1/ The Course
Hancock Golf Course was founded in 1899 by former Austin mayor Lewis Hancock. It was the original site of the Austin Country Club, before that club moved first to what is now Riverside Golf Course and eventually to its current location, home of the annual WGC match play tournament. (Today’s ACC layout is famous for its views of the historic Pennybacker Bridge.)
According to the Hancock Golf Course Conservancy, Hancock is the oldest continuously run golf course west of the Mississippi. I’m not entirely sure that’s true – I think I’ve played at 5 or 6 courses which made the same claim – but either way, it’s among the oldest golf courses in Texas, and even in America. What’s so surprising is that Hancock is anything but stuck in the past.
2/ The Experience
Hancock’s most unique feature is what it doesn’t have: a clubhouse or pro shop. Instead, you pay at a parking meter on the first hole. There are no tee times; it’s first come, first served.
In fact, Hancock doesn’t have much of a staff at all. I’ve sometimes seen a marshal around, but more often than not, the only people on the course seem to be the players.
The course is only roughly maintained. The greens are closer to a typical fairway length, and some areas end up in poor shape. But the fairways are usually even enough to hit some good shots.
All this can make for some long waits and slow rounds, but if you’re coming to Hancock you know what to expect. The scorecard lists some rules that would seem ridiculous at any other golf course:
- All players are required to have a bag and three clubs, including a putter.
- No more than fivesomes are allowed.
- Dogs must be on a leash and under control.
- Shirts are required (!).
3/ The Community
What really makes Hancock special is the way it integrates with the neighborhood. In a golf ecosystem that’s so often about privacy and exclusivity, Hancock breaks the mold by opening itself up to the public. A walking path surrounds the perimeter of the course and is often very busy. On summer days, you’ll see sunbathers laying out on towels in open grass areas (for the most part, they manage to stay out of danger from errant shots).
Despite not having a ‘clubhouse’, Hancock boasts a basketball court, a soccer field, and a public rec center. It hosts summer camps and community events year-round. It’s part golf course, yes, but also part public park, part community center. I have some friends who live in the area - they’ve never touched a golf club, but they all know the course as a neighborhood landmark, as well as a good place to go for a walk or spend some time outdoors.
People sometimes talk about certain golf courses as being ‘part of the community’. What this typically means is that locals might come eat at the restaurant or hang out at the bar, not that they’ll be sunbathing behind the 2nd tee. It’s cool and refreshing to see a different model working so well at Hancock.
4/ The Layout
Hancock’s layout is an impossible-sounding contradiction of quirky and forgettable. Packed into around 50 acres, Hancock takes up less than 25% as much space as most 18-hole golf courses. It’s only a 9-hole par 35, and tips out at just over 2600 yards.
For the most part, it doesn’t feel quite that short, since the course takes driver out of your hands on many of the par 4s. For example, the downhill par-4 fourth is only 264 yards from the blue tees, but has a pond protecting the front left part of the green and dense woods over the back. Driving the green would require a pretty precise 250+ yard tee shot (with serious trouble lurking if you miss). For most golfers, the only real option is to lay up off the tee and then wedge on in two.
(Hancock Golf Course Conservancy)
There are a few places, though, where you really feel the squeeze of the smaller property — especially on the practice putting green, suicidally located in the 9th hole’s right rough about 230 yards from the back tees:
Within a small package, however, Hancock is also able to fit in a few holes that would feel right at home on any full-size golf course. In my opinion, the crown jewel is the 6th hole, a truly great par 5. At just 462 yards, it’s not very intimidating on the card, but to have a chance at eagle you must first pass two difficult tests.
First, the tee shot. There are dense woods all up the left side, which will swallow up any misses to that side — but they’ll also block out your second shot if you don’t hit it long enough or far enough to the right.
If you do manage to hit a good drive up the right side of the fairway, you can probably reach the green in two — but you’ll face an uphill mid-iron approach to a green that falls off severely to the front-right. Anything that misses right is toast. Right-handed players would probably want to hit a fade off the tee and a draw with their approach to have the best chance of hitting the green in two.
I love this hole because it’s an excellent test of skill at all levels without being punishing. Good players can make an eagle if they can work the ball both ways and hit two great shots. On the other hand, if you’re out of position off the tee, you’ll be faced with a challenging layup, but at least you’ll still have a reasonable chance to make a par.
5/ The Future
Look — golf might have a tough few decades ahead. As cities grow and become more dense, and as water becomes more precious in parts of the world like Texas, golf courses will feel increasing pressure from the non-golfing community: is golf a wasteful use of land? We’ve already seen many courses shut down to be converted into parks, sold to developers to build housing, or just left to sit vacant.
I don’t think every course should look like Hancock. But I’m so glad it exists. It’s a great example of how golf courses can integrate productively into local communities, and it shows how the game of golf might adapt to use fewer resources and require less maintenance.
Hancock is the perfect place to go out and play on a Tuesday when the weather is nice and you have a couple of hours. It’s the perfect place to bring a beginner who’s only ever played at Topgolf but wants to try a real course. It’s also the perfect place to take your dog for a walk or lay out in the sun.
If you’re a golf snob, you might not like it — but that’s okay! You have thousands of 18-hole courses and country clubs to play. You can let the rest of us play golf in the park.
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