In 1949, John Douglas Kinser first designed the small golf course known as the Butler Park Pitch & Putt. His family has run the course ever since and thought it was headed toward a 70th consecutive year of business as usual at the nine-hole course just south of Lady Bird Lake.

Instead, the course's operator, Lee Kinser — John Douglas' niece-in-law — has found herself locked out of competitive contract negotiations to operate the course. The city of Austin disqualified her from consideration, Kinser told the American-Statesman on Tuesday, for failing to sign a required form.

"This was a technical mistake, and I don’t think it is fair to reject my proposal after being here for 70 years for one omitted signature," Kinser said.

City documents show three companies, including Kinser's, submitted bids to run the small par-3 course tucked away just east of South Lamar Boulevard between Barton Springs Road and Riverside Drive. However, her company was not considered in final evaluations.

Last week, the city's purchasing office advised that a new operator, Pecan Grove Golf Partnership, had been recommended to run the course after the current lease expires Aug. 12. Under Kinser's lease, 18% of both admissions and concessions go to the city, which realized $87,367 in revenue in 2018. Kinser pays for the labor and maintenance needed to operate the course.

It costs $9 to play all nine holes at Butler on Monday through Thursday, $10 on Fridays and $11 a round on the weekends.

City spokesman David Green said because the contract remains pending, the city could not comment on the details of Kinser's bid to continue operating the pitch and putt. Green did confirm that Kinser's bid was "deemed non-responsive."

"That was protested, considered and denied," Green said. "It was a problem with the paperwork, with it not being considered a legally binding valid offer."

Retired pro golfer Ben Crenshaw, a two-time Masters champion, called the pitch and putt one of his top-ten spots in Austin in his book "A Feel for the Game: A Master’s Memoir."

"This golf course is not just a job to me," Kinser said. "It is a family, and I treat it like family. All these trees and plants here, they mean a lot to me. It's more than a business."

The contract will now be evaluated by a sub-committee of the city's Parks and Recreation Board, then go before the full board and finally to the City Council, likely in June. The council could call for the contract to be re-bid, which would give Kinser a second chance.

"I’m just asking for consideration for my bid to be looked at along with the other two," Kinser said.