AUSTIN, Texas — In a city full of change, Butler Park Pitch and Putt has remained pretty much the same over the years.
- Proposal denied to operate golf course
- Family has been managing course for 71 years
- Hoping for a second chance
“It’s one of the last few things that’s old Austin like,” President Lee Kinser said.
The nine hole golf course has been operated by the Kinser family since it opened back in 1950. It’s a laid-back, take your shoes off and bring your dog type of course, that is nestled off of Lamar and Riverside Dr.
“I like that it’s built downtown with the Austin landscape and views,” golfer Jason Cormier said. “It’s just a good time.”
Change may be coming to the Pitch and Putt course and it might be because of a missed signature. Proposals to operate the property were recently submitted to the City of Austin. Kinser’s was denied because one a signature was left off of one of the documents she says.
“I hired a profession company to write my proposal,” she said. “It was nearly 80 pages long, one signature got omitted and so I was disqualified.”
The city has not picked a new operator for the property. A spokesperson sent a statement regarding Kinser’s bid:
“The Kinser bid was deemed non-responsive. It was protested, considered and denied. It was a problem with the paperwork, with it not being considered a legally binding valid offer.”
Kinser says she signed the document and re-submitted the application but that protest was denied. She is now reaching out for help from the public in hopes the City of Austin will make an exception and at least let her bid be up for consideration.
“I realize that rules are rules,” Kinser said. “But there’s also a human element to it and after 71 years to lose it because of one signature would be unfair.”