The Save Muny Plan No Longer Involves Buying Muny

When a gala raises more than $1 million for Lions Municipal Golf Course, how much of the course does that money buy? Under the current plan, none of it. The people leading the preservation effort have stopped trying to buy the land.

For most of the years Tarrytown has watched the "Save Muny" campaign, the goal seemed simple even when it looked out of reach: raise enough to buy the course from the University of Texas. In September 2026, Golfweek reported that the Muny Conservancy, led by Ben Crenshaw and Scotty Sayers, had dropped that goal. "Rather than pursuing ownership, the conservancy has shifted its strategy toward collaboration," the story says. The group now works with the university on maintenance and stewardship and keeps advocating for long-term lease negotiations.

That changes the question for anyone who plays the course, walks along Enfield Road, or treats the clubhouse as a neighborhood landmark. The question used to be how much money could be raised. Now it is whether the city and UT can agree on terms, and how much time they have left.

Why the purchase math stopped working

Two numbers explain the shift. In October 2025, Community Impact reported that the City of Austin leases the course from UT for less than $500,000 a year, and that the property is appraised at more than $680 million. The same report said that price "likely puts it out of reach of an outright purchase by the city or through private conservation efforts."

Compare that with the September 10, 2026 gala. Imagine Muny 5 surpassed its $1 million fundraising goal. One million dollars is about 0.15 percent of the appraisal. Even a decade of galas that size would not get close. Golfweek's account of the shift points the same way: as land values in Austin climbed, buying at a fair market price "became increasingly difficult to achieve."

The land carries obligations too. Community Impact notes that the course sits on one of several Austin properties UT holds under an early 1900s land gift, which requires the sites to benefit the university. UT spokesperson Mike Rosen told the outlet the university intends to "be good stewards of the Brackenridge land for the benefit of the current and future generations of students we serve." A long-term lease lets UT keep ownership and keeps the course open to the public. That is why the Conservancy's new approach has a better chance than the old one.

What the Conservancy is planning for

With no land purchase in the plan, the Conservancy's stated goals assume the course stays a course. According to Tribeza's coverage of the gala, the Conservancy hopes to build a teaching center honoring the people who helped desegregate Muny. If preservation is secured, it plans to work with Coore & Crenshaw on restoring the course and improving public facilities while keeping play affordable. The coverage does not say how the gala proceeds will be divided among these goals.

Earlier ideas fit the same pattern. In 2024, KXAN reported that advocates had described restoring the original routing, adding walking trails and community events, and possibly building a new clubhouse and turning the current one into a museum. None of these is an approved project with a construction date. They are a list of what could happen once the lease question is settled.

The gala itself filled ACL Live at the Moody Theater with Tanya Tucker, Jack Ingram, Wade Bowen, Asleep at the Wheel, Dale Watson and The Copa Kings. Golfweek also carried the night's best story. Sayers described a golfer walking onto the course for the first time in flip-flops and holing out for a one on the par-4 ninth. In the same article, Crenshaw described the course this way:

"It's really an oasis. People of all ages and types love this place."

The clock that matters now

If a lease is the goal, the date to watch is May 31, 2027. The Save Historic Muny District was created by 2019 legislation from then-state Sen. Kirk Watson to work toward preserving the course. Lawmakers have had to extend its life several times. The most recent extension was H.B. 2421, filed by Rep. Donna Howard in 2025. It moved the district's deadline from May 31, 2025 to May 31, 2027, unless the district reaches an agreement with the landowner to buy or preserve the property for public golf or parkland first. Community Impact reported that some lawmakers said this could be the district's final deadline.

As of today, October 11, 2026, that is less than eight months away.

The short lease terms are the part most visible from the street. The Austin Business Journal's August 2026 story describes "years of 5-month rolling leases" and says the question of Muny's future "may finally be answered soon." Most of that article sits behind a paywall. Its framing hints at movement, but no signed agreement, offer or terms have been made public.

Where the pieces are lining up

The clearest signs of a lease-and-stewardship future have come from smaller public bodies, not from a big announcement. At its January 16, 2026 meeting, the Save Historic Muny District board heard a presentation from Alli Jarrett, executive director of the Texas Golf Hall of Fame. The board then voted 5-0 to support the Hall of Fame's concept for a future anchor site at Lions Municipal. Board members also talked about coordinating with UT and seeking support from City Council members.

A month later, the UT System Board of Regents considered a lease extension for the West Austin Youth Association's 14.6 acres next to the course. The agenda item describes Muny as operating under a short-term city ground lease at below-market rent. It does not decide anything about the golf course. It does show UT extending leases for community recreation on the same tract.

The district's 2026 meeting archive lists sessions through May and a July 31 meeting marked canceled. No later records had been posted when this research was done.

Playing it this fall

While the negotiations continue, the course runs as a city facility under GolfATX. The fee schedule on the city's page, effective October 1, 2025, lists these Lions rates:

• Regular 18 holes: $35 Monday through Thursday, $41 Friday, $44 weekends and holidays
• Evening: $29, $31 and $34 across the same days
• Sunset or 9 holes: $28
• Junior: $20
• Cart: $18 per golfer

Austin residents can buy a $5 annual resident card for discounted rates. Weekday tee times open online at 9 a.m. seven days ahead. Weekend times open the Monday before at 8 p.m. The driving range closes Mondays at 1 p.m. until further notice. The city's fee page had not posted an October 2026 schedule as of this writing, so check rates at the pro shop before you play.

The historical markers for Muny's role as one of the first desegregated municipal courses in the South stand outside the Enfield Road entrance.

The next neighborhood gathering at the course is the West Austin Neighborhood Group annual meeting, social and board election. It runs Saturday, November 7, 2026, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the Lions Municipal clubhouse and patio at 2901 Enfield Road. Anyone who joins or renews with a $30 family membership gets a free H-E-B True Texas BBQ lunch.

Questions about Muny's lease come up often in conversations about Tarrytown, and Katherine Beckworth follows the news from the district board and UT as it happens. If you'd like to talk through what any of it means for your corner of West Austin, Let's Connect.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.