Dallas and Austin golf courses . . . where to play?

[yenniedn]

Vacationing in TX . . . need advice where to play.

Hey guys,

I'm a Bay Area, CA golfer vacationing in Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and Houston area for two weeks (staying in Coppell).

I brought my clubs but am not even certain that I'll be able to get away from the family to sneak in any rounds. So, if I could only play one round (or maybe two) in Dallas and Austin area, what are some of the courses that I MUST play?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Thanks,
Yen

[frozyn]

If you're willing to splurge a little bit, Cowboys Golf Club is a fantastic course. It's right near Grapevine Lake which is mere minutes from Coppell and just up the road from Grapevine Mills Mall.

 

http://www.cowboysgolfclub.com/newpage.asp...5&page=5844

[KF_Tower]

Cowboys is okay, but the bermuda greens are SLOW and not easy to get used to. Try The Tribute

[Larwood91]

Cowboy's is a great course. Another place you could try is Sky Creek Ranch Golf Club in Keller TX which isn't far outside Grapevine, Southlake, and Colleyville.

 

Nice course

[Larwood91]

Oh, one thing I forgot. If you are in the Austin area Horseshoe Bay is a great place to go. It's right off Lake LBJ in Marble Falls TX

 

Good Luck!

[stuckntx]

Things must be rough if you are vacationing in Texas ;)

[taylormadefan]

Grapevine Municipal is a great course, always crowded, but a lot of fun.

 

I think it's one of the best daily fee facilities in Texas and it's very close to coppell.

[stage1350]

PM Samm980. He can't come to the phone right now, but if you'll leave your name and number, he'll get back to you as soon as he's released from Time Out.

 

He lives in Dallas and can provide you with everything you need.

[mizuno]

In the Dallas I second the Tribute; great course.

 

In the Austin area Barton Creek and Horseshoe Bay are both great choices, but expensive. Moderate price choices are Avery Ranch, Falconhead and Terra Vista.

[ham_man]

In the Dallas I second the Tribute; great course.

 

In the Austin area Barton Creek and Horseshoe Bay are both great choices, but expensive. Moderate price choices are Avery Ranch, Falconhead and Terra Vista.

Avery Ranch is an excellent course (~$50), as is Teravista (~$50). They are both very similar in turns of price and course conditions, which is why I have taken to calling Avery Ranch "Teravista West" (I play alot at Teravista because juniors can play for $20, and since I'm 16, I can drive the cart as well ;) ).

 

Also, I have heard that Wolfdancer, near Bastrop, is an fantastic course, but slightly more expensive (~$80).

[iyan7]

Hey hey hey, Dallas is my second home town.

 

Try Los Rios Country Club!

[yenniedn]

Things must be rough if you are vacationing in Texas ;)

 

First of all, thanks to 99.99% of you guys for giving me a few very good choices to play at . . . I'll definitely check them out all and try to play at least a couple of them.

 

As for STUCKNTX, things aren't that rough, brotha, quite the contrary . . . I could go into more detail but your post doesn't deserve much of a reply.

[chop180]

For the Coppell area, the closest and best around is Cowboys GC, the Tribute is also a great course (remake of european links style holes) however there is very little shade so...welcome to Texas. Back a little closer to Coppell, is Castle Hills, good track. And also Texas Star in Euless, one of my top 3 for the area. IMO I would stay away from Grapevine Muni, decent layout, but slooooooowww, and staff leaves alot to be desired.

 

Austin, if money is not an issue then definetely Barton Creek. I'll second Avery Ranch, and also recommend Star Ranch.

[stuckntx]

That's great for you Yennie, I am sure your family is proud.

BTW, just trying to add a bit of humor. Let's face it Dallas is not the garden spot of the USA.

[KF_Tower]

For the Coppell area, the closest and best around is Cowboys GC, the Tribute is also a great course (remake of european links style holes) however there is very little shade so...welcome to Texas. Back a little closer to Coppell, is Castle Hills, good track. And also Texas Star in Euless, one of my top 3 for the area. IMO I would stay away from Grapevine Muni, decent layout, but slooooooowww, and staff leaves alot to be desired.

 

Austin, if money is not an issue then definetely Barton Creek. I'll second Avery Ranch, and also recommend Star Ranch.

