Lochinvar Country Club

Named after a hero of the Sir Walter Scott poem "Marmion," the ultimate male chauvinist, Lochinvar is an exclusive, all-male golf club patterned after Dallas' Preston Trail. In the late 1970s Houston businessman Curtis Hankamer organized the property and hired Jack Nicklaus to come in and design one of his few Texas courses.

The result is a unique course carved out of the tall pines and oaks near Houston's Intercontinental Airport-it features a few links-style features with grass bunkers and numerous undulations. The fairways are mostly generous and the greens are sloped and fast. The signature hole is No. 12, a 393-yard par 4 that requires a perfect drive and an approach over a scenic, rock-lined stream.

The original pro here was the legendary Claude Harmon, whose son Butch assumed the reins as golf director until the late 1990s.

Getting there : From I-45 south, take the Rankon exit and turn left. Drive to Hardy Ave. and turn left. At Farrel Rd. turn right and the course is just ahead.