Why has Luke Wilson joined forces with Ben Crenshaw to save a storied Austin municipal course?

USA Today

09-03-2025

Why has Luke Wilson joined forces with Ben Crenshaw to save a storied Austin municipal course?
AUSTIN, Texas — Luke Wilson is just as unflappable in person as he is on the silver screen — and I'm saying this definitively, even after just one meeting.
Gimme a second to explain.
Wilson, who has some incredible roles on his Hollywood resume — including Richie in "The Royal Tenenbaums," Emmett in "Legally Blonde," Lance in "The Skeleton Twins," and the Godfather in "Old School" — often provides a marvelously calming presence for other characters to bounce their nervous energy off.
In real life, he dishes out the same vibe, at least he did during last week's Imagine Muny Gala at the Austin City Limits Moody Theater, the fourth effort to save a municipal golf course within the city limits of the booming capital of Texas.
Wilson was on hand for the event because, frankly, he uses the storied 18-hole Lions Municipal to find his own calm when necessary. As part of the event, run by Ben Crenshaw and his boyhood pal Scotty Sayers, Wilson was featured in a short video, something he's done before and will likely be asked to do again.
Let's rewind a bit before we get to this story's climax. I've attended all four of these galas, and watched as community members have opened their wallets and hearts to help the cause. Over the years I've chatted with Sergio Garcia, Lyle Lovett, Verne Lundquist, Mark Brooks, former Texas football coach Mack Brown, Ray Benson from Asleep at the Wheel, esteemed Austin radio announcer and former Dell Match Play starter Ed Clements and more. Heck, last year while I was on the green carpet chatting with Lundquist, my pre-teen daughter was schmoozing with actor Kyle Chandler. She then turned to me and said, "So Dad, this guy has some Friday Night Lights or something?"
And while yes, there's some serious namedropping going on here, it's really more an indication that the city's biggest names come out to back Crenshaw in this cause.
The land on which Lions Municipal sits is part of the 500 acres known as the Brackenridge Tract, which is owned by the University of Texas. The course is considered the first fully desegregated municipal course in the South and the city had leased 140 acres for Muny since 1936, paying UT about $500,000 a year. Originally, the thought behind the Save Muny Conservancy headed by Crenshaw and Sayers was to purchase the land from the university for a fair price, but as real estate has skyrocketed in Austin, the group has shifted to working closer with the university to handle maintenance and simply push lease negotiations forward.
More: Muni golf: Why Ben Crenshaw (and so many others) are fighting to save and promote municipal golf course
This year, as the night was wrapping up, I was soaking in the sights and sounds, all while sitting at a table with new University of Texas women's golf coach Laura Ianello and her husband, Jeff. That's when Suzanne Erickson, who handles PR for the conservancy, asked me what I thought of Wilson. I said I hadn't gotten a chance to meet him. This set off a Jason Bourne-like series of events that was unlike anything I'd ever been a part of.
Erickson grabbed my hand and tried to pull me past a bouncer, who insisted she didn't have the right credentials to get backstage. Then came a chat with another security member. Then she whisked me up a stairwell to the mezzanine, where we dodged numerous security members to find Wilson.
And with Wynonna Judd belting out a song on the famous ACL stage, Wilson was kind enough to pull me inside a room to offer his thoughts on Lions Municipal, a place he genuinely holds dear. He talked about how peaceful the course is, especially amid the urban sprawl that now surrounds it. He talked about how he admires Crenshaw's tenacity and commitment to saving the property, which could certainly be sold off for a massive sum. He talked about the history of the greenspace, something you sense has real meaning to him.
"For me it's like trying to help save Central Park," Wilson said. "I'll never forget Ben saying at one of these get-togethers that it's a place of peace and tranquility, and that's really what it is. It's not just about golf, it's a green space, and going back to the idea that there was a time in Texas when this was the only place that a person of color could play golf — it's very moving to think about somebody in Corpus or Amarillo or Midland driving to Austin to play a round to golf if they were Black or Latino. That's just unbelievable. If you love golf, you know what it's like to drive to a great course and play.
"And Ben went to that little school that's right across the street. That's where he learned to play golf. To think that someone who went on to accomplish what he's accomplished learned the game there is incredible. He is a very quiet, dignified person.
"And then there's something to be said for Texas. To me, it is an incredible state. Both my parents are from Massachusetts, and they moved to Texas in I think '64, and they love the fact that Texas is a place where people get things done. They build things like museums, and get things done, but also you don't want them to lose places that are important, right?
"And this is, you know, so clearly, a place that you know you don't want to lose."
The night was another unmitigated success. Over $1 million was raised for the cause, and awareness was raised to another new level.
But in the process of this discussion, Wilson completely missed Wynonna's finale. After he answered all my questions and we exited the suite, the lights were up and Wynonna was gone.
I looked at Luke and winced, if only to explain non-verbally that I was sorry he missed the ending, expecting he might roll his eyes and show frustration.
With the same levelheadedness he shows on screen, Wilson put his hand on my shoulder and simply said, "It's all good. What a great night."
Unflappable.