, lol...into the wind i'll do an exaggerated closed stance, play the ball back in the stance a bit, close the driver face, and try to hit it 200yds with an easy swing...i think faldo said to swing easier, not harder, into the wind...

this new jailbird putter kinda reminds me of the ping craz-e, which my daughter stole from me...wide, flat bottom, which promotes confidence, or something, and the perpendicular wide white stripes are kinda like the m2 driver, and i found it helps more with hitting the ball on the correct line, cuz i can see how the face is lined up...i tried the m2, but couldnt hit it for some reason,, but i like the white markings perpendicular to the direction the ball is to go...adjustable drivers just dont work for me, for some reason...must be the gear...couldnt be me, lol...

[ramradhakri]

that's cuz texas golf builds your game in preparation for those easier places, lol...

 

When I was first just beginning golf last summer I was shooting in the 95-105 range and headed up to Colorado and promptly shot 88, 86 at two different courses. I really think your statement could be true where Texas golf just prepares you. At the time those were my best scores.

 

I kind of wanna take a trip back up there and play those two courses now that my cap is <10 and see if I can really hammer them.

 

I found I score better when playing out of state course when on vacation. For me it is a combination of not knowing the course (playing conservative) and also not swinging 90-100% with the rental clubs.

[ramradhakri]

Can anyone tell me about Balcones, suppose to be playing in a Member/Guest tournament during Labor Day weekend.

 

easy course.. need course knowledge to go low, but you will be playing with a member so that should not be an issue. Front 9 is flat and straight.

Back 9 is tree lined and relatively tougher.. shot a 74 this morning (my best score after playing there regularly for 2 months)

 

They have $25 guest fee's which includes cart fee on Tue, Wed & Th, so you should take advantage of that if you want to play prior to the tournament.

[just plain bill]

played front 9 at pine forest...greens are really coming around, which is nice! 1-over...

[jflores8]

Can anyone tell me about Balcones, suppose to be playing in a Member/Guest tournament during Labor Day weekend.

 

easy course.. need course knowledge to go low, but you will be playing with a member so that should not be an issue. Front 9 is flat and straight.

Back 9 is tree lined and relatively tougher.. shot a 74 this morning (my best score after playing there regularly for 2 months)

 

They have $25 guest fee's which includes cart fee on Tue, Wed & Th, so you should take advantage of that if you want to play prior to the tournament.

Playing in that labor day tournament?

[just plain bill]

greens at kizer are still not completely recovered, but still a great track...went off the back, 41-36=77 tho, so happy i hung in there...

[just plain bill]

mo willie's greens are dressed with a healthy amount of sand... :(

still had a good time, tho...but the greens were difficult, leading to a dang 81...did birdie 12...

bunker on 8 was not fluffy...compacted wet sand...didnt get it outa the bunker 1st time...2nd time hit the pin and almost dropped in!

[ramradhakri]

Can anyone tell me about Balcones, suppose to be playing in a Member/Guest tournament during Labor Day weekend.

 

easy course.. need course knowledge to go low, but you will be playing with a member so that should not be an issue. Front 9 is flat and straight.

Back 9 is tree lined and relatively tougher.. shot a 74 this morning (my best score after playing there regularly for 2 months)

 

They have $25 guest fee's which includes cart fee on Tue, Wed & Th, so you should take advantage of that if you want to play prior to the tournament.

Playing in that labor day tournament?

 

I won't be playing.. weekend will be taken up with kid's soccer tournament

[just plain bill]

i, just plain bill, solemnly swear never to do something dumb on a golf course again. i dont care how hot it is.

avery ranch today. 4 putted some par 5 on the back. for a dbl...needed to par last two for 79...parred the 3...on in two on 18...3 putted it! after dropping putts like crazy...

i suck. plus i blocked 3 drives with the 10.5 and got in trouble...should just stayed with the 16...

[just plain bill]

btw, avery was in great shape...plus i got the grilled chicken club sandwich before the round...it was stunning! teravista tomorrow afternoon...

 

played kizer today...swingin' easy...parred the front, all pars...bogied 11 12 18...74...i still cant birdie 16!!!! greens are improving, but still spotty...

[KK44]

How bad are Mo Willie's greens? Any better than a month or so ago?

