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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
Golf tradition of Sustin
Great layout. Tee boxes need some work and greens were not very consistent. Being an older course, has great ambience
Great Muny
I really enjoyed this course. The front nine and back nine have completely different personalities. Do your scoring on the front, because the back is considerably tougher (although I, for some unknown reason, scored better on the back), with some long shots over water. The greens were a bit difficult for me to read...but that's nothing unusual.
Tight Tee boxes
Many Tee boxes are either close together or right on the cart way.
Also maintenance can be better. A few holes if your tee shot goes off the fairway, most likely you need to drop a new ball.
Nice
Course was well kept, great staff, great gameplaym
Monday Rate Special
I played Lyons on a Monday that I booked thru GN for $36.00. On Mondays Lyons runs a special for $25.00 all day tee times. So if your going to book a tee time on a Monday you should just book it with golf course.
Great Value
Convenient Location and great Muny course. I'll play Lions again.
Sunday at Lions Muny
Greens are questionable, perhaps due to all the rain we've been having, and indicate root system issues. Greens were running at about 6.5 - 7. Cloudy, rainy weather giving way to direct sunlight and warmer growing conditions should help.
We played on a Sunday. The course was packed and it took right at 5 hours to play.
Despite these issues, Muny has a quirky charm that makes it fun to play regardless.
Not bad
They punched the greens today. Overall course was decent. Not bad for price and a little bit of history.
Love Lions...
I try to play Lions every year...this time I had my grandson with me and it was really fun. Notorious for long rounds we played in 4:15 which I find pretty decent on a Muny. Lots of great 1920's architecture here and some really cool shots like 12 and 16 entries to the greens...excellent. Grandson couldn't figure out the greens, grain, slope, speed...I love putting here...fun!
Grandson birdied 9, 10 and 18 so we had a great day.
cool course
Good course, got a great rate on golfnow for $10. Had to take advantage of that. It was busy and they paired me with a couple of guys and that was o.k but one guy made the front nine uncomfortable due to his throwing of clubs and kicking of his ball due to him missing putts. Still had a good time as I ditched him at the turn. Will still play again.
The Course being Public has great features & Good
Staff and Golfers were very friendly and good natured, we had a great time for a Municipal Public Golf Course built 1n 1928 / City of Austin Parks property since 1934
Course is very well kept and is moderately challenging with all the lakes and wooded areas though out the 18 holes we played.... Great Value, we recommend it!
Arthur in Austin, Texas
Tough Greens
Definitely a course that one needs to play often to get a feel for the greens. I expected them to be slow but several putts were fast and others extremely slow. Also difficult to judge whether uphill or downhill, and i guessed wrong several times. Pace of play not great - i believe it took us at least 4 1/2 hours. Great old course - i have played off and on for about 50 years - mostly off. General condition of course was better than i expected, considering the amount of play it gets and being a municipal course.
Good Course
Played Saturday morning. Only bad thing I can say was that I got stuck behind a 5 some that were all walking so pace of play was slow but other than that is was great. Course was in really good condition, part of which i think was because they just hosted an UIL tournament. Will always play this course while in Austin.
Great Local Gem!
First time playing this course with a couple buddies. It was surprisingly lush and private feeling considering you're basically in downtown Austin. Great trees and well maintained course. We will be back soon and may even bring the dog!
Nice Course!
Great value! Tee boxes and fairways were awesome. Everything was green, green, green. Greens have nice rollers in them but were slow and bumpy.
We had a great time, A+++
Hello, We had a great time. My wonderful wife hit the ball very well, she loves playing Lions golf course. We both scored in the low 80s. It had been a month or more since we had played last. Thank you for the review, GOD BLESS!!!
Best course, closet to Downtown
Lions is always a nice and fun course. You won't be upset if youve never played here. Back 9 is very scenic.
Nice layout
We really enjoyed the different shots you get to play. Pace of play really slowed down on the back 9.
Urban gem
Lions is a historic gem in the middle of Austin. Play it before it goes away.
Lions Municipal
A LOT of rocks if you miss the fairways. Winter conditions; fairways mostly dead. Greens in good shape. Bunkers in good shape. Always loved this course except for balls incoming from adjacent holes.
JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa Stay & Play Package
