It is 7:45 a.m. The sun is rising. The dew is still coating the grass like a blanket. A dark-haired man pulls a six-iron from his bag, swings and hits the ball crisply onto the green. This is a beautiful day to play golf at Austin Community College.
The long-renowned Riverside Golf Course (formerly the Austin Country Club) became home to something other than just golf when ACC took ownership in 1984.
In 1989 part of the land was used for the construction of ACC Riverside, one of the college's six campuses. But recently, the ACC Board of Trustees has been questioned in reference to the sale of Riverside Golf Course and the Board claims that it may be an excess asset.
According to a recent press release from the Board of Trustees, the school will "seek to keep zoning which preserves the highest assessed valuation" of the golf course as it is their duty to the taxpayers. Announcements like this have worried many East Austin residents who wish to keep the golf course in place and retail development far away.
Although it seems that the Riverside Golf Course is currently safe from redevelopment, the Board of Trustees has stated that "ACC will continue, through prudent master planning, to do what is best for all of its students and all of its taxpayers."
Linda Young of ACC Governmental Community Relations said the residents have nothing to worry about.
"There is no truth to the rumors about the development of a Wal-Mart, a shopping center, or anything of the like," said Young. "That is simply not ACC's purpose. We are an educational institution that serves the public."
Supporters of the golf course may have found a possible loophole by having the property declared a Texas Historical Landmark. However, the Board responded in a press release, "ACC will not support any effort to declare its Riverside golf course property as historic."
Designed by the much-celebrated Perry Maxwell, it is one of the best kept secrets among Texas golfers who love to play a good course for a low price.
Long before the days of ACC ownership, Riverside was the Austin Country Club and played host to the legendary golf guru Harvey Penick. Underneath the shade trees of the putting green is where Penick taught Texas golf-heroes Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite how to play the game.
The Riverside Golf Course offers a pro-shop, a bar and grill and student discounts for anyone in high school or college.
Jared Lee Smith, the pro-shop attendant at Riverside, said that along with good facilities, the best thing about the course is the clientele. "We've got them all: kids in diapers and men in their 80s. Most of all though, I'd say [Riverside] has mostly college guys and 20-somethings."
It seems the Riverside Golf Course will continue to be discussed among golfers, trustees and students-at least for a while.
Smith, for one, said he hopes the discussion is far from over. "I respect what [ACC] has to do, but I hope they know what this golf course means to our neighborhood and to the history of Austin."
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