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Lions Municipal Golf Course
Rating Snapshot
About
Lions upstaged the prestigious sand-greened Austin Country Club when it opened with Bermuda greens in 1923, and has been Austin’s most beloved municipal ever since. Although no one knows for sure who officially designed this short, 6,000-yard classic, it appears that many members of Austin’s golf scene were involved, including Harvey and Tom Penick, and perhaps even the legendary John Bredemus. Either way, the design is famously unique, jammed into an unusually small piece of oak and cedar-covered terrain north of Town Lake. The track features loads of trees, even more doglegs, and some subtleties that have stood the test of time.
Lions’ colorful history is part of what attracts the 100,000-some-odd folks that cram the course every year. Ben Hogan teamed with Harvey Penick here in the 1950s for an exhibition match. He put on a show by stumbling around the first hole as if he’d spent the previous night partaking of drink, only to straighten it out and light up the course, much to the delight of the patrons. The story involves Lion’s No. 16 signature hole, which was No. 7 back then. Hogan was apparently a bit intimidated by the view from the tee. His question “Where’s the fairway?” has been asked many times over the years as hacks prepare to negotiate the blind tee shot on this 381-yard par 4. And while the hole isn’t as difficult today as it was back then, the approach is still testy over the water into a sloping, elevated green.
Getting there : From Mopac south, take the Enfield exit and turn right. Drive up the hill and make a left when you see the entrance to the course.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | 71 | 6001 yards | 69.2 | 114 |
| White | 71 | 5642 yards | 67.3 | 110 |
| White (W) | 71 | 5642 yards | 72.4 | 122 |
| Red | 71 | 4931 yards | 63.1 | 100 |
| Red (W) | 71 | 4931 yards | 67.7 | 113 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue M: 68.3/110 W: 74.1/130 | 359 | 495 | 393 | 155 | 375 | 367 | 157 | 467 | 312 | 3080 | 287 | 320 | 493 | 146 | 509 | 128 | 395 | 166 | 301 | 2745 | 5825 |
| White M: 65.7/103 W: 70.1/118 | 338 | 477 | 366 | 140 | 308 | 339 | 144 | 449 | 297 | 2858 | 272 | 305 | 434 | 115 | 489 | 105 | 380 | 151 | 280 | 2531 | 5389 |
| Red M: 62.5/97 W: 66.0/109 | 330 | 383 | 310 | 125 | 294 | 260 | 131 | 349 | 268 | 2450 | 257 | 238 | 413 | 94 | 387 | 70 | 365 | 126 | 260 | 2210 | 4660 |
| Handicap | 5 | 9 | 3 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 11 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 18 | |||
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 71 |
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Reviews
Reviewer Photos
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Photo submitted by u3752825 on 10/13/2022
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Just had to share this crazy exposed root system of an oak tree on the #9 fairway. Photo submitted by GordonATX on 04/20/2021
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Photo submitted by BrandonTuckerGA on 04/17/2020
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Photo submitted by BrandonTuckerGA on 04/17/2020
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Photo submitted by BrandonTuckerGA on 04/17/2020
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Coyotes are still around the course but rarely seen. Photo submitted by GordonATX on 06/29/2019
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The par-4 11th. Photo submitted by BrandonTuckerGA on 02/22/2017
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The par-4 5th. Photo submitted by BrandonTuckerGA on 02/22/2017
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The par-5 12th hole, which would be reversed under Crenshaw's plan. Photo submitted by BrandonTuckerGA on 02/22/2017
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My favorite hole on the back, the par-4 11th. Photo submitted by BrandonTuckerGA on 02/22/2017
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The first hole, which would be totally different under Crenshaw's plan. Photo submitted by BrandonTuckerGA on 02/22/2017
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My favorite hole on the front, the par-4 6th. Photo submitted by BrandonTuckerGA on 02/22/2017
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The par-3 17th hole over water. Photo submitted by BrandonTuckerGA on 02/09/2016
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Looking back towards the tee box on #17. Photo submitted by GordonATX on 08/11/2013
Good Ole Muni
This golf course was built in 1929, not too much has been redesigned I don't think. It is a good old course, easy walk. It is usually pretty slow but somehow there was not anyone in front of me and the guy I got paired with so we played a 3 hour round, maybe cause it was Tuesday morning? Good round and good course. This is not a country club but you can have a good time.
