Hyatt Regency Lost Pines

When you're looking for golf in Austin, you have two choices: head west into the Hill Country for hilly courses full of rock outcroppings, or go east of town, where courses are generally flatter and less interesting. At least until you get to remarkable acreage of Lost Pines near Bastrop along the Colorado River.

The setting is what Wolfdancer, east of town near Bastrop, such an anomaly. With holes that are wide open on high ground, holes on a ridge line as well as lower-lying, tree-lined holes along the Colorado River, it's simply one of the most unique and scenic rounds in the area.

The course, designed by Arthur Hills, is tough for a resort course, so be sure to play the right tees. This is certainly one of the best tests in Texas, particularly when the wind is up. But there are scoring holes, including multiple short par 4s.

But everything else about this facility, which is part of the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort, exudes luxury resort golf. We were offered cold towels after the 14th hole (quite welcoming on a 100-degree day), facilities and F&B are great, and course conditions were still very good despite the fact we've had no rain in about six weeks. Lesser area courses will get so baked out the ball rolls forever (and usually into gunch) around this hot and dry time of year.

With no homes surrounding the course and its laid-back but attentive ambiance, Wolfdancer certainly deserves its place atop Golf Advisor's Top 10 Austin-area courses right now (though I do believe River Place - at No. 2 - is excellent for the money as well and usually more affordable if you're more money-conscious).

Perhaps its most obvious rival is Barton Creek, but Wolfdancer has daily fee play while Barton Creek is open only to resort guests and members. So for the best no-strings-attached public golf experience around town, I think Wolfdancer is the no-brainer pick.

But you are going to have to score your ball, so show up with your A-Game!

Staff made us feel like celebrities......course made us feel like we had just received our first golf clubs.

As good as it gets for a course in Austin...Highly recommend...

Great course in great shape. Greens just aerated but still was fun. Very nice staff who took great care of us including cold wet towels for cooling off after 1st few holes.
Highly recommended!

I absolutely love this layout. Beautiful, green, scenic and plenty of wildlife to keep you entertained. The front 9 resembled a links style course, and the back 9 was more of an Augusta layout. Only issue was that the greens were being aerated, so it made putts a little rough, but overall the course was in great condition. The staff was hands down, one of the best golf course staffs i've ever been around. From the gentlemen at the register, to the lady at the snack stand, the starter, and the cart girl, they were all friendly and more than happy to accommodate my needs. the starter even let me go early with a gentlemen and his son. I Will definitely play here again. I've played a lot of courses in my day and the customer service was more than enough to bring me back. Hopefully the greens are better next time i play, but please don't let that deter you from an outstanding golf outing!

Pros: great staff and employees who were attentive, friendly and helpful. a well designed and maintained course. beautiful, peaceful & serene. wide fairways with lots of high lipped sand traps, fast true, undulating greens and manageable rough just off the fairways. lots of thick native grass areas if you venture too far off the fairways.
Cons: $6.00 domestic beer; $3.50 soft drinks/pop. smart golf carts with course specific GPS systems, BUT the carts shut off and make u slowly back up with reverse sirens blaring (no u-turns) if you venture too far or into the wrong areas. Forces you to be mindful and attentive to more than your golfing problems. High end golfing experience ($99 or more).

Overall: Wish I were playing there now!

This hidden gem is long and mean. It has always been in impeccable condition with tremendous practice facilities and a superb clubhouse. The par 5 number 3 hole is long and heavily bunkered.
It's a Hyatt facility so expect to pay $4 for a soda. However the golf attendants are very friendly and at your command from the time you park. It's expensive but again, it's a Hyatt resort. Greens are all superb.

The course was in great condition and the greens rolled true. The course had some very challenging holes and would be somewhat difficult to navigate without help from someone who has played there before. Several blind tee shots/lay up yardage decisions that are difficult without course knowledge. I hope to go back soon.

This my favorite course to play and it's not far from Austin. Beautiful grounds and the staff is great. I look forward to my next visit very soon.

Fantastic, true greens. Cart path only and I still enjoyed every shot. Will certainly play it again.

I wish I could go back and play this course in May. Once spring fully arrives, this will be a fantastic course. The greens are very difficult, but they run very true. I wish they had a set of "hybrid" tees that would allow me to play the course at around 5900 yds.

This course will accommodate several skill levels, scenery is great. I would suggest a stay and play

There had been a lot of rain the day before. The bunkers were full of water. We lost two balls in bunkers brava use the water was so deep.

It's a resort so usually very expensive. It was great to find such a great rate and a great course!

Beautiful course, well maintained with awesome vistas from the tees. Driving range is first class. Bunkers were deep but lacked sand in several cases. Was told that money is in the budget to rework all bunkers. A must play course in the Austin area.

This was my first time to play this course and I am already wanting to play it again. Greens were very fast. There are a lot of blind shots but overall the course was a lot of fun to play and he staff was excellent

Ho-Ho-Fore, gotta love playing golf in shorts on Xmas Day! The Lost Pines Hyatt Resort is a MUST DO! Golf, tennis, horseback riding, hiking, SPA & more - this place has it all. A return stay for us, wife spent hours at their SPA and their workout facilities, pet friendly for our Golden Retriever and a wonderful golf experience with practice ranges, putting & chipping greens, traps which also double as skeet/trap range in the winter. Can't say enough about this property except a Must Visit!

Wolfdancer is easily the best course in the Austin are that is open and available to the general public. Service is outstanding - every person on staff is friendsly, enthusiastic and helpful. You'll be treated royally here.
The course is wonderful, especially the more difficult front nine.

Very beautiful course. Well maintained. Staff very helpful. However, the greens are way to fast considering the slope of each green. The speed of the greens (so fast) reduced the fun of playing this course. We are pros, so Hyatt needs to slow down the speed of the greens for ALL of their courses.

Two reasons not to play anytime soon. First the greens were all over the place, either wicked fast or "are you kidding me slow". Second there was a ranger driving around (we saw him three times), and asked twice to speed up the threesome in front of us (we were a foursome), both time he stated "they paid the same as you and let them enjoy themselves, why don't you just slow down.