Spotlight

Palmilla Beach Golf Club

Don't get lost in the sand dunes at windy Palmilla Beach Golf Club in Port Aransas

The sand dunes are dramatic at Palmilla Beach Golf Club -- natural, wind-blown and rugged here next to the Gulf of Mexico. David R. Holland has more from Port Aransas.
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Tapatio Springs golf course - no. 2

Hill Country beauty: Tapatio Springs resort near San Antonio

The golf course at Tapatio Springs Hill Country Resort & Spa in Boerne boasts a fresh new look in what was already one of the best settings in the state: the Texas Hill Country about a half hour northwest of the Alamo City. With a mixture of short and long holes, lots of twists and turns and plenty of water hazards and some elevation change, accuracy and being able to work the ball is a must.
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Palmilla Beach Golf Club - 6th

Palmilla Beach G.C. in Port Aransas: A rare Texas seaside course

Arnold Palmer Design's Palmilla Beach Golf Club in Port Aransas offers something rare in Texas: ocean views. The course isn't right next to the water but there are several vantage points where you can see the Gulf, and you can certainly feel its effects. Wind is almost always a factor and there's plenty of gorse to gobble up golf balls.
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Texas Golf Destinations

  • San Antonio

    More than 26 million people visit San Antonio each year. And while most of them know that the Alamo City is indeed famous for its nickname mission that has inspired several movies, San Antonio offers so much more when it comes to tourism, not the least of which is its golf. With several first-rate golf resorts in and around the city, San Antonio just might be Texas' best golf destination, especially when you consider all the other things to do.

    A piece of San Antonio was beautified in the early 1990s when Keith Foster drew the assignment to convert the old Alamo Cement plant from an abandoned eyesore into one of the most unique courses in Texas.
    The Golf Club is Lee Trevino's only Texas signature course, located in the historic Briggs Ranch and created to be friendly for the average golfer. This open course rolls through a nice Hill Country setting, is loaded with oaks, yuccas, and wildflowers, and features water on eleven holes.
    The 18-hole Lakes/Creeks at Hill Country Golf Club in San Antonio, TX is a resort golf course that opened in 1993. Designed by Arthur Hills, Lakes/Creeks at Hill Country Golf Club measures 6931 yards from the longest tees.
  • West Texas

    As the old saying goes, the harder you have to work for something, the more you appreciate it. This is applicable to West Texas' golf scene. Although miles outside of many of Texas' metropolitan areas, West Texas offers some incredibly attractive golf courses that many casual visitors may overlook.

    Horizon Golf Club (formerly Emerald Springs) is the place where Lee Trevino honed his trade in the big-money El Paso games of the 1960s. The layout winds through a housing community and features wide fairways and large, well-maintained greens.
    Meadowbrook Golf Course, whose original 18 holes dates back to circa 1930, offers 36 holes of golf with its Canyon and Creek Courses. Ralph Plummer laid these out back in the 1940s, Warren Cantrell put his signature here in 1955, then Bob Lohmann came along for another renovation in 1988.
    The 18-hole Rawls Course at Texas Tech in Lubbock, TX is a public golf course that opened in 2003. Designed by Tom Doak, Rawls Course at Texas Tech measures 7349 yards from the longest tees and has a slope rating of 139 and a 75.
  • The Dallas Metroplex

    The Dallas Metroplex area has never had a problem with attractiveness. The Oil Boom brought great wealth here and Yankees by the multitudes continue to move to Texas to escape the cold winters of the North. The Dallas area is now an amalgamation of classic Texas scenery and attitude with lavish consumerism.

    Hawks Creek Golf Club is located just four miles from downtown Fort Worth in Westworth Village. The course originally opened in 1923 but underwent a major renovation in 2002 that replaced many of the tee boxes and greens. After the makeover, it's more playable while at the same time offering more challenges.
    Traditions has received the most acclaim from the two courses at The Courses at Watters Creek, at one point being ranked by the Dallas Morning News as the No. 1 public course in the state.
    Long and susceptible to the wind, White Stone Golf Club rolls through an impressive Hill Country-like setting with huge oak trees, lots of rocks, and loads of native oaks, cacti, yucca, and wildflowers.
  • Austin

    Austin is known for its legendary music scene and beautiful Hill Country terrain and natural resources, like the Colorado River and the lakes that were spawned from it. The topography makes for a great golf canvas, and the city and surrounding area certainly have great places to play, whether it's resort golf, muni or quality daily-fee plays.

    Falconhead Golf Club sits just west of Austin in the midst of the scenic Hill Country, tumbling across a rolling landscape covered with knobby cedars and towering oaks. The challenging layout was designed to PGA standards, making it one of the most popular public golf courses in the area.
    Built by Don January in 1979, Pine Forest Golf Club in Bastrop, Texas provides a true golf adventure through sneaky elevation changes and red bluffs, with blind tee shots and holes along the Colorado River.
    Hidden Falls Golf Club is a Leon Howard design that opened in 1974. The course cuts through a pecan grove on the front and what seems like an ocean of water on the back, creating two totally different golf experiences. Howard uncharacteristically left out water on the tight, pecan-lined front, with the wet stuff in play on only one hole.
  • Houston

    There's no denying the nation's fourth largest city has plenty to offer in terms of entertainment, restaurants and golf. In addition to three pro sports teams, thriving downtown theater and museum districts, loads of shopping and warm weather year-round, the Houston area boasts about 150 courses, the majority of which are public.

    The 18-hole Tournament Course at Golf Club of Houston in Humble, TX is a public golf course that opened in 2005. Designed by Rees Jones, Greg Muirhead and David Toms Tournament Course at Golf Club of Houston measures 7425 yards from the longest tees. Greens and fairways are bermuda grass.
    La Quinta Course, one of the two regulation courses at Quail Valley, is a typical regulation course, slightly more difficult than El Dorado because of the water in play on 10 holes.
    Nestled along Lake Conroe in Montgomery, Texas, The Golf Club at Margaritaville Lake Resort is a self-contained retreat that offers outstanding golf, a variety of lake activities, and lodging in its 21-story hotel complex overlooking the lake. The Dave Marr-designed golf course at Margaritaville Lake Resort plays around 7,100 yards from the back tees. Pines and oaks line the fairways and the bunker-laden track is spiced up with waterfalls, fountains, lakes, and even an island tee box.