Last year, the membership of the Austin Country Club approved a golf course rennovation project that would have reconstructed the greens, replaced fairway grasses, leveled tee boxes and some other minor tweaks to the course. However, the project was contingent upon receiving enough water to proceed. In spite of the recent rains, the drought conditions have persisted.
As a result, the Board of Directors was advised by the Greens Committee that the project should be postponed due to the current water shortage. The excerpt below is from a communication from the President of the Board of Directors to the membership of Austin Country Club informing them of the decision to postpone the project.
"Everyone in Austin knows central Texas is in or near a drought of record. There is even talk of the Highland Lakes running dry in the foreseeable future. We are now in late LCRA Stage II restrictions. Just two weeks ago LCRA was expecting Stage III restrictions to commence before Thanksgiving. The recent rainfall has caused LCRA to move the forecast for Stage III to February 2014. Even as ACC received over 7 inches of rain October 30-31, Marble Falls received only 0.06 inches. Obviously the future is uncertain, but LCRA continues to emphasize that the drought is not yet over. Given the water situation and our project requirements, the ACC Board believes that the only responsible course of action is to postpone the restoration project until the necessary water supply is assured. Because the project timeline dictates a November start, this means a minimum one year postponement is required. The ACC course will be open in 2014."
