The greens are the reason to go. They're big by pitch-and-putt standards and full of internal contour, allowing for a variety of pin positions. There's a punchbowl (No. 7) and a semi-Lion's Mouth (No. 8), but Butler is not a template gallery: these are thoughtful, original creations by a first-rate architect.
Every city can and should have a par-3 course like this one.
Recommended by the Fried Egg.
Delaware Springs Golf Course (600 Delaware Springs Blvd, Burnet, TX 78611) may stretch the definition of "near Austin”; even without traffic, it's an hour's drive away from Butler Pitch & Putt. But if you're in Austin for a few days and looking for a bang-for-your-buck option, I'd recommend making the trip.
Some aspects of Delaware Springs reflect its origins as an early-90s housing development. The front nine is very spaced out, presumably to maximize golf-course frontage, and a few green-to-tee walks are brutally long. With the Austin metro area growing at breakneck speed, I wouldn't be surprised to see more houses appear between and alongside these holes.
The hole designs themselves, though, are varied and strategically sound, and the back nine, which rambles through open country, is more than worth the $30-40 price of admission. I'm a particular fan of the 17th hole, a short par 4 with a small, perched-up green. Long hitters can attempt to cut the dogleg and drive the green, but if you hit it more than 230 yards, you bring all sorts of trouble—dense groupings of trees, out of bounds—into your dispersion cone. Good luck persuading yourself to club down, though.
FRISCO
Omni PGA Frisco Resort & Spa, 4341 PGA Pkwy, Frisco, TX 75033
- Fields Ranch East, designed by Gil Hanse
- Fields Ranch West, designed by Beau Welling
- The Swing, 10-hole, par-3 designed by both
HOUSTON
This Depression-era creation from John Bredemus, who also authored fabled Colonial in Fort Worth, played host to 14 of the PGA Tour’s Houston Opens from 1947 to 1963, when winners included Arnold Palmer, Jackie Burke Jr., Cary Middlecoff, and Bobby Locke. Current home to the Houston Open since 2020, Memorial Park benefited from a 2019 remodeling by Tom Doak, with Brooks Koepka consulting, which resulted in a more open course with only 19 bunkers. However, it proved newly testing at 7,292 yards, with heightened risk/reward opportunities, especially down the stretch and greens marked by steep falloffs and short grass surrounds, placing a premium on accurate approaches and creative recoveries. (https://linksmagazine.com/americas-top-10-munis/)
LAJITAS
Lajitas Golf Resort, 21701 FM 170 Lajitas, Texas 79852
- Recommended by Jeff
- Five hours southeast of El Paso
- Seven hours west of San Antonio
MT. ENTERPRISE
Wild Spring Dunes, 21043 US-259, Mt Enterprise, TX 75681
- 2 1/2 hours from Dallas and Houston
- Mike Kaiser property
