The uphill dogleg 7th is what a short par 4 should be -- challenging off the tee with a tough approach shot (see photo below).

Rain doesn't dampen experience at Avery Ranch

    It was cart path only and water-filled sand bunkers at Austin's Avery Ranch golf course today after a night and morning of heavy rains.  The course was very wet; that's the bad news.  The good news is that only a few groups were out there, so I could savor a trip around a nice routing with many interesting views, some challenging shots and some brutal pin positions.  And greens fees were incredibly reasonable at just $52, cart included.  I'll report on the course in detail in an upcoming issue of HomeOnTheCourse, but here are a few highlights.
    In launching me out onto the five-year-old routing, conceived by Nicklaus Design protégé Andy Raugust, the friendly starter Gil warned me to stay on the right side of the fairways on the front nine.  The indigenous mesquite trees block shots that are just a little left of the fairways, and on the 2nd hole, after my slightly hooked drive ended up on the left edge of the fairway, I had to lay up and around the trees from 135 yards.  Always listen to the starter.
    I was struck by how many pin positions were tucked just over steep sand bunkers at greenside.  On the very short par 4 16th, which plays to just 300 yards from the middle tees (6,229 yards overall), I had a lob wedge from 55 yards over a sand trap to a front pin position on an elevated green.  I thought I hit the lob perfectly, and with spin.  But the front pin was on a slope that tilted from front to back; my ball hit about three feet short of the pin and rolled 25 feet past.  With a lob wedge!  I suppose such short par 4s should be tough around the greens, but the positioning of a pin should never be such that birdie is impossible.
    The greens at Avery Ranch were wonderful to putt if difficult to read.  A few times I misread putts I was sure of when I lined them up.  I thought the greens were a little slow.  When I mentioned this in the pro shop after the round, the two assistant pros insisted the stimpmeter readings were around 10 and invited me to the 18th green for a test with the stimp stick.  (They had some time on their hands because of the weather.)  The reading was 9.6.  Close enough.
    Par 5s were all challenging and most required three good shots to get to the putting surface.  The par 3s were all approachable and a nice variety of short (145 yards) and long (205 yards) from the middle tees.  Of the testing par 4s, my favorite design was #7, an uphill dogleg left that played to only 360 yards from my tees.  The drive needed to carry 180 yards to clear a ravine.  Left of the fairway was wilderness stroke-and-distance territory, while a trap at the elbow of the dogleg 235 yards out was within reach.  Good players would probably opt for 3-wood or less.  Then the approach had to clear a creek, a rock wall and a bunker to get anywhere close to the pin.  It was a wonderfully designed short par 4, one of many nice holes at the fine Avery Ranch Golf Club.
    Avery Ranch Golf Club, Avery Club Drive, Austin, TX.  (512) 248-2442.  Black tees, 7,121 yards (recommended for 0 to 4 handicap players), 74.3 rating, 133 slope.  Gold tees, 6,594, 71.8, 133.  Blue tees, 6,229, 70.0,126. Ladies white tees, 5,724, 74.0, 135.

The approach at #7 at Avery Ranch is both intimidating and exhilarating. 

Footnote to those who care about my Texas barbecue obsession:  Tonight I sampled the smoked brisket from Bill Miller's in Austin, with a side of cole slaw (just mediocre, a little too shredded and a little too much vinegar).  The brisket was terrific in texture and taste, more moist than Rudy's brisket (see yesterday's post).  Bill Miller's cows must really love their salt licks because the meat was saltier than it needed to be; the tasty, mild barbecue sauce that was generously spooned out for me would have been enough seasoning for the smoke and natural beefiness of the meat.  On the other hand, the salt sure made the beer taste better.  On my rating scale of 1 to 5, I give Miller's brisket 4 pigs (might have been a 5 if they had rationed the cows' salt licks).  Yes, I know brisket does not come from pigs.     
 

    Sorry, yesterday was the first day I haven't posted something in months.  I was traveling to Austin, Texas.  I will be in Austin this week, with planned visits to some of the area's best communities and one round a day.  I am also dedicating myself to finding the best barbecue brisket in greater Austin, not an easy task I come to find.  After a round of golf today at Falconhead in the Lake Travis area to the west of the city, I asked in the pro shop where I should stop for takeout barbecue on my 40-minute drive back to my hotel.

    A riot almost broke out.  The young lady at the snack bar suggested Rudy's.  The assistant manager advised me to stop at Smoky Moe's.  The golf pro said, no, he much prefers the 'cue at County Line Barbecue. I went with the first suggestion, Rudy's, which I had read some good reviews about, and I stopped there, and ordered a half pound of "moist" brisket (you can also have it "extra lean") and a half pound of baby back ribs, plus a few side orders.

    The brisket was outstanding, easily cut with a fork, smoky and tasty.  The ribs were another thing, tough and overly salty.  Those poor ribs had spent way too long sunning themselves in a tanning booth.  I think I will stick to brisket the rest of the week.  The sides of cole slaw and creamed corn were excellent, the slaw leaning a llittle more toward mayonnaise than vinegar, and the creamed corn the real thing, fresh corn and what tasted like a homemade (and very fattening) cream sauce.  On my rating scale of 1 to 5 pigs, I give Rudy's a 4 for the brisket, a 1 for the ribs and a 4 for the sides.  Their barbecue sauce, which you serve yourself, had a nice peppery bite to it and did not taste commercial at all (even though they are happy to sell you bottles of the stuff).

    Oh, the golf.  I liked Falconhead, which offers some rolling fairways, open fairways interrupted by a few indigenous trees, and nice elevation changes.  I made a mistake by playing the blue tees at 6,300 yards.  Some of the holes were a little dinky from there; the tees at 6,800 would have afforded a much better challenge.  For the first time, I used a Taylor Made R5 driver today with a regular shaft, hoping it would force me to swing more easily and forgive some badly pushed drives.  It worked well; indeed one par 4 on the course played to just 258, and I was pin high and just off the green.  I left the chip 10" short, my only birdie of the day.

    More on Austin and its golf courses in the coming days.

The 16th at Falconhead is a short and reachable par 4 at 258 from the middle tees.