Par for the Course

The Quarry Golf Club, San Antonio.

The Quarry Golf Club

Try teeing off from a sunny sand dune in South Padre Island, or experience relaxing nighttime golfing with fluorescent golf balls and illuminated fairways in Houston. With more than 1,000 courses at last count, the state has plenty of golf to go around. For the serious golf enthusiast or the occasional fan who wouldn’t know the back nine from the front nine, Texas can’t be beat as the ultimate destination to hit the links.

Other Duffer Destinations

• Wolfdancer Golf Club, the centerpiece of the new Hyatt Lost Pines Resort and Spa in Bastrop, rambles over a dramatic stretch of terrain dotted with huge trees. The layout serves up a striking combination of strategy and swagger—all in a breathtaking landscape. Need a mental picture? The tiny plateau of the 18th green sits pristinely on a rugged cliff, which falls off steeply into the Colorado River below.
• Where else can you attempt to land a shot across the border—yes, in Mexico—than at the Ambush, an 18-hole course at the Lajitas Resort? Lajitas, located on the Rio Grande near Big Bend National Park, offers desert golf at its finest, playing just over 7,000 yards from the back tees and offering four holes on an island in the river. World-class dining and lodging will also be at your beck and call here. In most of Texas’s major cities, you can even hire a jet to bring you out to the resort.
• Two regulation 18-hole courses welcome golfers to the Woodlands Resort. Panther Trail runs sleek in its natural beauty, with water features and wildflower-framed fairways. The Oaks Course is known for its sizable namesake trees, fairways, and bunkers. A par-4 18th hole bordering Lake Harrison provides a challenge on the Oaks, though both courses can be enjoyed by players of all levels.
• The ocean waves may be what calls many folks to the Gulf Coast region, but dedicated golfers have been choosing the links over the surf and sand here for years. The Wilderness Golf Course in Lake Jackson offers challenging play, with the green on number 7 creating quite a buzz. At only 12 to 15 yards wide and 70 yards long, it features dramatic contours in addition to sharp proportions that will test your best putting skills.
• Among the must-play courses for golfers in Texas are those of La Cantera in San Antonio. The Palmer Course features dramatic holes with soothing waterfalls and lovely lake views. The 7,000-yard, par-72 Resort Course will challenge players of every skill level. In addition to these two spectacular courses, the Academy at La Cantera has a custom-designed learning center to help you improve your game.
• Meadowbrook Golf Complex in the West Texas town of Lubbock has two courses—the Canyon Course, with wide-open fairways, and the Creek Course, presenting a challenge in its narrower fairway and numerous water hazards. The course also boasts one of the biggest and best grass practice ranges in the area.