Blackhawk Golf Club, Pflugerville, TX

Blackhawk is in the process of becoming a really nice course again. I played 8/28/13 and was impressed at the amount of noticeable improvements all around the course since my last visit.

The greens are usually in great shape and this was true on my most recent visit.

The sand traps were redone and actually had nice sand in them. Some had been changed and some were removed.

Fairways have a good cover of grass. In the past there have been a few fairways that were patchy, it looks like new sod.

New carts! They have all new carts and these new ones seem like a Cadillac in comparison to the old wrecks.

There seems to be a genuine commitment to improving this course. Well worth it to see the change from my last visit. There is still some work being done, but if they keep up the good work this will be part of my regular rotation.

I got a great deal online for an afternoon tee time, so my expectations weren't that high, but the experience was an even bigger disappointment. After showing up for my pre-paid tee time, I discovered that I had to pay for a few balls to hit to warm up. It's not about the money, but most courses I play give you a small bucket of balls with your paid tee time, and I found this to be unnecessary.

The condition of the course is abysmal in every way. The fairways are littered with weeds, along with patches of dirt and gravel. I can tolerate unkept OB areas, but the middle of the fairway is inexcusable. Many of the holes feature filled-in former bunkers, and the current bunkers contain hardened dirt/mud, and in one case the rubber irrigation tubing was sticking out right in the middle of the trap. The first few holes in particular are exceptionally bad, and it put me in a foul mood for the entire round unfortunately.

To make things worse, around hole #7 my cart's battery began to die and I could barely move. Up ahead at the 7th green another golfer was stranded because his battery had died as well, and his playing partner had moved on a couple of holes ahead. This is apparently a pretty common problem at Black Hawk. I found out later that the carts (which are quite old) are long overdue for new batteries and apparently the owner(s) have little interest in doing anything to improve the course or the golfer's experience.

The staff did eventually drive another cart out for me and the other player, and they were friendly enough, but I don't think the Marshall was as interested in regulating play as much as just enjoying the scenery, and trash cans, water buckets, and broken tee boxes were few and far between.

I hate to say it, but I don't think I'll play here again unless I hear of new management and significant improvements.

Great layout and lots of improvements. This is a fun public course in Pflugerville that provides a lot of challenge and has consistently great greens. They have one of the toughest sets of par 3s in the area. There have been many improvements since I started playing this course 5+ years ago. In the past there were some bunker issues and a few trouble spots in a couple of fairways. They put a lot of work into that last year and it is looking much better in 2013. I think its a good value at current prices.

Played the course. Wind was extremely high that day. Course was really wet, almost flooded. Greens were in great shape. Would love to play course after it dries out. Assuming it had rained a lot before I played there. Like the course, like the people, want to play again someday. Course itself was very good.

Blackhawk is looking really good right now. A little bit of rain does wonders. All in all a very nice place to play. Friendly staff and a fair price for a decent, well maintained course.

Don't even think about bringing some water on to the course. Their rules prohibit ANY outside drinks including water. In a year there can be 60 days over 100 degrees in Austin and they have to milk the customer for every penny possible. Sure some customers may understand these types of rules but when your a father trying to introduce 13 and 10 year olds to the game the green fees are expensive enough without forcing your customers to buy $3 bottles of water from your grill. That's BAD BUSINESS IMO and no wonder golf is on the decline.