[just plain bill]

of course, you can expect to see some improvement, but they still have the temp green on 16, which makes the hole very interesting! and some greens are still messy, but others are 80-90%...

i just love that course, so i play it anyway! lol

played teravista today, and their grilled chicken club sandwich is way below avery ranch's, if that matters... :) the course is, i would say, friendly...it was in fine condition...the holes were nice and well thought out... i birdied #1, dropping a 12 footer, which is a great way to start a round, obviously...i spent some time hitting a coupla balls and/or dropping and reputting, trying to figure things out in case i ever return...i used the 16* for most tee shots,and the 10.5 maybe 2-3 times, all with success...just playing smart, if that's possible for me, lol...i liked how i was playing, despite a coupla bunkers that got in the way...:)

the course plays thru a neighborhood, and houses are really packed in close, and a coupla holes are right next to a major street/intersection, and to me it kills the ambiance and reduces the experience...not to mention the construction of new homes and other bldgs very nearby, or right next to the hole...reminds me of a course in phoenix, the legends, i think, with packed housing...a bit of a negative for me....some houses i dont mind at all...avery has 'em but they are not as close to the action...i dont feel compressed there...but teravista is nice, but i would play other courses before i go back...certainly, avery is superior for what i look for, or try to feel, or whatever, about a course...

i know there's somebody around these here parts that loves that course, and that's fine...these are just MY opinions, and what i seem to prefer in a course...i guess there's a reason i hadnt played it in 8 years, lol...

give it a play and see what YOU think...i think you'll like the course...but if i'm in round rock i'm playing avery...

fire away...

[KK44]

I like Avery a lot. Definitely my top choice in that area. I think it's #15 or 16 the last par 5 coming in that has a creek that runs across the fairway about 350 or so yards out. It always plays downwind and I always seem to put it in that damn creek somehow. Course is always in good shape. Teravista seems like a budget version of Avery almost. Not bad but something just seems lacking.

 

I played Onion Creek again today. Love that course. Just a classic design. Also helps shooting 78 and playing the same ball the whole round!

[Thug Hunter]

I live in Teravista (TV as us regs call it) and a member of TV. I'm glad you didn't mention anything about hitting a house (my house). The only hole that has building or construction still going on is #2 (and that's a retirement home), so not sure where else you're talking about. The rest of TV home construction is already complete with houses. I've never paid attention to it, but I'm not getting PGA Tour pay to make golf shots either. About the only hole that has major traffic would be the very short and drivable par 4 #5, which runs along University Blvd. Even that hole isn't bothersome.

 

To each his own, leaves more available tee times to members. Avery Ranch is a sister club. Member benefits carry over from TV, but even then, I prefer TV over Avery mainly because I have a 30 second commute to play Teravista.

[just plain bill]

i didnt hit any houses, lol! i hit every fairway except 18!

there was construction, visible and audible from the hole, to the right, on the back...putting up a home...maybe 10 or 11, and i know that's temporary, just like the retirement home...and the hole along university didnt distract me during the actual shots...i just dont care for the hole being so close to the blvd, and the large amount of noise...altho i almost called my insurance agent to have her come out and wave to me...

it's like having a course winding thru the streets of downtown austin, lol

i knew you'd come to the defense of TV...if you like the course, fantastic! i was a member at hillcrest in the phx area, and by the 2nd year i couldnt stand playing the same place so much...i like variety...and since i play over 100 rounds a year, (and it was 150 a yr in phx) it would be too much to ever be a member someplace ever again...even the quarry in san antonio! and that's my favorite course of all time!

everybody has opinions because we all like what we like in a course, or music, or whatever...tv is a fine course. i just dont like that they crammed a golf course in between the housing, diluting the experience for me...and i much prefer avery anyway...

i wont be taking any tee times from y'all!

:)

[just plain bill]

I like Avery a lot. Definitely my top choice in that area. I think it's #15 or 16 the last par 5 coming in that has a creek that runs across the fairway about 350 or so yards out. It always plays downwind and I always seem to put it in that damn creek somehow. Course is always in good shape. Teravista seems like a budget version of Avery almost. Not bad but something just seems lacking.

