Lions Municipal Golf Course Celebrates Its 100 Year Anniversary

 

(Austin, TX) – The Muny Conservancy and Austin Founder Lions Club today hosted a Centennial Celebration to commemorate the national significance of Lions Municipal Golf Course, fondly known as ‘Muny’, on its 100^th birthday. A large crowd of more than 500 supporters gathered to celebrate the historic milestone with grand fanfare for the 141-acre golf course and Civil Rights Landmark.

 

The celebration began “with a bang” of the Texas Cowboys firing Smokey the Cannon, followed by a parade of historic cars from the Austin and Georgetown Model A Clubs. The Austin High School Drum Line performed, and the Boy Scouts of America’s Troop 5 had uniformed members in attendance to commemorate the flag recognition of the program during the singing of the National Anthem by the Bourbonnais Trio. Mayor Kirk Watson led the Presentation of the Proclamation of Lions Muny Golf Course Day, followed by speeches from United States Congressman Lloyd Doggett, Austin Founders Lion Club (AFLC) Past President Alan Ford, AFLC President Ken Crone, Muny Conservancy Board Members Volma Overton Jr. and Volma Overton III, Texas Black Caucus President and Executive Director Rudy Metayer, former UT golfer and LPGA Pro Cindy Figg-Currier, Former PGA Champion and UT All-American Mark Brooks, and Scotty Sayers, Co-Chair of the Muny Conservancy. Longtime radio personality and Muny Board Member Ed Clements served as Master of Ceremonies. The presentation concluded with a performance of “The Beauty of Muny” written and performed by George Machock, longtime Muny supporter and former member of the UT golf team, as the crowd joined in singing the composition.

 

In a tweet on X following the ceremony, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson posted, “Muny has been an integral part of Austin for the past century, and it needs to be a key part of our future.” He continued, “It’s an irreplaceable part of our parks system and home to hundreds of heritage trees. I was proud to be there this morning and continue efforts to Save Muny.”

 

Muny Conservancy Co-Chair and Two-Times Masters Champion Ben Crenshaw, said, “You don’t find places like this with 100 years of history, all kinds of history… golf, civil rights, and greenspace. You can’t put a price on what it means to people, and it would be very short sighted if a solution isn’t found to preserve these 141 sacred acres in the heart of our city.”

The reasons for saving Muny are many – the preservation of the historic 100-year-old golf course, preserving all 141-acres of green space that is a wildlife sanctuary sitting on a water recharge zone with hundreds of heritage oak and pecan trees, and most importantly, celebrating the Civil Rights history that took place on the property which allowed the racial desegregation of the first public golf course in the South. Muny provides the most affordable and accessible golf in Austin and is host to more than twelve public school golf teams, the First Tee of Austin, Austin Golf Academy, and logs 72,000 rounds of golf annually, with more than 200,000 annual visitors.

 

Crenshaw went on to say, “You carry it with you forever. It would be a tragedy if the University of Texas and our city don’t find a way to preserve this gem for future generations.” 

The Muny Conservancy was created to help preserve and improve one of Austin’s iconic recreational green spaces, Lions Municipal Golf Course. Our mission is to help make sure all 141-acres are saved for future generations to enjoy, with affordable golf, public accessibility, the civil rights history of the site and promotion of the game in mind. The wildlife, heritage oaks and 18-holes of golf have been an important part of our city’s parkland since 1924. Learn more by visiting themunyconservancy.com and by following @savemuny on Instagram and Facebook.

The Austin Founders Lions Club (formally known as the Austin Lions Club) funded and organized the construction of the Lions Municipal Golf Course, after helping to raise funds for the stadium for the University of Texas at Austin. In 1924, the AFLC received permission from the UT Board of Regents to lease 141 acres on the western edge of Austin for “establishing, conducting, and operating golf links and grounds suitable for the game of golf.” They cleared the land and built the first nine holes where play began on November 11, 1924. In 1925, the second nine holes were added, followed in 1930 by construction of the clubhouse that remains today. In 1936, the Lions transferred the land lease to the City of Austin. In 1950, the Lions Municipal Golf Course became the first racially integrated public golf course in the Southern United States, an event recognized by the Texas Historical Commission in 2009. The course was listed in 2016 on the National Register of Historic Places for its nationally significant role in civil rights history.