Point of Relief

With all of my golf tools ready, I was eager to play. However, I didn't want to offset the money I had just saved from shopping smart by paying over-charged course or range fees. I knew that I wanted to stay away from country clubs and private courses for now, but where did that leave me? Were there differences between non-country club courses?

The short answer, is yes! As I researched, I discovered two main categories of public courses; municipal courses and simply public courses. Municipal courses may charge more for people who do not live in the area that the course "serves", but I haven't found this to be true yet.

My next step was to create an Excel spreadsheet that listed out each course and some defining details. I included the normal price, any reductions in price, phone number/physical address, if they offered memberships for high-usage, the course rating, etc.

I highly recommend doing this. My sheet has allowed me to compare the prices at every public/muni course in Austin and get the most for my money.

As of now, I have found that Harvey Penick has the best practice facilities but Riverside GC gives you the most for your money (they were one of the only courses that offered a student discount).

Knowing where to get the best deal, I was finally ready to pick up the club.