 

I played Onion Creek again today. Love that course. Just a classic design. Also helps shooting 78 and playing the same ball the whole round!

how the heck are you getting on onion? isnt it private?

and i dont have to worry about my drive landing in a creek 350yds away, lol...

i'm kind of using the 16* more cuz the 17* hybrid allows me to hit longer approaches...if the fairway is wide enough, i'll use the 10.5...just depends on the day and how i'm hitting it...but the 16* goes 200 straight as an arrow....

as an aside, i hit academy first, and saw a wilson 68* wedge! hmm...i wish ping made a 64*...i have a cleveland 64*, but there's something about it i dont like...i like a wider sole...

[KK44]

I can get on Onion Creek bc I have a club membership through my fiancé that works at UT that allows me two tee times there per month.

[just plain bill]

awesome! i would say you are lucky, but i'm studying 'luck' on wikipedia...very interesting...

[just plain bill]

so i got the 68* and headed to kizer, but didnt have a real opportunity to use it, so i carried 3 balls in my pocket, with the 'score' ball struck first, then drove greenside and hit some high lofted flops after my score ball was on the green...i can definitely see this being a part of my game...very little roll out, so you need to really go after the pin...and, in fact, i chipped my score ball with it on 8, and hit the pin! also, you need to give it some extra oomph to get it there, as you can imagine...

kizer's greens are getting there, slowly but shirley...played only the front...too dang humid and sweaty...plus i was saving myself for corpus, but since i got home it looks like they're gonna get rain too...wanna try palmella, then whatever they have in victoria monday, but rain all over...

picked up a hot deal for wolfdancer for sunday, but we'll see how the wx goes...figured since i gave TV a 2nd chance, why not the wolf?

[just plain bill]

dumb idea...wolfdancer is too tough for me...i cant figure out those greens...ball striking was ok, but the wolf plays so long, i found myself getting in trouble on approaches...and none of us could make a putt...pinn soft held the greens just fine, which was something i really wanted to see...i would have to play the senior tees to have a chance, which means i would have to admit i'm a senior, and it's bad enough i'm playing the whites already!

[ramradhakri]

dumb idea...wolfdancer is too tough for me...i cant figure out those greens...ball striking was ok, but the wolf plays so long, i found myself getting in trouble on approaches...and none of us could make a putt...pinn soft held the greens just fine, which was something i really wanted to see...i would have to play the senior tees to have a chance, which means i would have to admit i'm a senior, and it's bad enough i'm playing the whites already!

 

Bill, are you playing in the rain? Got 6 inches this weekend the NW area, so haven't even attempted trying to head out.

[just plain bill]

we got some rain on 18 at wolf...

rain pushed me off after 9 at kizer yesterday...everything was too wet and was affecting grips and shots...

[jsanatx]

Falconhead was in great shape yesterday, even though Lakeway got like 10 inches of rain the last few days. Fairways were a bit soggy, but much less than i expected. Greens were good also after the 4th, they were crosscutting and sanding them, but we got ahead of the crew after 4. Thanks to awr_84 for the invite, had a great time, this guy can play !!

[Thug Hunter]

This rain is pissing me off. I had T/W/TH off this week and the rain has kept Teravista pretty much unplayable.

[just plain bill]

plus, with the atmosphere so unstable, it's hard for meteorologists to accurately predict when and where it's gonna come down...i was willing to drive to port aransas last weekend, but then THEY got rain as well...as long as i can at least get 9 in i feel like it was worth it, lol...

and this weekend looks iffy for the entire region...gonna play somewhere!

[Thug Hunter]

I just got back from Top Golf. Took my 2.5 year old son, who was also feening to hit some golf balls.

[J_Birdie]

The rain is so bad that we are resorting to calling the rocks at TopGolf "golf balls"

[Thug Hunter]

Unfortunately, yes!

[duffer987]

Have been reading up here and other places online about Austin courses (maybe a work relo, more likely not) and I see that the city munis allow fivesomes and actively enable you to book them.

Does that mean on weekend mornings the course is full of fivesomes? One of my favorite things about a pre 8am tee time is that you can typically get around in good time. Fivesomes is pretty much the antithesis of that. Can you still get around in sub-4 with that many golfers?

Thanks!

[J_Birdie]

I have not played a sub 5 hour round at an Austin muni. All 5 times I have played were weekends between 9-11am so take that info and small sample with whatever salt you want