Pin itAustin
Four Tom Fazio layouts at Omni Barton Creek and the Hill Country limestone, with the best live music and barbecue scene in Texas.
Free to use — Pexels · Pexels
- State
- Texas
- Courses
- 9
- Green fees
- $18–$325
- Best months
- Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov
- Airport
- AUS - Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (30-40 minutes to Omni Barton Creek; 90 minutes to Horseshoe Bay)
- Rental car
- Essential
Austin is the rare American golf trip where the food and the music make as strong a case as the courses, and the courses are good enough to anchor the trip on their own. The Hill Country starts a few miles west of downtown: limestone canyons, cedar and live oak, creek-fed valleys, and a quiet that surprises you given the city's reputation. The golf is routed through that terrain. The barbecue, the wine country, and the live music sit a short drive back the other way.
You are looking at nine courses spread across roughly 90 miles of Texas Hill Country, anchored by two resorts that operate at opposite ends of the geography. Omni Barton Creek sits inside the Austin city limits with three premium courses on property. Horseshoe Bay Resort, 90 minutes northwest on Lake LBJ, adds a Robert Trent Jones Sr. collection plus a Jack Nicklaus design. Between them and the public courses scattered around the region, a four-day trip can cover five or six rounds without repeating a designer or a landscape.
Courses Worth the Trip
9 courses across Austin
The headline names are Tom Fazio and the Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw partnership, and both are at Omni Barton Creek. The Fazio Foothills Course (1986) routes through cliff-lined fairways past natural caves and waterfalls. The Fazio Canyons Course (1999) threads Short Springs Branch Creek through oak and sycamore with canyon walls framing the holes. The Coore Crenshaw Course (1991) is the quieter star, only the second course the firm completed before they went on to design Sand Hills, Streamsong Red, and the rest of the modern minimalist canon. It is shorter, more strategic, and genuinely walkable in terrain where most courses are not. Skipping it because the Fazio courses get the headlines is a mistake.
Bucket List
Omni Barton Creek — Fazio Foothills
Austin, Texas
Limestone cliffs, natural caves, and Tom Fazio's most geological routing in Texas.
USD 250–325ResortTom Fazio, Roy Bechtol (1986)
Hotels.comBook tee time
Premium
Horseshoe Bay Resort — Ram Rock
Austin, Texas
Robert Trent Jones Sr. carved 62 bunkers and 10 water hazards into the Hill Country rock, then called it The Challenger.
USD 80–150ResortRobert Trent Jones Sr. (1981)
PartnerBook tee time
Premium
Horseshoe Bay Resort — Summit Rock
Austin, Texas
Nicklaus Signature design in the Hill Country, reserved for members who own the view.
USD 175–295PrivateJack Nicklaus (2012)
Direct websiteVisit website
Premium
Omni Barton Creek — Coore Crenshaw
Austin, Texas
Coore and Crenshaw's second course ever built, and the one you can walk.
USD 225ResortBill Coore, Ben Crenshaw (1991)
Hotels.comBook tee time
Premium
Omni Barton Creek — Fazio Canyons
Austin, Texas
Fazio's canyon sequel at Barton Creek, and the course Golfweek once called the best in Texas.
USD 275ResortTom Fazio, Beau Welling, Roy Bechtol, Dennis Wise (1999)
Hotels.comBook tee time
Mid-Range
Crystal Falls Golf Club
Austin, Texas
Municipal golf in the Hill Country, priced like a public course should be.
USD 18–55PublicJack Miller (1990)
GolfNowBook tee time
Mid-Range
Falconhead Golf Club
Austin, Texas
A public Hill Country layout where the 8th hole, and its waterfall, justify the entire green fee.
USD 75–89PublicPGA Tour Design Center, Chris Gray (2003)
GolfNowBook tee time
Mid-Range
Lost Pines Golf Club
Austin, Texas
Prairie hills give way to river pines on the east side of Austin, at a price that ranges from reasonable to resort.
USD 68–215ResortArthur Hills, Steve Forrest (2006)
GolfNowBook tee time
Hidden Value
Vaaler Creek Golf Club
Austin, Texas
Forty-five minutes from Austin, in Blanco, where the green fees drop and the Hill Country opens up.
USD 75–110Semi-PrivateMichael Lowry / J.R. Newman (2009)
GolfNowBook tee time
Where to Stay
10 options near the courses
Resort
Horseshoe Bay Resort
Austin, Texas
Three Robert Trent Jones Sr. courses, a marina on Lake LBJ, and enough distance from Austin to feel like a destination in its own right.
From $250/nightOn-site golf
Direct websiteVisit website
Hotel
Hotel Viata
Austin, Texas
Forbes Four Star property with Italian pedigree and a West Austin address that places it between the Hill Country courses and downtown.
From $250/night~8 miles to Omni Barton Creek; ~10 miles to Falconhead GC
ExpediaCheck availability
Resort
Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa
Austin, Texas
Four championship courses, 493 rooms, and a $150 million renovation that rebuilt the flagship Hill Country golf resort from the ground up.
From $300/nightOn-site golf
ExpediaCheck availability
Resort
Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort & Spa
Austin, Texas
490-room resort east of Austin with on-site golf, a water park, and enough non-golf programming to justify bringing the entire family.
From $200/nightOn-site golf
ExpediaCheck availability
Resort
Lakeway Resort & Spa
Austin, Texas
Lake Travis waterfront with a swim-up bar, marina access, and a position in the western corridor that keeps the Hill Country courses within reach.
From $180/night~15 miles to Falconhead GC; Flintrock Falls (Nicklaus design) nearby
Direct websiteVisit website
Hotel
Courtyard by Marriott Austin The Domain Area
Austin, Texas
Reliable Marriott base near The Domain with northwest positioning that shortens the drive to Crystal Falls and the Hill Country corridor.
