Jimmie Austin Golf Club

Overview: Jimmie Austin Golf Club at the University of Oklahoma is a public 18-hole course in Norman with a strong collegiate identity. Perry Maxwell created the original layout, using Bishop Creek, the South Canadian River's influence and the natural ground around the former Navy South Base to shape a strategic parkland course. At 7,452 yards and par 72 from the back markers, the course has championship scale, but its university setting and multiple teeing options make the routing adaptable for more than tournament play.

History: The land was a U.S. Navy recreational facility in the 1940s. Construction of the University Golf Course began in 1949 under OU President George Lynn Cross, and Maxwell's course opened for play in January 1951. In 1996, an extensive renovation led by Robert Cupp updated the course while retaining features associated with Maxwell's original design. The facility was later named for Jimmie Austin, whose family provided major support for the university golf renovation and the course's continuing development.

Did You Know? The course began as part of a former Navy training-centre landscape. That history still explains why the Norman site remains unusually open and campus-connected: university golf grew directly out of a military recreational property rather than a conventional private-club development.