I had one final golf-related stop to make on Saturday. I heard that the lease for Butler Park Pitch & Putt was not renewed for the current group (who date back 70 years) that runs the course. Considering the great reviews this place gets I wanted to check it out now with its uncertain future.
I navigated my way through some city traffic and drove along the waterfront to get to the course, which is in an urban area. The course takes up maybe a small city block and is surrounded by apartments, restaurants and a park. The Austin skyline is visible on most holes and adds an exciting element to the round here.
Parking is limited but as luck would have it I got a spot close to the tiny proshop. I carried my bag up to proshop but then returned it to the car after looking at the scorecard!
A full bag won’t be needed as Butler Park is only 805 yards, with nine par-3’s. Even if you are terrible at math (like me) you’ll find the average distance of a hole here is less than 100 yards. So, I grabbed two wedges, my putter and two golf balls and set off on my hour spin around the course. I got caught behind a shirtless twosome, which was a first for me on a course!
I wasn’t sure what to expect but as I found out the golf course itself isn’t anything special. It is cramped, the routing is confusing and the mats to hit off of are firm and lumpy. The greens were a gnarly bermuda and not really worth the hassle of taking the putter cover off. But hey, it was $11.
The biggest plus about Butler Park is its social and casual vibe, which may offset its shortcomings. That is up to you to decide! Everyone that I saw had some beer nearby and there were a couple large groups of people just chatting by the proshop. Dogs are allowed here and coolers seem to be encouraged! The course had a chill, party atmosphere to it.
At the end the day Butler Park didn’t really resonate with me. I can see the appeal for some (a bit like Topgolf maybe) and plenty of people out there appeared to be having a blast! However, it just wasn’t my thing and that’s fine. I do wish the course all the best going forward, whatever that looks like!
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):