Many of Austin’s private golf options sit astride Austin luxury neighborhoods, where golf courses typically are found lining the backs of beautiful houses or tucked away in green hill country, providing scenic beauty and sweeping vistas to enjoy between swings.
Austin Country Club
Founded in 1899, Austin Country Club is one of the oldest existing clubs and one of the first private clubs of its kind in the state. It was founded by Lewis Hancock to provide sport, fitness, relaxation, and fresh air to the working men of the day, and today is open to men and women from across the city. The club is home to the great golf instructor Harvey Penick and consists of an 18-hole Pete Dye design course. The club also features a golf learning center, 10 lighted tennis courts, a heated swimming pool, indoor fitness facility, 57 boat slips, and a large clubhouse. The clubhouse provides dining areas, a ballroom, meeting room facilities, and locker rooms. The club has relocated several times since its founding, and today resides next to the prestigious Davenport Ranch community.
Barton Creek Country Club
The Barton Creek Country Club, touted as the best golf resort in Texas by numerous travel publications, is comprised of four distinct courses. Each course is 18-holes and was created with the input of golf legends to incorporate love of the game with beauty of the Austin hill country. The club’s signature course is Fazio Foothills, designed by Tom Fazio. It features dramatic cliff-lined fairways, natural limestone caves, and waterfalls. The Fazio Canyons course is a 7,153-yard, par-72 layout also designed by Tom Fazio. The Crenshaw Cliffside course was designed by Ben Crenshaw and partner Bill Coore. Features of the course include rolling hills, natural plateaus, and native vegetation on a championship layout. The Palmer Lakeside is perched on a hilltop overlooking Lake Travis. Twenty-five miles west of the Barton Creek Resort, the Palmer Lakeside is known for panoramic lake views and wildlife spotting.
Lost Creek Country Club
The Lost Creek Country Club was a rural ranch until 1972 and now features a newly renovated golf course, 16 tennis courts, a state-of-the-art fitness facility, three pools, and dining facilities alongside the heavily treed Lost Creek neighborhood. The Lost Creek course is a par-72 championship course and includes a driving range, putting green, and state-of-the-art learning center to analyze and perfect golf swings. In addition to being a beautiful course, Lost Creek is also one of the most environmentally friendly Austin courses. Barton Creek traverses the course as its waters travel to Barton Springs Pool, creating beautiful natural landmarks and scenery.
University of Texas Golf Club
The University of Texas Golf Club is a 7,412 yard, par-71 championship golf course created by Bechtol Russell Golf Design. The course, located high in the Texas hill country close to Steiner Ranch homes, overlooks Lake Austin and Lake Travis and borders the Balcones Natural Wildlife Preserve. This combination creates challenging shots combined with beautiful vistas. This course is the official home of The University of Texas Golf Teams and includes a state-of-the-art practice facility and luxury clubhouse with dining areas, pro shop, locker rooms, fitness facility, and bars. The Club also offers adult and kiddie pools that feature a unique beach entrance, an in-water lounge chair area, and splash pads.
Onion Creek Golf Club
Onion Creek Club is one of Austin’s historic golf clubs, founded in 1974 by three-time Masters Champion Jimmy Demaret. In 1996, Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore blended nine new holes with Demaret’s original design, transforming the original course into a 27-hole golf course. The Club also offers swimming, tennis, fitness, and dining facilities. While the club is known around town for its merits as a challenging course, it also holds the title of “Birthplace of the Senior PGA Tour,” having hosted the first Senior PGA event in 1978. The Legends of Golf also was held at the Onion Creek Club from 1978-1989, and the Club hosted The Harvey Penick Invitation, an LPGA Tour Event, from 1999-2001.
Read about Austin's public golf courses.
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