Since November 1, 1924 when Lions Municipal Golf Course opened for play, groups of people have been gathering at this historic site to spend time together playing golf and sharing friendships.
In the vein of that tradition, 46 players whose golfing origins are rooted at "Muny" gathered for the fourth annual Muny reunion and putting contest.
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The primary purpose of the gathering is provide the opportunity to see their golfing buddies, spend a couple of hours catching up on how they and their families are doing, share stories about their past golfing adventures, laugh at some of their shared golfing experiences and to participate in a nine hole two man team putting contest. After all, they are at Muny where most of these players learned to putt.
Among the group are golfers of various skill levels but most of them have played the game at a high level at one point in their lives. The group includes players who have been successful at a local, state, collegiate, national and international level.
The most notable in terms of golfing success is Ben Crenshaw who won 19 PGA tour events including two Masters titles and membership in the golf hall of fame. 
Crenshaw is seen here with (left to right) Scott Sayers, Gib Kizer, Erik Lopez, Crenshaw, David Harrell, Cary Petri). Scott Sayers and Gib Kizer were defeated in the final match of the putting contest by David Harrell and Cary Petri. Erik Lopez is the Director of Golf At Muny.
Aside from Crenshaw, the golfing pedigree of this group is quite remarkable. Randy Petri and Gib Kizer, who were two of the best juniors to come out of Austin, helped Austin High capture state golfing titles and went on to play on the PGA tour and the Champions tour. They have been friends for about 60 years.
Moving from the professional ranks to the amateur ranks; Billy Clagett, Lester Lundell, Jep Wille, Dan Simpson, Jay Ganaway, Sonny Rhodes, Chuck Munson, Richard Buratti, Tim Wilson, Wayne Walker, David Roberts and others within this group have all had notable success in amateur golf. They captured city championships, won state junior championships, state mid-amateur championships, and won most of the local titles available to them. They played on college golf teams and participated in NCAA golfing championships as well as USGA amateur events.
Some of the group such as Tinsley Penick and Jamie Kizer are from some of Austin's golfing royaly and have contributed to the golfing community as club professionals and greenskeepers. They have all made their way in the business world as professionals, raised families and enjoyed the game of golf in numerous ways. Read more about some of these players, a historic letter announcing the opening of Muny, and about other Austin Golfers in the "Austin Golf History and Player Profiles" section of this website.
The one constant and common thread that weaves it's way through all these lives is their shared bond with Lions Municipal Golf course and the friendships they formed in the process of playing golf at "Muny". It takes time to develop those kind of bonds and they can't be manufactured, bought or ordered on line. They require time and care and they exist because of the game of golf and that wonderful place we call "Muny".
