The Best Golf Courses in Texas: From Dallas to the Hill Country
Texas has a golf culture that runs deep and wide — a state large enough to have distinct regional golf identities, from the flat North Texas parkland courses to the limestone Hill Country tracks to the Gulf Coast layouts that deal with coastal wind and humidity in equal measure. Here is where to play.
Fort Worth: Colonial Country Club
Colonial Country Club is the most historically significant course in Texas. It has hosted the Charles Schwab Challenge (formerly the Colonial National Invitational) every May since 1946 — one of the longest-running events on the PGA Tour at a single venue. Ben Hogan won there five times and considered it his home course. The course itself is a classic parkland layout along the Trinity River — tree-lined, precise, demanding accurate iron play over raw power. It is private.
Houston: Augusta Pines and Whispering Pines
Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity is the most acclaimed private course in Texas — a Tom Fazio design on East Texas timberland that regularly appears on top-100 lists. It is extremely private and essentially inaccessible without a member connection.
Augusta Pines Golf Club in Spring offers a more accessible high-end experience in the Houston market with mature pines and rolling terrain unusual for southeast Texas. The Woodlands area north of Houston has several quality resort and semi-private options for visitors.
Austin and the Hill Country
The Hill Country around Austin and San Antonio has emerged as a legitimate golf destination over the past two decades. The limestone terrain creates natural elevation change and dramatic topography that flat-state courses can't replicate.
Barton Creek Resort in Austin has multiple courses including the Fazio Canyons layout — one of the most visually striking courses in the state, with canyon views and significant elevation change on several holes. San Antonio's resort scene centers on JW Marriott's TPC San Antonio, which hosted the Valero Texas Open and offers resort golf at a high quality level.
Dallas: TPC Craig Ranch and Cowboys Golf Club
The Dallas market offers the broadest selection of quality public golf in Texas. TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney hosts the AT&T Byron Nelson and is accessible to the public as a resort course — one of the best publicly available championship tracks in the state. Grapevine Golf Course offers quality municipal golf in a convenient DFW Airport-adjacent location.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best golf course in Texas?
Whispering Pines Golf Club is most frequently cited as Texas's best course, but it is extremely private. For accessible golf, Barton Creek Fazio Canyons in Austin, TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, and the TPC San Antonio courses are the strongest public-access options.
Does Texas have links golf?
Texas does not have coastal links golf in the Scottish tradition, but several courses — particularly in the Hill Country — use natural terrain effectively to create courses with genuine character. The Gulf Coast courses deal with wind in a way that shares some characteristics with links play.