3 Texas links you must play
Texas has more than 800 golf courses with the weather and the scenery to enjoy them year around. But in any Texas-sized golfing buffet like players and visitors find here, there must be first among equals.
So here are a few must-play courses, all open to the public for your Texas golfing enjoyment.
1. If you must start somewhere, then the TPC (Tournament Players Club) Four Seasons Resort in Irving, just outside of Dallas, is a good place to begin. That’s where the PGA Tour has been coming each spring for the last 30 years and its par 70 course has produced champions like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Ernie Els. The recently renovated layout requires every shot in a golfer’s bag with dramatic water features, especially on the watery 17th-18th hole finish.
2. The JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa does everything on a huge, Texas-sized scale. There are two par 72 courses at the TPC-San Antonio, the Oaks, site of the PGA Tour’s Texas Open and Canyons, plus a huge water park and swimming pool along with the state’s largest resort sports bar.
3. Those who willing to make the extended West Texas drive will find their reward at the charming Lajitas Resort in the Big Bend region. Featuring the thrilling Black Jack’s Crossing layout by Texas architect Lanny Wadkins, the two-year-old layout drops several hundred feet from tee to green and offers endless views over the Rio Grande River into Mexico.