Nice layout
I really like older courses with tree lined fairways and smaller greens. This course is a perfect example. the one negative is the slowness of the greens. if they could speed up the greens, I would give it an excellent rating.
Love the history of the course.
It's a classic. Back 9 are way better than front 9.
Some old-timers are grumpy and play too fast but you just got to let them through.
Great course for the money
Me and my buddies go out to have a good time. I also love a course I can take my wife to without a bunch of pompous wantabes. Staff is friendly as well as fellow golfers. Love this course, good layout, friendly, and the condition is equal to the top 10 public courses in Austin.
Overrated
Course is ridiculous.... I hate playing there... It messes up my game. It's too short, you get penalized for great shots, the greens are slow as Christmas and do not putt true. I don't understand why so many individuals love this course. I played there with a buddy of mine who has won multiple times on the pga tour, and he says the greens are awful! I know the course has great history.., but "c'mon man"!
Always a challenge
The trees have grown since the last time I played there... 30 years ago!!!
Nothing much else has changed... It is still a jewel to be cherished.
The staff was friendly and the course well maintained.
Only problem we had was that the greens were still bumpy from being aerated a month earlier.
I love Lions (MUNY)
The staff here is so friendly it's a pleasure to play this Austin gem. My only complaint was the greens had recently been airated so it would have been nice to have received a discount on the green fee.
Fun but it's Texas so plenty of water
Fun course that's right near the lake and downtown Austin!
typical muni
I was excited to play the course based on the recent reviews but was disappointed for many reasons. First, it's a short course...6,000 yds from the tips so you're not going to play through your bag. I should've done my research before booking. Second, the greens were in bad shape. They were super slow and bumpy. I'm not sure when they were last mowed or rolled. They were bumpy overall and then because of the heavy public traffic, there were lots of unrepaired ball marks on every single green. Third, pace of play was slow for my liking especially since it's such a short course. On a mid-day Wednesday, it took about 4.5 hours to play which might be acceptable on a longer course on a weekend but I thought it was too long. We were a foursome and had to wait on every shot.
On the positive side, the fairways were in good shape. Although it's short, it's kind of narrow so it's not super easy. The rangers and drink cart made regular rounds so that was nice (although I wish the ranger would have sped up the pace a bit).
In summary, it's a typical muni course. Don't be fooled by the high marks on this site. If you're comparing it to other courses, you'll find much better places to play.
More golf less work !
I love this course ,
Located in the middle of downtown Austin , but when you play you feel like your somewhere in the country.
Nice green fairways , greens , and trees .
Plus with all the wildlife around you can feel they love it too .
Get out and enjoy this beautiful place !
Good course to challenge your skills
Nestled in the woods of West Austin, this course challenges your game but can be forgiving at the same time. The course itself has improved since I've been coming here. This will be about my 8th time that I've played here. The greens were in great shape, the fairways kept nice and cut, the sand traps actually had sand in them and not weeds or some unknown dirt. The pin placements made the game even more challenging, which is what we were looking for. I'm already looking forward to playing again. If the cost would be under $30, I could see this being my weekly getaway course.
Horseshoe Bay Resort Stay & Play Package
Thanks, Brandon. Unfortunately, I am just visiting Austin so it was my first & only golf experience here. And you're probably right, I could see how I might appreciate it more if I lived here and played other courses in the area. I could then see Lion's as being a nice change of pace. Thanks!
Muny's conditions tend to be better in the spring than the summer and yeah, it's one of the busiest courses in Texas, particularly this time of year, so pace can get backed up. Nothing about your review surprises me besides the comment that you "can't go through your bag." One of the things I like most about Muny is all the decisions you can make on every tee. You could hit zero drivers or 10 on any given day depending on wind and strategy. Anyways, it's a course that grew on me after a few rounds, so I hope you can give it another try sometime.