From $120/night~20 miles to Crystal Falls GC; ~25 miles to Falconhead GC
ExpediaCheck availability
Hotel
Hampton Inn Austin NW near The Domain
Austin, Texas
Free breakfast, free parking, and a northwest address that puts Crystal Falls and The Domain within easy reach.
From $110/night~20 miles to Crystal Falls GC
ExpediaCheck availability
Hotel
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Lakeway
Austin, Texas
The most affordable option in the Lakeway corridor, with free breakfast and proximity to Falconhead and Lake Travis.
From $100/night~12 miles to Falconhead GC
ExpediaCheck availability
Inn
La Quinta Inn & Suites Austin South
Austin, Texas
Budget base on the I-35 corridor with free breakfast and enough amenities to support a multi-day golf trip without unnecessary spending.
From $70/night~18 miles to Falconhead GC; ~15 miles to Omni Barton Creek
ExpediaCheck availability
Hotel
Motel 6 Austin Central
Austin, Texas
The lowest nightly rate in the Austin inventory, for golfers who measure a trip by the courses played rather than the room occupied.
From $55/night~20 miles to Falconhead GC
ExpediaCheck availability
Off the Fairway
Non-golf activities and companion experiences
Cultural
Evening
6th Street Live Music
Austin, Texas
Fifty-plus bars and venues with live music most nights, no cover charges, and the reason Austin calls itself the Live Music Capital.
Free
ViatorBook activity
Dining
2-3 hours
Austin Food Tour
Austin, Texas
A guided walk through downtown Austin's food culture, from BBQ brisket to breakfast tacos, with stops that locals protect.
$55-$88/person
ViatorBook activity
Cultural
2.5 hours
Austin Sightseeing Tour
Austin, Texas
Thirty miles of Austin in 2.5 hours, from the Capitol dome to the South Congress food trucks, with a local behind the wheel.
$40-$60/person
ViatorBook activity
Cultural
2-3 hours
Barton Springs Pool
Austin, Texas
A three-acre, spring-fed swimming pool that holds 68 degrees year-round, set in Zilker Park and open since the 1920s.
$2-$9
Direct websiteVisit website
Cultural
1-2 hours
Congress Avenue Bat Bridge
Austin, Texas
1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats emerge from beneath a downtown bridge at dusk, and the whole city stops to watch.
Free
ViatorBook activity
Cultural
Full day (8-12 hours)
Fredericksburg & Enchanted Rock Day Trip
Austin, Texas
A 425-foot granite dome, a German-heritage town with serious wine, and the deepest Hill Country landscape within reach of Austin.
$100-$200/person
Direct websiteVisit website
Dining
4.5 hours
Hill Country BBQ & Wine Shuttle
Austin, Texas
Two Hill Country wineries and Salt Lick BBQ in one afternoon, with a local guide and a Mercedes Sprinter doing the driving.
$69/person + tastings/food
ViatorBook activity
Dining
4.5 hours
Hill Country Wine Tour
Austin, Texas
Three Hill Country wineries in an afternoon, with a guide who knows the producers and a van that handles the logistics.
$69/person + tastings
ViatorBook activity
Scenic
1-2 hours
Lake Austin Sunset Cruise
Austin, Texas
A sunset cruise past Mount Bonnell and the Pennybacker Bridge, with a captain who knows every lakeside mansion by name.
$39-$75/person
ViatorBook activity
South Congress District
Cultural
2-3 hours
South Congress District
Austin, Texas
Austin's eclectic main street, where vintage shops, food trucks, and live music venues line a half-mile strip south of downtown.
Free
Direct websiteVisit website
When to Go
Mar · Apr · May · Oct · Nov
March through May and October through November are the windows. Temperatures sit in the 70s and low 80s, the humidity is moderate, and the bluebonnets blanket the roadsides in late March and April. February and December are playable shoulder months that start cool and warm by the turn. June and September are warm enough that early tee times become the strategy. July and August are the months to avoid unless you genuinely tolerate sustained heat above 95 degrees; the locals play at dawn or not at all.
Getting There
AUS - Austin-Bergstrom International Airport · 30-40 minutes to Omni Barton Creek; 90 minutes to Horseshoe Bay
Austin-Bergstrom International (AUS) is the single point of entry, eight miles southeast of downtown with direct flights from every major US hub. Omni Barton Creek is roughly 22 miles west, a 30-to-40-minute drive. Falconhead is in the same corridor. Lost Pines is 25 miles southeast. Horseshoe Bay is the outlier at 90 miles northwest, a scenic hour and a half through the Hill Country. A rental car is not optional. The geography spans 90 miles end to end, and ride-sharing across that distance over four days will cost more than a midsize rental.
Plan Your Trip
Pre-planned itineraries for Austin
Best Value Trip
Hill Country Value Play
Four rounds on the Hill Country's best public courses, with total green fees under $350 and mid-range lodging near The Domain.
4 daysUSD 900–1800/person
Long Weekend
The Austin Long Weekend
Two Fazio courses, two nights at Omni Barton Creek, and Austin's dining and music scene filling the gaps between rounds.
3 daysUSD 1500–3000/person
Bucket List Trip
The Barton Creek Immersion
Four championship rounds across two Hill Country resorts, anchored by three nights at Omni Barton Creek and one at Horseshoe Bay.
6 daysUSD 3000–5500/person
Planning Your Trip
Airports, rental cars, seasonal pricing, and local knowledge for Austin.
From the Editorial
Articles covering Austin
Destination Guide
Course Guide
Destination Guide
Trip Planning
Destination Guide