Day Trips: Lockhart State Park Golf Course
Playing the nine-hole course is cheaper than a pound of Lockhart's famous barbecue
By Gerald E. McLeod, Fri., Sept. 9, 2016
Lockhart State Park Golf Course offers a great golf value. For the price of a pound of barbecue brisket at one of Lockhart's famous eateries, duffers can enjoy nine holes of unrushed play.
One of the last state-maintained and operated nine-hole golf courses, the fairways were cut out of the woods west of town in 1938. The Civilian Conservation Corps built most of the park's structures, including a National Park Service-style recreation hall on a cliff overlooking the golf course.
At one time, the No. 1 tee claimed to be the highest (above the fairway) tee box in Texas. The launching pad has since been lowered and is now the starting point for the eighth hole.
Overall, the course is a moderately easy par 35 with narrow fairways and two par 3 holes. There are a lot of creeks, but no sand traps. The ragged greens are the most disappointing part of the course.
This is definitely not a championship course and a step below most municipal courses, but the Lockhart course is worth the trip and is seldom crowded. The busiest times are weekend mornings when out-of-towners come to play before grabbing a barbecue lunch on red butcher paper.
Lockhart State Park is two miles west of U.S. 183 in Lockhart. The 264 acres are mostly heavily wooded with campgrounds, hiking and biking trails, fishing holes, and a seasonal swimming pool. They don't do tee times, but for more info, call 512/398-3479.
1,311th in a series. Collect them all. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of "Day Trips," is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 40312, South Austin, TX 78704.
Follow "Day Trips & Beyond," a weekly travel blog, at austinchronicle.com/daily/travel.
