Great Hills Country Club

Overview: Great Hills Country Club is an 18-hole private club in northwest Austin, set among the ridges, valleys, streams and creeks of the Texas Hill Country. PGA legend Don January and architect Billy Martindale designed the course in 1973. The front nine follows open ridgelines with wide views and wind-exposed shots, while the back nine becomes more enclosed and runs along natural drainage. That shift gives the round a clear two-part character. The club’s course tour records multiple tee ratings and slopes, but a single current total par and yardage is not stated in the reviewed material, so the profile leaves those values unclaimed.

History: Great Hills was established in 1973 and became member-owned in 1985, according to the club’s official history. Its next chapter is a major improvement programme approved in 2024, with golf-course architect Chet Williams leading work on greens, bunkers, irrigation and the broader playing environment. The renovation is intended to extend the life of the original course while improving sustainability and playability. That combination of a 1970s Austin design and a contemporary renewal programme gives Great Hills a story of adaptation rather than replacement.

Did You Know? The club’s signature 17th is a short par three with white-sand bunkers, followed by an 18th par five that the club recommends seeing in the late afternoon, when long shadows reach into the fairway. The pair gives the closing stretch a particularly strong sense of place.