Every Austin golf trip starts with the same decision.
Do you maximize golf and stay at Barton Creek?
Or do you stay downtown and build a weekend around golf, food, and nightlife?
For our first trip, we chose the city.
Stay
The Thompson Austin was an easy choice through American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts.
Free breakfast. Hotel credit for cocktails. Room upgrade. And perhaps most importantly, a one-block walk to Sixth Street.
You can play golf anywhere. Not every golf destination gives you a real city experience after the round.
Day One
Leave Dallas early and head straight to Lost Pines.
Lost Pines isn’t the best public course in the Austin area, but it may be the easiest place to start a golf trip. Resort atmosphere, forgiving golf, and enough scenery to remind you that you’re no longer in Dallas.
After the round:
- Check into the Thompson
- Shower
- Terry Black’s BBQ
- Cocktails downtown
A nearly perfect first day.
Day Two
Coffee.
Golf.
Lunch at Rowdy Cowboy.
Golf again.
This was the day we learned something important about Austin golf.
Not every course is worth the drive.
Forest Creek was the weakest stop of the trip. Perfectly playable, but if you’re only in Austin for a weekend there are better options.
Day Three
One final round before heading back to Dallas.
Falconhead was the standout.
The best public course we played on the trip and the course I’d return to first. More memorable holes, stronger conditioning, and a layout that felt worth building a day around.
Play the round, grab lunch, and make the three-hour drive home.
What We’d Change
Next trip we’d likely skip Forest Creek and look at options such as Grey Rock or Avery Ranch.
The goal isn’t to play the most golf.
It’s to play the best golf while still enjoying Austin.
KartPath Verdict
If your primary goal is golf, stay at Omni Barton Creek.
If your goal is a great weekend that happens to include golf, stay downtown.
For us, cocktails at the Thompson, barbecue at Terry Black’s, dinner at J Carver’s, and a couple of memorable rounds made the city version the right choice.
Austin isn’t just a golf destination.
It’s one of the few places where the golf doesn’t have to be the entire trip.
