Outstanding Golf Club Memberships in the Austin, TX Area

If you are a golf enthusiast in the Austin, TX area, you might be asking yourself, "Are there any great golf club memberships near me?" The answer is yes. The Austin area has a number of outstanding golf clubs that feature beautiful courses and local golf tournaments.

Teravista Golf Club and Avery Ranch Golf Club 

One of the Austin area's finest golf clubs is the Teravista Golf Club located at 4333 Teravista Club Drive in Round Rock. This club has an 18-hole course with a total length of 7,200 yards. It has been rated a Beginner Friendly Course by the National Golf Course Owners Association. The club features a large practice facility, and it is home to the J.L. Lewis Golf Academy.

When you become a member of the Teravista Golf Club, you also receive membership at the Avery Ranch Golf Club located at 10500 Avery Club Drive in Austin. The Avery Ranch Club course was designed by an associate of Jack Nicklaus. This is considered a difficult course to play even for more experienced golfers.

Membership in these two clubs allows you to play rounds seven days a week. Members are allowed to use the club's full facilities for activities and events. Both clubs are also open for tournaments held by business and private organizations.

Falconhead Golf Club

Another well-regarded Austin golf club is the Falconhead Golf Club at 15201 Falconhead Drive in Austin. This course has the look of a course one would see on the PGA Tour as it was designed by professionals from the PGA Tour Design Center.

A local golf tournament called the Ergon Masters is hosted at the club every year in April during the time of the Master's Tournament on the PGA Men's Tour. It is popular throughout the local golfing community.

There are several membership levels at Falconhead, but there are really three basic memberships. The Classic Membership allows members to play each day and book 10 days in advance. There is also the Weekday Membership that excludes play on the weekends. The Range Play Plus Membership lets golfers play after 12pm.

River Place Country Club

Located at 4207 River Place Boulevard in Austin is the River Place Country Club. This is a par 71 course that was designed by PGA Tour winner Tom Kite. The course has a rolling design that is a challenge to any golfer.

Signature members of this club are entitled to unlimited golf. The club also has tennis and swimming facilities that all members may use. Members may also use the club's facilities for meetings and events.

Morris Williams Golf Club

Morris Williams is not a membership club. It is open to anyone who wants to play. It does host a number of local tournaments for Austin area golfers. They host the Spring Championship in March and the Austin Senior Championship in September.

This course opened in 1964 and was designed by Leon Howard. It is located at 3851 Morris Road in Austin.

These are just a few of the many private golf clubs in the Austin area. Austin has many places for golf enthusiasts to enjoy a round with friends, family, and colleagues.

The Texas Hill Country Is Home To Some Impressive Golf Courses

Austin, Texas is a great city for golf lovers. This is due to its vast flat landscapes, allowing for spacious greens, as well as year-round favorable weather conditions that make it possible to golf during every season.

The city’s golf clubs are home to several local golf tournaments that take place at its several golf courses. There are two golf courses near Austin TX that are the most reputable, namely the Avery Ranch Golf Club and the Teravista Golf Club.

Part of the Avery Ranch residential community located 20 minutes northwest of Austin, the Avery Ranch Golf Club was designed by former Jack Nicklaus designer Andy Raugust. The Club’s history is that the region was once home to Native Americans and robbers that were attracted to it due to its dense oaks, creeks as well as wildlife. The club was carved and blasted out of the rocky ranchlands along Bushy Creek – Raugust had to use dynamite to blast rock out of the landscape for five holes.

Avery Ranch Golf Club is known for two holes on each nine, namely holes 7 and 13, each of which has its own charm. No. 7 requires a carry over a ravine and natural area from an elevated tee box and a precise tee shot if one wants to avoid the bunkers and tress in order to position oneself for the dog left to a green with another gully across the front of it. The hole itself is rather short, offering players with a good position to tackle the shot. From this position, players enjoy the Club’s the spectacular multi-level green as well as the huge rock wall fronting it, the large bunker to the right as well as native cacti to the back.

No. 13 at Avery Ranch has been known as the city’s top par three hole. It is charming, featuring water on the right side, beautiful oaks in to its back as well as a unique ridge of rocks to the right of the hole. It is a reasonable distance and offers a bail out area (in case of a miss), all of which makes it a fun challenge. However, despite all its challenges, the course still manages to remain fair, offering an enjoyable, satisfying as well as scenic game of golf. It is part of the Austin Golf Trail that offers impressive stay & play packages.

The Teravista Golf Club has its own charm, with a reputation for great golf course conditions as well as the best greens in the Austin area.

The Championship 18-hole club is located in the Texas Hill Country, and as such it has impressive views that span over 50 miles. Spreading across 7,200 yards, the yard offers 5 different sets of tees suitable for golfers of all ages and abilities. In addition to the club’s beautiful rolling hills, the Teravista has recently introduced a health-club style membership, namely “The Players Club” that allows its members the convenience of improving their game that suits their schedule. 

Membership perks also include free practice times as well as two rounds of golf per month and weekly clinics on the Club’s state of the art practice area with several hitting, pitching and chipping locations, all designed to enable its members to become the players they have always wanted to be. Also not to miss is Caldwell Café, the Club’s full service restaurant that is open for breakfast, lunch and happy hour that offers a variety of golf inspired menu items. 

When Should Golfers Play It Safe?

Phil Mickelson, one of the most recognizable risk-takers in golf, asked a kid in the stands during the Dell Technologies Championship for advice; should he go for the green or lay-up?

Mickelson needed a 260-yard club to get him safely on the green and the ball was in the rough.

Whether we are beginners or average amateurs, most of us do not have that shot in our bag, so the decision is slightly easier - go for the green in two shots....but which two shots do we take?

Aside from the two-stroke penalty he should have incurred (Rules of Golf), Mickelson decided to go for the green and made the shot.

What does the average amateur or beginner golfer need to assess in order to play it safe or go for the gusto? Here are a few tips to help you determine your next shot in the least number of strokes.

1. Try looking at the hole in reverse order, from green to tee. If there is water right up near the green, you may wish to lay up in front of the green and make an easy pitch shot.

2. Properly place your shot off the tee, so you take the trouble out of play. If there is sand or water on the right-hand side of the fairway, tee off on the right side.

3. Golf ball lying in a thicket of trees? Your best bet is to get the golf ball back into play. Consider where on the fairway you want to position your ball for the next shot onto the green before you take your next shot.

4. Putting: my playing partners in the EWGA used to talk about the "circle of trust"; an imaginary circle within three feet of the hole that golfers should try to aim for when making a long putt. Although you always want to make the putt, you don't want the ball to roll too far from the hole, leaving you a long, trying putt coming back.

5. Don't go for low percentage shots. Think you won't make it over the water? Are you standing in the trees with no easy way out? Is your ball buried in the sand? Think safe and you won't be sorry!

Share your thoughts on when is the best time to play it safe or go for it on this golf blog and tag us with your response on Twitter @Golf4Beginners!

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