Another "Save Muny" campaign underway

For a number of acclaimed municipal golf courses and similar facilities that share same designation, things just don’t get much better.

This summer the south course at Torrey Pines in San Diego will become only the second municipal course in history to host a U.S. Open Championship. The first was Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, N.Y., which did so in 2002 and will repeat the feat in 2009.

A sparkling new municipal layout in Washington State, Chambers Bay, was recently awarded an upcoming U.S. Amateur and the big prize, the 2015 U.S. Open.

San Francisco’s Harding Park, widely considered a landmark public course, will host the President’s Cup competition in 2009.

But while these municipal layouts are experiencing unprecedented success, one course in particular finds itself preparing for yet another battle to keep its place in one of America’s most celebrated golf cities.

Lions Municipal Course, located in Austin, Tx., finds itself on the verge of another battle with encroaching developers given the green light by the University of Texas’ Board of Regents.

Lions was the first public course to open its doors in Austin when it did so in 1924. Since there have been two efforts to replace the land set aside for golf with more commercial development but both were rebuffed by citizens who simply couldn’t part with their golf course.

In 1972 the University of Texas, which owns the property, announced it was reclaiming the land and planning to build student housing. The “Save Muny” campaign was born and the course was saved.

Since Lions was last saved from the bulldozer in 1989, there have been over 1 million rounds of golf played on the course, making it one of the busiest in the state of Texas.

But the UT regents once again have set their sights on new commercial developments for the Brackenridge tract, the piece of land that is home to the golf course. The action by the board of regents has once again prompted civilian action.

A citizens group led by West Austin resident and golf great Ben Crenshaw has recently formed and launched another campaign intent on keeping the land for golf.

The group is planning a golf tournament in June to raise money to advertise its cause. Additional events are expected. There is also an online effort underway at www.savemuny.com, where the public is urged to register and electronically sign a petition. The site uses the rallying cry “We need to show the Board of Regents of the University of Texas that there are a great many citizens who truly value the open space, history and unique experience that is Old Muny.

The relationship between the city of Austin and Lions began in 1934 when the city assumed operations of the course from the Lions Club of Austin.

The course measures just over 6,000 yards but has relatively narrow fairways and small greens that can still be challenging. What might be of greater importance is the affordable golf experience the course offers. The greens fees are just $18 during the week and $20 on the weekend.

The board of regents is still going ahead with its plan despite the growing public outcry. Last week a development firm from New York was selected for the project whose aims are to replace the golf course, more than 500 student apartments and perhaps a biological field laboratory with commercial development to earn money for UT-Austin.

This could only be the beginning of a long, drawn-out battle.

The city’s lease with the university expires in 2019 but without a certain future, the course could see its funding drastically cut. Without capital improvements the course and its structures could be ignored, opening the door for a slow deterioration of Lions.

Interested parties can visit www.savemuny.com for more information.