Golf Course Digest

For the golf enthusiast considering a move to Texas, you may be interested in the beautiful Barton Creek community. Located in Southwest Austin and just 15 minutes from downtown Austin, the Barton Creek Country Club has four championship golf courses including Fazio Foothills (Barton Creek Resort & Spa’s signature golf course), Fazio Canyons, Crenshaw Cliffside, and Palmer Lakeside. All the Barton Creek golf courses were designed and named after world-class golfing legends including Ben Crenshaw, Tommy Fazio, and Arnold Palmer. Other lavish Barton Creek amenities include the pool, tennis, spa and casual and fine dining facilities.

The community has made important strives to keep the environment clean while providing luxury homes for the residents of Barton Creek. (more…)

AUSTIN CALLS ITSELF THE “LIVE MUSIC Capital of the World,” the sort of slogan that sounds like a load of hooey from the Chamber of Commerce until you arrive and notice that musicians are actually standing around plucking guitars and singing into microphones everywhere. The Austin Chronicle lists nearly 100 bars featuring nightly live music–country, folk, jazz, gospel, punk, funk, “death metal,” you name it–and that doesn’t include the cocktail lounges out at the airport, many of which have their own troubadours.

Though Austin’s golf scene can’t claim to be quite that eclectic, it does offer plenty of options. The area has seen a burst of development in the past few years, with a bunch of new courses and many old favorites sprucing themselves up to remain competitive. All in all it’s a great place for a golf trip–even if you’re not that into death metal.

As a visitor, you can approach golf in Austin a couple of ways. You can stay in one of the excellent resorts and immerse yourself in the golf on-site–available only to members or resort guests–or you can choose from among the city’s many high-quality daily-fee courses. Either way, the best times to visit are the spring and fall, when the Hill Country weather is most cooperative: The average daily high is 79 degrees in April, 82 in October. (In July the average high is 95.)

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