![]() A trashcan just inside the front entrance has a dent from where a bullet struck. The clubhouse still has reminders of that horrifying day. Wallace turned around, walked out of the clubhouse and passed the stunned golfers. Kinser fell to the ground with mortal wounds. He confronted Kinser inside the clubhouse while patrons stood outside talking and preparing to tee off. "Douglas was a playboy and had been having an affair with Wallace's wife," the younger Kinser said. The man was Malcolm Wallace, the press secretary for Lyndon Baines Johnson who had yet to become president. That's right, murder.Īccording to Lee Kinser, current co-owner of the course and an in-law of the elder Kinser, Douglas was working in the clubhouse when a man entered the door with a gun in his hand. ![]() It was on this day that murder was committed in the clubhouse. The most sobering occurred on October 22, 1951. Serious times at Butler Park Pitch and PuttĪlthough today's relaxed, friendly setting provides for a quick get away from the office and a chance to work on your short game, Butler Park Pitch and Putt has had some serious times. The serene environment is unique as the area surrounding the course has been developed through the years and includes several fast-food restaurants as well as a pair of thoroughfares that pass just north and south of the course. Instead, grass and trees including fig, banana and pecan, as well as a variety of plants cover the landscape. The clay, however, is nowhere to be found. On both holes, you tee off from the top of the embankment and hit down to the greens located in what was once the bottom of the clay mine. Steep embankments on the edge of the former mine walls can be found on several holes including Nos. Today, more than 50 years after the first ball was struck, the nine-hole course and the land on which it sits still exhibit signs of its original use. After months of planning and preparation, Butler Park Pitch and Putt opened on June 1, 1950. The city of Austin never hesitated and granted Kinser permission to build the course on the land. Kinser took his idea to the city in a meeting of city legislators. He wanted to build a nine-hole, par-3 golf course on the site. The city of Austin had two choices - clean up the land or leave it in its poor condition. Today, the property is considered an Austin landmark that is full of stories of sex, murder and, oh yeah, an occasional hole-in-one.Īfter years of mining clay on the small piece of land, Butler Brick closed down the mine in the late 1940s and turned the property over to the city of Austin. ![]() The course is walk-ins only.Since that time, the mine has closed and the land has gone through a transformation. Olamaie is reopening for indoor dining soon, while Little Ola’s is close to opening in its new home up north in Wells Branch.īutler and its clubhouse are open from 8 a.m. Fojtasek had also submitted an application (he is a Butler regular), and Knaggs and Fojtasek decided to work together on the gold course restaurant.Ĭurrently, Olamaie and Little Ola’s are temporarily closed. ![]() Pecan Grove Partners, which includes Bart Knaggs, the CEO and partner at hospitality group New Waterloo ( Il Brutto, South Congress Hotel, etc.), won the bid to take over the park. The clubhouse, with beer garden space, is open to the public.īutler had been run by the Kinser family for over 70 years, but their renewal bid in 2019 was disqualified because of a paperwork error. The park will now sell beer, spiked seltzer, and wine - although this means the park will no longer be BYOB. There are also beef and vegetarian hot dogs, snacks like candy bars and chips, and desserts (cookies, rotating seasonal ice cream sandwiches) courtesy of pastry chef Jules Stoddart. The new menu includes many sandwiches from Olamaie’s casual biscuit shop Little Ola’s, like breakfast sandwiches, egg salad, fried chicken, chicken salad, and pimento cheese. The clubhouse is located at 201 Lee Barton Drive and will open Friday, April 9. Butler Pitch & Putt, a public golf course near Auditorium Shores in the Bouldin Creek neighborhood, is debuting its new clubhouse featuring a menu from Olamaie chef and two-time James Beard Award finalist Michael Fojtasek. ![]()
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