Lions Municipal Golf Course is a municipal golf course at 2901 Enfield Road in Austin, Texas. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
History
It was constructed in 1928 by a yet-unknown architect for the Lions club, and has been under the operation of the city of Austin, Texas since 1936. The course was Austin's first public golf course, and is historically notable for being the first golf course south of the Masonâ€"Dixon line to racially integrate. The desegregation of the course occurred in 1951 while the Austin city council was weighing whether it was more economical to build a separate golf course for African Americans or allow them to play Lions. However, before a decision was made, two black youths arrived at Lions and began playing a round of golf. Upon hearing of the ongoing round, the mayor of Austin rushed to city hall to consult with two city councilmen. The group concluded that they should allow the players to continue their round, permanently opening public golf to African Americans in the south. The desegregation of Lions is unusual in the fact that it was voluntary, whereas other southern municipalities fought against the integration of their public courses in court.
One month prior to winning the 1950 U.S. Open, Ben Hogan played an exhibition match with Harvey Penick, Morris Williams Jr., and Ed Hopkins in front of a large gallery. When Hogan approached the tee at what is now #16 he claimed it to be "the only hole I've ever seen without a fairway." After birdying the difficult par 4, the hole eternally became Known as 'The Hogan Hole'.
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