Things to Do in Pflugerville

Stretching across more than 6 miles, Lady Bird Lake's tranquil waters reflect the Austin skyline, the cliffs at Red Bud Isle, and the Congress Avenue Bridge, home to the largest urban bat population in the world. Throughout the year, Rowing Dock’s instructors take visitors into this manmade lake and teach them to paddle in kayaks or row within stand-up paddleboards. For customers who feel comfortable with their paddling prowess, the staffers rent everything from one-, two- and three-person kayaks, paddleboats and paddleboards, and canoes. As these human-powered vessels float across the lake, passengers can view the area's many native birds or canoodle with their oars at sunset.

A majestic, 18-hole course encircles the stately grounds of Balcones Country Club, whisking golfers to an elysian landscape of dense tree lines and large, rippling waterways. The Balcones Course, features the club’s signature hole, a 155-yard par 3 where tee shots must clear a vast water hazard and a central fountain that spews the liberated souls of drowned golf balls. The club prepares greenhorn golfers with a bevy of classes offered through their golf academy, which range from typical private lessons to fitness programs offered by Titleist Performance Institute–certified trainers. A classroom equipped with video swing-analysis technology hosts intense investigations into corrupt swings, and a double-sided, lighted driving range fosters late-night reflections on whether or not golf balls are simply fallen stars.

A more frenetic pace of competition takes stage on the 10 courts that billet Balcones Country Club’s tennis program, and scampering tykes and weary adults can retreat to the club’s two outdoor pools for a more relaxing setting. Guests can fuel up for a day of recreation with a quick bite at the onsite grill or engage the community in the elegant, 250-capacity banquet hall.

Designed by 1992 Masters Golf Tournament champion Fred Couples, the course at Twin Creeks Country Club drapes over 195 acres of Texas Hill Country framed by rocky outcroppings and natural hazards. Players traverse the course’s 7,033 yards along a pristine bermuda grass path from tee to green, though many gleaming white-sand bunkers may interrupt a string of stellar lies with tricky up-and-downs or inspire the sudden desire for players to fill their hourglasses with extra time. The club’s eponymous creeks wind the length of the course in a slithery tango—entering play on 13 of the holes—and ravines filled with century-old oak and pecan trees present still more snares. Players can check the club’s course-conditions page prior to a round for an idea of the day’s crowds, weather, and pin positions, which change each day of the week except Monday, when the course is closed.

Twin Creeks Country Club also boasts a 15,000-square-foot clubhouse complete with an upscale restaurant, bar and lounge, locker rooms, and pro shop. Outdoors, 10,000 square feet of earth play host to myriad events, and a covered area shelters diners from torrential golf balls.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Total length of 7,033 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 75.7 from the back tees
• Course slope of 142 from the back tees
• Five sets of tees per hole
• Designed by Fred Couples

Hemmed by 35 acres of lakes and the watery tentacles of Williamson Creek, Jimmy Clay and Roy Kizer Golf Courses band together to form a 36-hole golf complex with two distinct, relatively flat 18-hole layouts. Opened in 1974, Jimmy Clay Golf Course predates its sibling by two decades. Measuring 6,914 yards from the back tees, the tree-lined par 72 is the longer and tougher of the two courses, with large, elevated greens that befuddle golfers of all stripes and inspire fandom in wide-eyed mini-golf courses. Though most holes begin with tee shots into wide, forgiving fairways, water hazards loom on the edges of 9 holes to test players’ accuracy.

Stationed just south of its counterpart, Roy Kizer Golf Course weaves through 22 acres of wetlands and lakes that pinch the fairways and greens of nearly every hole. The 6,819-yard course emulates the links-style layouts of coastal Britannia with wide fairways, a significant water presence, and a population of migratory waterfowl that squawks with a heavy cockney accent.

Jimmy Clay Golf Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Total length of 6,914 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 72.3 from the back tees
• Slope rating of 124 from the back tees
• Five sets of tees per hole
• Scorecard

Roy Kizer Golf Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 71 course
• Total length of 6,819 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 72.2 from the back tees
• Slope rating of 125 from the back tees
• Five sets of tees per hole
• Scorecard

Art can be divisive, but playtime is not. Maybe that’s why Art Alliance Austin chose red rope swings hung in surprise downtown areas to headline the 2012 Art City Austin festival. Courtesy of Austin’s The Red Swing Project, a collective dedicated to transforming neglected urban areas into welcoming play spaces, the swings are just one example of the partnerships Art Alliance Austin makes to achieve its goal of building community through local art projects. And considering Austin’s explosive growth in recent years, that mission is timelier than ever. “It all comes down to creating spaces for a common narrative, a common culture, and common experience to emerge,” explains Art Alliance Austin’s communications liaison Michu Benaim. “And we can achieve that by encouraging people to connect.”

Art Alliance Austin designs its annual festivals to be as much block parties as art shows—Michu describes Art City Austin, for example, as local, homegrown, and neighborly. Since 1956, the group has woven its philosophies into Austin's pulse during its many shows, festivals, and events, which have included Art Night Austin, Art Week Austin, and coproduction of Pecha Kucha Austin, each one helping ensure the city remains a vibrant and creative place to live.

A nationwide swing-honing syndicate, GolfTEC attacks ineffective golf techniques with a patented Five Factor approach that harnesses technological resources to boil golf's subtle motions into an objective, data-based science. GolfTEC Austin's staff of PGA-certified aces stays true to the mission in each lesson, as they assess swings with video analysis and compare them to a database of the swing profiles of more than 150 Tour players, which provides a sounder frame of reference than simply swinging in front of a mirror or seeking wisdom from a cardboard cutout of Jack Nicklaus. Pros then pinpoint areas for improvement and build on them in video-based sessions, reinforcing effective motions while helping clients better understand the mechanical elements of the golf swing. GolfTEC even helps their charges bolster their swing out of the studio with their online Player Performance Studio, which contains each players' golf lesson history, past swing videos, and custom-tailored drills that pupils can access 24/7 to prepare for an upcoming outing or seek comfort after slicing the ball repeatedly into the waters of chaos in a vivid nightmare.