 

I live on Castle Hills, great track, but always loaded with corporate tourneys. ;) Welcome to the six hour round! Texas Star has this BS wildlife crap right off the fairway that if your ball goes in it is OB.

 

Cowboys is pricey, but drinks, food and hot cart girls are included!

[Pepe8714]

Hey Yen,

 

As a fellow Californian temporarily re-located in Texas, my sincere apologies for having to come endure the brutal and relentless summers that Texas is famous for.

 

However, great golf is to be had. IMO, the best tracks to play, for the better golfer, are:

 

-Sky Creek Ranch - depending on conditions, very good course.

-Links at Waterchase - great Jim McLean facility course, always in good shape, and tough. Multiple professionals practice out of here, including some Cali boys, I'm sure you've heard of a few. ;)

-Brook Hollow GC - private, but the best in the area IMO.

-Dallas Country Club - also private, but fantastic.

-TPC Craig Ranch - cant remember if its private or not but an AWESOME track

 

Other then that, be sure to eat at Del Frisco's Double Eagle, its absolutely one of the most memorable steaks I've ever had.

 

Let me know if there's anything else,

 

Pepe

[aplomb]

I can't comment on dallas, but all good isea so far for Austin. I live in Austin so I'll throw in my .02.

 

Terra Vista- always in very good condition, and maybe the nicest public greens in the area. Good practice tee and a nice but not great layout. Pretty flat. I enjoy it because it's close, but for a one time visit to Austin not my first choice.

 

Star Ranch- Another nice moderately priced course. Not as well conditoined as Terra Vista at times. Can spray tee shots on many holes and survive. Also pretty flat. Again, nice but not great layout. Might be my favorite every day place to play, but it also wouldn't be my first choice for a visitor.

 

Avery Ranch- Only played it a couple times. Very nice condition. Pretty, tree lined layout on many holes. Tighter and more difficult than the above. If your tee game is in shape it may be a prettier layout than the other two.

 

Barton Creek- Very, very nice. Upscale resort courses. Several course to choose from. I hate to say it but avoid the Crenshaw course. Well conditioned, but horrible layout with a lot of blind uphill shots. Wouldn't be fun to play without being familiar with it. Other Barton Creek course are fantastic. I love the Fazio.

 

Falconhead- Would be my choice for a visitor. Beautiful Hill Country layout with elevation changes and views. A little tougher than the first two listed but it's all in front of you and fair. I'm now reminded that I need to play it more.

 

There are other new courses in the area that just opened but I haven't played them and can't comment. Maybe some others will chime in. Good luck.

[yenniedn]

Hey Guys,

 

Again, thank you for the great suggestions . . . schedule has still not allowed me to get out to play yet but I can already tell that the heat is going to be difficult to deal with. Oh well, you gotta do what you gotta do to get your golf in!!!

 

Looks like I'll try to get out as early as I can on Texas Star tomorrow morning and try to check out at least one more DFW course later in the week. Will try to check out one of the Austin courses in between!

 

Thanks again!

[ham_man]

Again, thank you for the great suggestions . . . schedule has still not allowed me to get out to play yet but I can already tell that the heat is going to be difficult to deal with. Oh well, you gotta do what you gotta do to get your golf in!!!

The weather that we are getting right now in Texas is positively balmy compared with what we normally get... ;)

[chop180]

Let us know what you think of Texas Star ....(good track). There is alot of OB spots but high 70's low 80's is a good score for that course. Greens are in great shape, for bent in august.

[yenniedn]

Let us know what you think of Texas Star ....(good track). There is alot of OB spots but high 70's low 80's is a good score for that course. Greens are in great shape, for bent in august.

 

I woke up bright and early and headed out to Texas Star . . . arrived in the parking lot at 6:40am only to find hordes of people gearing up by their cars. Come to find out that there was a national college tournament there all week so I couldn't get on. I turned to the GPS unit for the closest courses in the area and spotted The Links at Waterchase, called them to make sure they had a tee-time for me and, once confirmed, headed over there.

 

It didn't look promising since it seems the course sits in the middle of some pretty ordinary apartment/condos. Much to my surprise, the course turned out to be pretty nice. Posted an 81 with a couple of birdies playing by myself and not knowing where to hit any of the tee shots, I'm fairly happy with that.

 

I played through two groups and had no one in front of me after that and finished the round in less than 3 hours total (unheard of in California)!!! It was not unbearably hot most of the round and since I finished so quickly, I was very tempted to play another round but I was sweating pretty good by the 18th green that I didn't want to endure another (slower and hotter) round in the afternoon.

