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

  • 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.
    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.
    Western Texas has been the municipal course of Snyder since the late 1970s. This 9-hole course, located on the grounds of Western Texas College, allows you to take full advantage of the West Texas winds, as most holes seem to play downwind.
  • 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.

    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 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.
  • 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.

    Built along Lake Travis in 1971, Point Venture was the first course in Leander, but has been overshadowed since the opening of Crystal Falls. The course has 9 holes that meander through a residential development and is loaded with dogleg holes and mature trees.
    Despite its Hill Country setting, Teravista Golf Club has more of a links feel, with wide-open fairways and casually rolling mounds. About 60-70 white bunkers spot the layout, and water comes into play on 14 holes.
    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.
  • 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.

    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.
    Frisco Lakes Golf Club is a part of the Del Webb Frisco Lakes Community, just north of Dallas. The front nine of the course is interwoven with the community itself while the back nine sprawls across open countryside.
    Coyote Ridge, opened in 1999, features some unusual holes that traverse a variety of unique terrain. Each nine is strikingly different–the front plays through a burgeoning residential community, is generally wide open and void of trees, and takes on the characteristics of a links-style course.
  • 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.

    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.
    Greatwood is known for its white sand bunkers and impressive par 3s, three of which play right at or over 200 yards. The 1989 Carlton Gipson design features elevated tees and greens that sandwich plush fairways and are contoured with mounds.
    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.