Destination: Austin, Texas
By LINKS Magazine
The hills may be alive with music in Austria, but in Austin the hills are alive with both music and golf. Not only is the Texas state capital one of the country's great live music cities, but it also is one of the country's great golf meccas with a rolling topography that is perfect for challenging, scenic layouts.
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WHERE TO PLAY
Avery Ranch Golf Club: Overlooking a 60-acre lake, this bucolic course routed around natural limestone caverns, live oaks and streams is where actor Dennis Quaid holds his annual charity tournament. The backside features three par 3s, three par 4s and three par 5s.
Barton Creek Resort & Spa: There are four memorable courses at this top-rated resort, two by Tom Fazio, one by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, and another by Arnold Palmer, along with 312 recently renovated guestrooms, suites and villas with stunning views of the Texas Hill Country.
Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort & Spa: This is Austin's newest golf resort with 491 spacious guestrooms and an Arthur Hills-designed course that plays through three distinct terrains?rolling prairie, wooded ridgeline and river valley. The finishing holes play along the Colorado River.
WHERE TO STAY
Four Seasons Austin: This stylish hotel is located on the banks of Lady Bird Lake just steps from the city's famed entertainment district and features 291 residential-like rooms and suites, as well as one of the city's best restaurants, Trio. Don't miss the Sunday brunch.
Horseshoe Bay Resort: Located 45 minutes northwest of town along Lake LBJ, this 7,000-acre property offers three choices of accommodations: a Marriott hotel, vacation apartments and lakeside condos, as well as three outstanding courses by Robert Trent Jones Sr. There are also seven restaurants and four swimming pools.
The Driskill: If you want a real taste of the Old West, this historic hotel built by a cattle baron will transport you to the 1800s with rooms that have soaring ceilings and elaborate woodwork. The menu in the clubby Driskill Grill is as good as the ambience.
WHERE TO EAT
Jeffrey's Restaurant & Bar: Since 1975, this neighborhood bistro in Clarksville has been pairing warm hospitality with artful dishes like pecan-encrusted flounder sautéed in lemon-brown butter. The small-bites menu at the bar is perfect if you need to make a show.
La Condesa: You can't come to Austin without feasting on Mexican food and you'd be hard pressed to do better than this 2010 James Beard Award nominee for Best New Restaurant in the country. It's also the highest-rated Zagat eatery in town.
Shady Grove: Want to combine live music and good food? This down-home restaurant in the arms of a pecan grove just minutes from downtown has a wonderful patio atmosphere and some great Tex-Mex dishes. Half the fun is hanging out in the Airstream "hippie trailer" while you wait for your table.
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