The Falconhead Golf Club, located about 30 minutes west of downtown Austin and near Lakeway, opened for its first round in 2003.
PGA Tour Design Center experts designed the 18-hole course to incorporateelements that provide a challenge and experience on a par with any PGA tour course. The course plays at distances from 5,887 yards up to 7,181 yards from a variety of tee box locations, offering players of any skill level as much of a challenge as they’d like.
The course takes full advantage of the site’s natural raw beauty and rolling terrain with sometimes tricky changes in elevation that are almost a constant throughout the course. In keeping with the topography, it also incorporates waves on the fairways and sculpted slopes on its hearty greens. This dynamic and compelling course is supported by a practice range, including a short game green for work on chipping and those pesky sand shots, a putting green, and pro shop.
The Sweet Science of Shot Placement
The entire course is a challenge, and shot placement is key at every hole. The toughest holes include the 2nd, 5th and the 18th. All are relatively long par fours and have inclines and prevailing winds working in golfers’ faces making the holes play significantly longer. They also have long, slender sand traps that can gobble a wayward drive or approach shot requiring a serious recovery to salvage par. Playing through the hills and dells of the fairways on almost every hole requires more discretion and accuracy than a big drive off the tee.
The course’s signature hole is the 17th, a par 3 that plays over water, opening into a large green built on a limestone overhang, with Friday Creek running underneath. It is beautifully landscaped with three waterfalls flowing into it, creating a truly unique and memorable golfing experience you won’t get at other courses.
Superior Maintenance and a Variety of Grass Types
All greens on the course are composed of TifEagle grass, with the fairways and tee boxes consisting of Bermuda grass. Bermuda, rye, and other grass types compose the dense rough. Yardage markers can be found throughout the course at 125, 175, and 225 yards.
Falconhead’s course maintenance keeps its play quality consistently high, especially considering the course’s popularity. The greens break true almost the entire season with some lack of bite in the late summer months, a common issue that comes up on most all central Texas courses.
A Tempting Menu and Personalized Instruction
Talon’s Bar and Grill features a tempting menu plus daily specials and a full service bar from sunrise to sunset daily. Clubs by several major manufacturers are available for rental or purchase at the pro shop.
The course also has a resident pro who can offer advice if you want to strengthen your skill or work out a kink in your game. Whether you play golf every once in a while or every day, the course at Falconhead is always a challenge and learning experience that will work to better your golf game. The friendly staff provides support with professional lessons, beverage service throughout the course, and hosts private tournaments and league play for both junior and senior age groups.
A Public Course that Plays like a Country Club
Falconhead is a public course renowned for its maintenance, quality and care. The course is open to the public year-round with the option to pay per round or join as a member for discounts and other benefits.
While the course green fees (which include cart fees) are somewhat higher than most other Austin area golf facilities, the overall quality of the experience is among the best in Austin. This is a case of getting what you pay for. Avid golfers routinely praise Falconhead Golf Course for its craftsmanship, maintenance, and beauty.