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

  • 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.

    The Lago Vista Course is Lago Vista resort’s original track, designed by Leon Howard in the late 1960s and renovated by Dave Bennett in 1992. The golf course has four water holes, more than 40 bunkers, and dramatic elevation changes of up to 100 feet.
    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.
    Designed by Dick Phelps, Forest Creek Golf Club has been named "Best Public Golf Course in Central Texas" by Golf Digest as well as "Golf Club of the Year" by Club Corporation of America. Phelps' design features plush, narrow fairways, and its namesake Forest Creek that comes into play on 11 holes.
  • 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.
    Utopia Golf Course is tucked away in the scenic Sabinal Canyon. It is a popular nine-hole course in an idyllic location that served as the inspiration for a book, which then became the movie "Seven Days in Utopia," starring Robert Duvall.
    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.
  • 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.

    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.
    Known as one of the best golf values in the San Antonio area, the Alsatian Golf Club offers an outstanding golf experience for a town of 2,700. This well-designed links-style track takes full advantage of the terrain, making use of every possible variation in elevation.
    Located inside the Rockin' J Ranch community deep in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, Vaaler Creek Golf Club is a Michael Lowry/J.R. Newman design that features breath-taking vistas of the rolling countryside and live oaks. Golfers who book tee times at Vaaler Creek G.C. can expect beautiful water features and expertly placed bunkers.
  • 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.

    From the fairways of Irving (formerly known as Twin Wells), you can see the skyline of downtown Dallas–a nice aesthetic for this fun, user-friendly municipal. The course is mostly an open, links-style design, although a few holes that roll along the Trinity River favor a traditional-style on the back nine.
    Grand Oaks Golf Club enjoys a peaceful, tranquil setting among century-old oak trees and an abundance of wildlife. The course is as challenging as it is scenic with tree-lined fairways and small greens that will test your accuracy. It may have a traditional design but there is still some bite to this round.
    The Fred Couples Signature course is the centerpiece of the Bridges at Preston Crossing. The golf course sprawls across rolling hills that most don't associate with north Texas. Mature trees dot the lush meadows, sliced with ribbons of tall native grasses. The parkland layout has a fair amount of challenges and it is especially tough on a windy day.
  • 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 South Course at BlackHorse is known for the sand quarry that was ingeniously worked into the layout by the design team. Particularly on the back side, the wetlands and sand features come into play prominently and create a totally unique setting for golf.
    The Arthur Hills/Mike Dasher-designed Sienna Plantation is a flat, wooded course that has been enhanced to provide elevation changes. The result is a challenging track that rolls between lakes, creeks, and the native hardwoods that dominate the landscape.
    Architect Roy Case created both courses on this new 36-hole, daily-fee facility that is located only 10 minutes from downtown Houston. In addition to the views of the skyline, Case had at his disposal a touch of Hill Country terrain with dramatic elevation changes, as well as the typical Houston- area prairie lands.