The city has sent out several surveys to residents over the past year and held meetings with neighborhood leaders, and the majority of respondents have indicated a desire for the property to remain a golf course (though many have said they are not interested in the NGF's recent proposal to reconfigure the property to include a practice center with a driving range).
Butler pitch and putt pro#
The group has about 3,400 signatures calling to transform it into parkland, paltry in comparison to the roughly 20,000 annual rounds played here.ĭespite the fact that golf carts have not been allowed at Hancock since COVID-19 hit and the pro shop remains closed (all golfers pay at a paystation at the first tee), the facility is thriving in its current state. A local group is calling for the 45 acres to be transformed into general parkland, something the city estimated would cost roughly $200,000 to upkeep annually, far greater than any recent annual shortfall as a golf course. Rounds are up 82% year-over-year from September 2020 thru January 2021 and revenue is on track to be well into the green in 2021. They reported that the course was losing money despite recent renovations, and had been instructed by the city to find a way to make sure the property is not a drain on the golf enterprise fund, or else other alternatives for the land or an outside management company might need to be considered.īut a funny thing has happened since then: golfers are playing Hancock at a considerable clip.
Just about a week before COVID-19 shut down Austin last March, the city's Parks & Recs department held a meeting about the muncipal, 9-hole Hancock Golf Course. In late-2017, a weekday pay station was installed behind the first tee at Hancock Golf Course. In fact, the newly renovated course just yielded its first one:
Butler pitch and putt full#
Those who return to Butler Park will also notice a lot of brush clearing and tree management, which not only opens up the property but provides more airflow for turf conditions.Īmbitious programming and F&B is planned (including local chef Michael Fojtasek's renowned biscuits made popular at nearby Olamaie restaurant - and highly endorsed from your correspondent), but expect the legendary casual and welcoming vibe to remain, as well as the low green fees ($10-12) and clubhouse walls full of those thousands of patrons who have made an ace here throughout the years. These improvements include new irrigation and drainage, as well as new Trinity Zoysia-turf greens shaped by Dan Proctor (who has considerable experience on the bulldozer for Coore & Crenshaw and also has his own designs with partner Dan Axland). Scheduled to reopen the week of the Masters following about a year under the knife, a new management group backed by considerable local golf and entertainment concept brainpower has invested $1 million into the 7-acre property. And as of 2021, this little 9-hole urban jewel beside Lady Bird Lake is set to return with new management and a fresh look. One of Austin's oldest golf courses is one of its smallest: Butler Park Pitch 'n Putt.
Here's what's been happening in town since the golf world was here last:īutler Park Pitch 'n Putt reopening in April Rounds played are up, private clubs are slammed, and there are more golf holes opening in 2021 - something well-needed given the game's resurgence in this boomtown. As for golf, over the last year, the local scene has done anything but hunker down. Optimism is in the area as COVID-19 case counts drop and vaccines roll out. COVID-19 affected Austin's golf courses, especially the City of Austin's municipal facilities, which were ordered to close twice, once in the spring and once in the summer, for a total of about two months. One of the country's hottest tourist destinations was shut down. SXSW was canceled and the Dell Match Play and all of the live music and events locals and tourists love. The spring of 2020, of course, was anything but. It's a wonderful time of year in Central Texas, especially when the bluebonnets pop along the highways and hillsides. The most festive, actually, thanks to SXSW and, since 2016, the WGC Dell Match Play. Springtime in Austin is typically a festive time.
0 kommentar(er)
