Austin Golf Courses & Tee Times

Who runs public golf in Austin

The City of Austin's Parks and Recreation Department runs Golf ATX: Lions Municipal, Morris Williams, Hancock, the Jimmy Clay and Roy Kizer 36-hole complex in Southeast Austin, Grey Rock, and the Joe Balander Short Course. City residents can buy a $5 resident card at Lions, Clay/Kizer or Morris Williams for a discount on green fees and merchandise. Fees effective October 1, 2025 are $35 Monday to Thursday, $41 Friday and $44 on weekends and holidays at the four big courses, with carts $18 a player. Hancock is $20 any day, walking only, paid at a pay station. Annual cards cost a little more for non-residents, for example $1,280 versus $1,400 for the individual Silver card. The courses take cards only, no cash, and all of them close on Christmas Day.

Public courses worth knowing in Austin

• Lions Municipal Golf Course: Opened by the Lions Club in 1924 as Austin's first public course, on land leased from UT. On the Texas Registry of Historic Golf Courses, and home of the Firecracker Open, the oldest amateur tournament in Texas.
• Hancock Golf Course: Founded in 1899 as the original Austin Country Club and among the oldest courses in Texas. Nine holes, par 35, over Waller Creek. Harvey Penick started here as a caddy.
• Morris Williams Golf Course: Leon Howard design that opened in 1964 as Austin's third public course. It was the UT team's home when Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw led the Longhorns to two NCAA titles.
• Jimmy Clay Golf Course: Joe Finger design from 1974, 6,918 yards along Williamson Creek, with an island green added in a 2007 rebuild of three holes.
• Roy Kizer Golf Course: Links-style course over 200 acres with 35 acres of lakes and 22 of wetlands, added next to Jimmy Clay in 1994. Named for the longtime Lions Municipal superintendent.
• Grey Rock Golf Club: Jay Morrish design on 160 acres off State Highway 45, part of the Golf ATX lineup with its own membership and tee sheet.
• Harvey Penick Golf Campus: PGA Tour-designed, par-30 nine-hole course on 112 acres in East Austin. Golf ATX and Grey Rock cardholders walk it for $5.50.

Booking tee times in Austin: the local rules

Golf ATX splits the week. Monday to Friday times open online at 9 am seven days ahead; you can also book in person when the pro shop opens or by phone. Weekend times are online only and open the Monday before at 8 pm, one foursome per account, and the pro shops don't pick up the phone for them until Tuesday. You need a user account to book online. Hancock takes no tee times: pay at the station and go off the first tee in order. Grey Rock books through its own site. If you hold a Golf ATX card, the Harvey Penick Golf Campus takes phone bookings up to three days ahead.

Why tee times in Austin are hard to get

Spring and fall are peak season in Austin. In summer the heat pushes everyone toward early morning, so the first few hours of the day fill before anything else.

Most public courses open their tee sheet a set number of days ahead, often 7 to 14, and many municipal courses give residents or card holders an earlier window. The best weekend-morning times usually go the day they're released. Leagues and outings take blocks of the sheet before the public ever sees them.

When tee time cancellations happen

Booked-up doesn't mean gone. Plans change: groups cancel ahead of the course's cancellation deadline (often 24 to 48 hours out), players drop when the forecast turns, and a group that shrinks leaves an open spot. Those times quietly come back on the booking page, usually for minutes, not hours.

How to get a tee time in Austin

Doing it by hand? Here's what works.

1. Know the booking window. Find out how many days ahead each course releases times, and whether residents get an earlier window. Be ready the morning it opens.
2. Look again 24 to 48 hours out. That's when most cancellation deadlines pass and spots come back.
3. Be flexible on group size. Singles and twosomes fit into gaps a foursome can't.
4. Try twilight and weekday afternoons. They're the last to fill and often cheaper.
5. Keep a quicker course in your back pocket. Nine-hole and executive courses are easier to get on and play faster. Around here that includes Blue Lake Golf Club - 9 Holes and Mustang Creek Golf Course.

Read the full guide to getting a tee time when everything's booked