Jimmy Clay Golf Course: a review

In your quest for an affordable golf experience, Jimmy Clay Golf Course is not a bad place to start.  This east Austin treasure opened in 1974, and with the completion of Roy Kizer Municipal in 1994, became a 36 hole complex.  Jimmy Clay is located off Stassney Lane—only minutes from the bustle of downtown Austin—and its location will make you wonder how the scene has remained so tranquil.  Although it hosts tournaments regularly, Jimmy Clay seems largely overlooked, especially its extraordinary value; weekend green fees are only $24.  Jimmy Clay offers a variety of discounted rates for children and seniors, and the twilight rate is always a cheap option.  The full list is available on their website.

Although Jimmy Clay is easy on the pocketbook, don’t expect the same when it comes to course difficulty.  This course plays over 6,900 yards from the black tees, and poses a challenge to even the most experienced golfers.  Players will learn the importance of keeping their drives in the fairway quickly—water and thick Bermuda rough complicate things as early as the first hole—but keeping it in the short grass pays huge dividends here.  Most of the greens at Jimmy Clay are large and receptive.  Even if you miss them, odds are you won’t face too difficult a chip to give yourself a chance at par.  

Shorter par-threes abound on the front nine, and golfers will likely need them to pick up some strokes.  A few tight par-fours (including the risk-reward island green at hole 4) demand some difficult decisions.  Players might be tempted to pull out the big stick and go for it, but knocking around enough wayward tee shots in the twisted oak limbs might be enough to change some minds.  You’ll need to save those strokes for the back nine, where things begin to get real interesting.

The first thing that catches your attention at the par-five 10th—other than the elevated green—is the wind.  Most of the tee shots on the back nine are exposed to it, and it never fails to be a factor.  Another thing that’s immediately apparent on the back nine: the holes are longer.  The par-three 12th can play as long as 230 (gulp) yards.  Not quite what you’d expect from a municipal course!

No amount of golfing frustration can take away from the experience.  The beverage cart comes early and often.  Marshals swing by every two or three holes and record time of play so pace is not an issue. The holes are agonizingly fair: keep the ball in the fairway, and have a good chance at making par.  The round culminates in the par-four 18th, a dogleg right that requires a precise tee shot and approach to a green flanked by two ponds.

You might make a double bogey, but you’ll be back before you know it.