Cypress Course at Cypresswood Golf Club

Cypresswood started the trend toward high-quality daily-fee golf clubs in the Houston area, and now features three regulation 18-hole courses in the floodplains of the Cypress and Spring Creeks. Towering trees, no nearby homes, and no out-of-bounds, are just a few of the features of this Pinehurst-like experience.

The original Cypress Course is a little tougher than the Creek course. The meandering fairways offer uneven lies, and it's considered more of a target course because it has more water and dogleg fairways than its brethren. In fact, water comes into play on 16 holes.

Cypress features two mean holes-one par 4 and one par 5. No. 9 doglegs 427 yards and requires a solid drive to be in position for a green-in-regulation approach. No. 15 goes almost 600 yards, and has a creek that cuts into the fairway in front of the green.

The 18th can be a demanding ender, sometimes playing as much as 450 yards when the pin is in the back of the large green.

Getting there : From I-45 south, turn left on FM 1960 and travel about 6 miles. Turn left again on Cypresswood Dr. (you'll see a Shell gas station). Turn right at the next light.