Golfers in Austin, TX

[Reidman]

Vaaler Creek is close to you...and a hidden gem.

[just plain bill]

Vaalar for sure!!!!

[J_Birdie]

Vaaler is an excellent course

[Norbe5]

Ended up at wolfdancer.. Man what a tough course!!

I'll definitely check out Vaaler creek next Wednesday! If anyone cares to join

[just plain bill]

listen to your elders! lol

[Norbe5]

Picked up a tee time on golfnow for 29$ at 10:50 if anyone wants to join for Vaaler tomorrow

[just plain bill]

you're gonna love vaaler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

just be careful on 18...

[Norbe5]

Man Vaaler Creek is gorgeous!!! Loved the course, green slopes were crazy but real nice layout!

[just plain bill]

how did you handle 18?

[Norbe5]

how did you handle 18?

 

Hybrid off the tee, 165 left to the pin. Missed the green to the right, under the tree after the bridge and got up and down for par.

Loved the course!

[J_Birdie]

Drive that green all day!

[Thug Hunter]

Drive that green all day!

 

But have you ever made the putt?

[just plain bill]

I gotta see that...

[J_Birdie]

Drive that green all day!

 

But have you ever made the putt?

 

Putting is for losers who can't hook chicks with bomb drives

[just plain bill]

kids...

[J_Birdie]

?

[just plain bill]

18 is quite the finisher...too bad it's such a long drive to the course...from bastrop or round rock...

[Norbe5]

18 is quite the finisher...too bad it's such a long drive to the course...from bastrop or round rock...

I liked the drive from San Marcos, didn't have to worry about traffic jams like I do when I play any SA or Aistin course

[just plain bill]

hour and a half is exhausting, especially coming back... :(

[duffer987]

What's folk's feelings about texasoutside.com as a golf review site, especially of the Austin/San Antonio courses? Are they reasonably accurate - all things being equal for such a subjective topic.

 

They do repeat a lot of the same stuff if you read a bunch of their reviews; however, they seem pretty good at giving a decent overview for the feel of the course, quality of the greens, general condition, and walkability.

[just plain bill]

i think they rate everything pretty dang high...like they're trying to attract biz from the courses or something...just ask us here and we'll give you the lowdown on the courses you might want to play and how much you want to spend on green fees...of course, you'll get differing opinions, but if you stick with MY suggestions you'll be very happy, lol...

i mean, they have colovista rated waaaaay higher than lions, and colovista has really gone to the dogs, condition-wise...heck, i LIVE in bastrop and don't play it...

[duffer987]

Thanks :)

Ya they do seem to like everything - heck I try and be as positive as I can about any course I play, but a swamp or a dried out shooting gallery is what it is.

[just plain bill]

i thoroughly enjoy lions, as well as kizer (despite the greens, but many have come back), along with jimmy clay, mo williams...those are the 4 i play repeatedly...but if you want to spend a lot more money there certainly are courses here that'll take it...but my favorite course of all time (and i've played all over) is the quarry in san antonio...

[duffer987]

i thoroughly enjoy lions, as well as kizer (despite the greens, but many have come back), along with jimmy clay, mo williams...those are the 4 i play repeatedly...but if you want to spend a lot more money there certainly are courses here that'll take it...but my favorite course of all time (and i've played all over) is the quarry in san antonio...

 

Ya I prefer to walk and those look like good options. Obviously you don't want a course to be so knackered as to impact your enjoyment of it, but interesting design and playability take precedence over pristineness for me, so I reckon the munis are a good shout!

[just plain bill]

kizer is made for walking...i currently play 7 outa 10 rounds there...lotta fun, and you can score! couple of the greens are back to normal...look, if the course sucked, i wouldnt play it...but it's so much fun despite a coupla greens being bad...we just move the ball onto grass, then putt...no big deal...

[Thug Hunter]

I understand Bill always recommending Kizer as his favorite due to his location and apparent budget, but I would never refer someone visiting Austin for the first time to play a City of Austin managed golf course. Those courses are hackers paradise and the quality just isn't there Bill, sorry if that offends you. I played all those courses regularly when I was a financially struggling college kid, but with the exception of a round or two at Lions, I haven't played any of them in nearly 15 years and don't care to either. I've been a Police Officer in Austin for 14 years and have lived in Austin since 1993. I worked 6th St for 4 of my 14 years with APD and have met a ton of visitors to Austin over that time. In conversation with a number of folks here to play golf and take advantage of the Austin nightlife, not once have I ever heard them say they were here to play at Kizer, Clay, Mo WIlly, Lions, Riverside, BlueBonnet, etc. nor have I ever recommended anyone play those courses during their visit. We all know you love Kizer, you've stated that many many times, but referring a Canadian living in California to play Kizer or Lions or any other course I mentioned is like referring Mario Andretti to go to K-1 Speed for a night of fun.

