Central Texas Golfers Guide Featured Course Stories

The Hawk Golf Club is quickly making a name for itself on the local scene as the most relaxed and enjoyable golf experience in the Texas Hill Country. The Hawk prides itself in providing not only a great golf experience, but also unmatched entertainment options. All of this is combined with inspiring scenery and traditional aesthetics.

A new smokehouse at the turn makes it quick and easy to grab a bite to eat, pick up a cold towel, or fill the cooler with ice. The open-air venue is perfectly located at the intersection of four different holes, and is equipped with high-definition television so players can check out the leaderboard, or catch the score of the big game while they enjoy their round. 

The relaxed dining atmosphere at the Hawk features plenty of authentic Hill Country dishes like sausage wraps and brisket tacos, plus an assortment of ice-cold beers. Golfers who tee it up at The Hawk Golf Club can take comfort in knowing that fast and friendly beverage service is a top priority. The Hawk’s beverage cart now runs every day, all day long, making sure your cooler won’t run dry as you drive further away from the clubhouse.

The four-man scramble is one of the most enjoyable formats for team competition in golf. After all, finding one decent shot out of four is a welcome proposition to many golfers. Beginning this spring, golf clubs across the country will be able to compete in The Great American Scramble and vie for the coveted title of National Champions in Las Vegas.

After the longstanding Buick/Oldsmobile Scramble shut down in 2005, golfers were left without a national scramble competition. PGA Professional Wayne Stone decided to change that. Stone created an event aimed at bringing excitement, camaraderie and team-building experiences back to golfers through the scramble format.

Stone, who is the director of Golf at Windermere Country Club in Windermere, Fla., decided there was enough interest to create a national scramble just by gauging the response of his members to the loss of the Buick event. Encouraged by the feedback, Stone set out to create the national tournament that was currently missing from the golf world.

The Golf Club at Star Ranch has made its mark on the Austin-area golf scene as the home for “all-inclusive” golf, offering a greens fee, cart, range balls, breakfast and lunch buffets for one low price. But the best deal is no deal if the course isn’t up to par, right? Well, the General Manager of Golf Club at Star Ranch, Ricky Heine, also happens to be the President of the Golf Course Superintendent’s Association of America. Think his membership would allow him to keep his own layout in anything other than first-class shape?

Course conditioning is the first star at Star Ranch, but certainly not the Lone Star. The new “Star Player’s Club” offers unbelievable savings for loyal players who really want to improve their games. For $34/month, members get reduced greens fees, free range balls anytime, complimentary clinics and 7-day advanced tee time availability.

The latest star is the new practice facility featuring an entirely new driving range, a pair of short game practice greens, a separate wedge area with its own target green and an enormous practice bunker. Again, with game improvement in mind, Star Ranch offers numerous adult clinics and junior camps to go with their private and small group lesson packages.