The dearth of public golf in the burgeoning Austin metropolitan area can make getting a tee time with a price tag of under $150 a real challenge. The City of Austin has just a half-dozen municipal courses and one short practice track to try to fill the demand, but one of them — Grey Rock Golf Club in the southwest part of town — is among the best tracks anywhere in the region.
Grey Rock GC, born as Circle C Golf Club in 1992 when there was nothing but the course among the rolling hills and plains in that part of the Texas Capitol city, was designed by Jay Morrish and Roy Bechtol. The delightful par-72 routing sports holes on both sides of South Mopac lined by live oaks and cedars and — now — plenty of homes, but only on its first seven offerings.
Playing Grey Rock from the tips brings all 6,909 yards into play but there are three shorter teeing grounds also offered and encouraged. Golfers encounter ample, well-manicured fairways over a mildly rolling terrain and forced carries over water on just three holes, all of them par 3s.
A series of ponds, well-placed bunkers and large rolling greens ringed by mounds and traps add spice. The course encompasses 160 acres of the natural beauty found in Texas Hill Country.
Grey Rock will not overwhelm you with length but grabs you with its variety.
The course sports two par 5s (the 509-yard second and 497-yard 17th) that can be reached in two, a pair of short par 3s (the 161-yard eighth and 168-yard 13th) that can be attacked, and two par 4s (317-yard ninth and 323-yard 15th) worth trying to reach with one mighty and well-placed drive.
But the penalty for failing to pull off any of these feats can be steep. This is the hallmark of a great golf course and what makes Morrish and Bechtol’s work here so appealing and well regarded.
Grey Rock’s best stretch of holes is found after the turn. The 406-yard 10th plays through a chute and uphill and to a long, narrow green whose back half slopes away from the fairway. No. 11 (a converted par-5 at 459 yards) asks for two great shots to reach the oversized, plateaued putting surface while the 431-yard 12th winds around a tree right of the landing area to an elevated green surrounded by mounds.
The home hole is only listed as the 12th hardest on the course at 386 yards from the tips but water down the right edge and OB on the left in the shadow of the clubhouse make the closer a knee-knocker.
Grey Rock GC is a fun and well-conditioned track with a staff that pays strict attention to detail and bends over backwards to make sure your round here is enjoyable.
With its Texas-style clubhouse and expansive practice area, Grey Rock is one of the top places to play in or around Austin and can be enjoyed for under $110, even riding on the weekends.
That’s a bargain for this great of a course maintained this well and this much fun.