[just plain bill]

thug, you also think teravista is the cat's meow, while i, and others, don't find it to be compelling...i knew you'd weigh in with your negative comments about the muni's...you're welcome to your opinion, but i heartily disagree...

since i play 100+ rounds a year, and probably spend close to $3000+ a year on green fees, my budget allows me to play a lot, fortunately, and that's with boat expenses of $400 a month...i aint cheap podnuh, but i know what i like...strangely enough, i find more expensive courses to not be as much fun as the less expensive, and not nearly as interesting... you pay a bunch, and in the end you wish you'd played a muni or less expensive course, cuz the high dollar course doesnt offer a bigger bang for the buck...

i've played riviera in los angeles, tpc scottsdale, belair in la, the boulders in scottsdale, etc etc ...i didnt think they were worth the extra money...(actually, i played riviera for free. i wouldnt pay over $40 to play it again) sure, muni's aren't always in pristine shape, but i find their layouts to be far more interesting...mo willie is a fascinating layout, offering all the risk/reward you could ask for...same could be said of jimmy clay and lions...bluebonnet isn't in quite the same league, but it's got a lot of variety and is a blast...(actually, i dont think i'd pay more than $20 for riviera...rather play the 2 river ridge courses in ventura...)

oh, and i never hear anyone visiting here asking to play teravista...but they do ask about avery...and every single person i've had visit has agreed that the aforementioned muni's were a blast to play...

plus, you don't know hip's budget...maybe the muni's are right up his alley...but if you think he'd be fascinated with TV, i would have to point him to other tracks that i think are a lot more fun to play...heck, i could play TV any time i wanted to, but i find other courses to be more to my liking...

 

and ben hogan said #16 (?) was his favorite par 4...you know, the one at lions?

[J_Birdie]

I'd say Lions seems like a cool historical course to play as a visitor but I sort of agree with Thug Hunter on Kizer. I have played it 3 times and just blech @ the conditions. It's hard to take stock of the track itself when it's in such bad shape. But I do agree it was made for walking :)

[Thug Hunter]

and ben hogan said #16 (?) was his favorite par 4...you know, the one at lions?

 

I'll just agree to disagree, but will say this in regards to your statement above. Did Hogan ever say anything about the other 17 holes? I like Lions as a golf course, I really do, but the City of Austin should not be in charge of its upkeep and its condition is just one reason of its inevitable closure. If a golf course management company owned it and did some renovations to it (both course and facilities), it'd be a fun little course and worth the visit. Unfortunately that would never happen because it just wouldn't draw enough people to justify such changes.

[J_Birdie]

and ben hogan said #16 (?) was his favorite par 4...you know, the one at lions?

 

I'll just agree to disagree, but will say this in regards to your statement above. Did Hogan ever say anything about the other 17 holes? I like Lions as a golf course, I really do, but the City of Austin should not be in charge of its upkeep and its condition is just one reason of its inevitable closure. If a golf course management company owned it and did some renovations to it (both course and facilities), it'd be a fun little course and worth the visit. Unfortunately that would never happen because it just wouldn't draw enough people to justify such changes.

 

I agree that the CoA should charter a private non-profit golf company to manage their city courses. San Antonio did this in 2007 and every single one of their courses was absolute garbage.

 

Today, I play on the little city amateur tour and they go to every single course and while some are better than others I will say the quality of even the lowest end (Mission Del Lago) SA city course is better than the best Austin city muni I have played. And Brackenridge is always in top shape, sometimes I find it in better shape than La Cantera or Quarry.

 

Turning the courses over to the private company saved the courses, got more players to the courses, and now they're about to open up a public world-class practice facility at San Pedro.

 

My dad was the chairman of Parks & Rec for SA when that transition happened and it was a hard pill to swallow because it required the city to front an assload of cash to found the private company, but now Parks & Rec gets a % kickback from the courses and it's the Park & Rec's largest revenue stream.

 

Parks departments know how to manage parks, not golf courses.