 

Overall, I was pretty impressed with the course.

 

I'm not in Austin and planning to play Avery early tomorrow morning. We looked at several gorgeous houses at Steiner Ranch and I couldn't help notice the amazing condition The Univ. of Texas Golf Course is in! Looks like a sweet course!

[ham_man]

I'm not in Austin and planning to play Avery early tomorrow morning. We looked at several gorgeous houses at Steiner Ranch and I couldn't help notice the amazing condition The Univ. of Texas Golf Course is in! Looks like a sweet course!

Too bad you need to be positively loaded to get a membership there... :yes:

 

On a side note, I played Wolfdancer on Monday (me and my pops got on for $44 each) and it was an excellent course. We both agreed that it, along with Avery, were the two nicest courses we had played in Austin, but there was some dispute over which was the top dog. Anyways, hope that you enjoy your round! :tongue:

[golfernut78]

Let us know what you think of Texas Star ....(good track). There is alot of OB spots but high 70's low 80's is a good score for that course. Greens are in great shape, for bent in august.

 

I woke up bright and early and headed out to Texas Star . . . arrived in the parking lot at 6:40am only to find hordes of people gearing up by their cars. Come to find out that there was a national college tournament there all week so I couldn't get on. I turned to the GPS unit for the closest courses in the area and spotted The Links at Waterchase, called them to make sure they had a tee-time for me and, once confirmed, headed over there.

 

It didn't look promising since it seems the course sits in the middle of some pretty ordinary apartment/condos. Much to my surprise, the course turned out to be pretty nice. Posted an 81 with a couple of birdies playing by myself and not knowing where to hit any of the tee shots, I'm fairly happy with that.

 

I played through two groups and had no one in front of me after that and finished the round in less than 3 hours total (unheard of in California)!!! It was not unbearably hot most of the round and since I finished so quickly, I was very tempted to play another round but I was sweating pretty good by the 18th green that I didn't want to endure another (slower and hotter) round in the afternoon.

 

Overall, I was pretty impressed with the course.

 

I'm not in Austin and planning to play Avery early tomorrow morning. We looked at several gorgeous houses at Steiner Ranch and I couldn't help notice the amazing condition The Univ. of Texas Golf Course is in! Looks like a sweet course!

 

links at waterchase is a great course. there are a couple holes that are a little confusing on your first trip.

 

the UT golf course is very impressive. they've got a new clubhouse being built that is going to be real nice too when it is done.

[conejo61]

Just played UT Golf Club for the first time yesterday. Very nice course, good layout, but I have a few quibbles.

 

First, it is without question a residential community club. Virtually every hole is densely lined with homes. I can’t stand that. I feel like I'm hitting every shot from someone’s backyard.

 

Second, there are a LOT of relatively blind tee shots where you really don’t have a feel for where you need to be. I’m not a fan of that, either. It’s a reasonable design tool when not overused. In my estimation, it is very overused on this course. There are very few holes where you get to the teebox and the entire hole just lays out in front of you. My preference is for a hole where the designer says “here it is, now figure out how you want to play it”.

 

but it’s a nice mix of holes, the par 3s are interesting and there’s a cool par 4 with a 250 yard carry over water if you want to take the risk to get the reward. There’s a lot to like about the course, just for me, between the houses and the blind tee shots, doesn’t play to my preferences.

 

We’re members at Twin Creeks Country Club, about 10-15 miles south of UT Golf Club. it’s a VERY challenging course, definitely harder to score on than UT. Breaking 80 there is an accomplishment. I really like this course for a few reasons. First, you only have homes on 3 of the 18 holes. Second, most holes just lay out in front of you, not a lot of blind tee shots. There are a few, but far less than at UT. UT’s fairways are more generous, much easier to hit. The greens are tough at Twin Creeks. For each hole, there is definitely a preferred angle in to the green. If you take it, you can sometimes double the effective landing area compared to coming in from the wrong angle. You MUST play the course strategically, you have to think your way around it. You can’t just bomb and gouge it.

 

if you get a chance, I recommend playing both. If anyone on this board ever travels to Austin and wants to play Twin Creeks, send me a message. If you’re willing to pay the guest fee (something like $75 I think), I'd be happy to host you.