Texas does everything big, and golf is no exception. With more than 800 golf courses spread across a state that spans deserts, Hill Country valleys, coastal plains, and piney forests, the Lone Star State offers a diversity of golf experiences that few states can match. From world-class private clubs that have hosted major championships to exceptional public courses where a round costs less than dinner, Texas has something for every golfer regardless of handicap or budget.
This guide takes you through the best golf courses in Texas, organized by region, including both prestigious private clubs worth knowing about and outstanding public and resort courses you can actually play. Whether you are planning a golf trip to Texas or looking for new courses to explore in your home state, these are the tracks that deserve a spot on your list.
Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex
The DFW area is home to some of the most storied golf clubs in Texas and a surprising number of excellent public courses that offer quality well above their green fees.
Colonial Country Club (Fort Worth) — Private
Colonial is one of the most celebrated courses in Texas, home to the Charles Schwab Challenge on the PGA Tour. Designed by John Bredemus and later refined by Perry Maxwell, the course features the famous Horrible Horseshoe — a brutally challenging stretch of holes along the Trinity River that has decided countless tournaments. The tight, tree-lined fairways and small, sloped greens demand precision over power. While it is a private club, attending the annual PGA Tour event gives you a chance to walk the grounds and appreciate the course’s legendary design.
TPC Craig Ranch (McKinney) — Public
Home to the CJ Cup Byron Nelson on the PGA Tour, TPC Craig Ranch is one of the best public-access courses in Texas. The Tom Weiskopf design features rolling terrain, strategic bunkering, and large, well-contoured greens that reward smart course management. The course is maintained to tour-level standards and offers a genuinely premium experience without requiring a membership. It is a rare opportunity to play the same course the professionals compete on, and the layout is challenging enough to test any level of golfer while remaining enjoyable for mid-handicappers who play the appropriate tees.
Cowboys Golf Club (Grapevine) — Public
The only NFL-themed golf course in the world, Cowboys Golf Club is far more than a gimmick. The course, designed by Jeff Brauer, winds through 600 acres of rolling North Texas terrain with dramatic elevation changes, expansive views, and a conditioning standard that rivals private clubs. The clubhouse is filled with Dallas Cowboys memorabilia, and the whole experience feels like a special occasion. Green fees are on the higher side for a public course, but the quality and uniqueness of the experience justify the price.
San Antonio and the Hill Country
The Texas Hill Country, with its limestone ridges, live oak forests, and sweeping vistas, provides some of the most scenic golf settings in the state. San Antonio anchors this region with several outstanding courses.
TPC San Antonio (Oaks Course) — Resort
Host of the PGA Tour’s Valero Texas Open, the Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio was designed by Greg Norman and Sergio Garcia. The layout carves through groves of century-old live oak trees, with natural rock outcroppings and Hill Country elevation changes creating a course that is as visually stunning as it is strategically demanding. The resort setting means well-maintained conditions, excellent practice facilities, and a complete golf experience from warm-up to the 19th hole. The adjacent Canyons Course, designed by Pete Dye, offers a very different but equally compelling test.
Bandit Golf Club (New Braunfels) — Public
Consistently rated among the best-value golf courses in Texas, the Bandit offers a Hill Country experience at a fraction of the resort course prices. The Keith Foster design uses the natural terrain brilliantly, with holes that climb ridges, drop into valleys, and wind along creek beds. Several holes offer panoramic Hill Country views that make you forget you are playing a public course at an accessible price point. The par-three sixth hole, which plays downhill to a green framed by live oaks and a stone wall, is one of the most photographed holes in the region.
Boot Ranch (Fredericksburg) — Private
Hal Sutton’s design at Boot Ranch is widely regarded as the finest private course in the Hill Country. Set among rolling ranchland near the charming town of Fredericksburg, the course features dramatic elevation changes, native wildflower meadows, and panoramic views that make every round feel like an escape. The club has a relaxed, ranch-style atmosphere that reflects its Hill Country setting — members play in boots and jeans as often as traditional golf attire. While access requires a membership or member invitation, the course regularly appears on lists of the best in the state.
Houston Area
Houston’s flat coastal plain terrain might not seem like ideal golf country, but creative course design and excellent conditioning have produced several outstanding courses.
Memorial Park Golf Course (Houston) — Public
Memorial Park underwent a stunning renovation by Tom Doak in 2019 and now hosts the Houston Open on the PGA Tour. What was already one of the best municipal courses in America is now a nationally recognized layout that challenges tour professionals while remaining accessible to everyday golfers. The renovation added strategic width off the tee, restored lost bunkers, and rebuilt the greens with subtle contours that reward precision approach play. As a municipal course, it offers extraordinary quality for the green fee — making it arguably the best value in Texas golf.
The Club at Carlton Woods (The Woodlands) — Private
With two championship courses designed by Jack Nicklaus and Tom Fazio, Carlton Woods is one of the premier private golf destinations in Texas. The Nicklaus Course features the bold, dramatic design style the Golden Bear is known for, with expansive waste areas, large undulating greens, and strategic risk-reward holes. The Fazio Course is more subtly contoured, rewarding placement and course management. Both courses are maintained impeccably and offer practice facilities that match the quality of the courses themselves.
Austin Area
Austin Country Club — Private
Perched on the shores of Lake Austin, Austin Country Club hosts the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and features one of the most dramatic settings in Texas golf. The Pete Dye design uses the cliffs and canyons along the lake to create a series of visually intimidating but strategically rich holes. The par-three fourteenth, which plays across a cove of Lake Austin, is one of the most spectacular holes in the state. Private membership required, but the annual match play event brings the world’s best players to this stunning setting.
Wolfdancer Golf Club (Lost Pines) — Resort
Located at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort about thirty minutes from downtown Austin, Wolfdancer is a wild, natural course that winds through the Lost Pines forest along the Colorado River. The Arthur Hills design preserves the landscape’s character — thick pine forests, native grasslands, and occasional glimpses of wildlife — while providing a challenging and well-maintained golf experience. The setting feels remote despite its proximity to Austin, making it an excellent option for a weekend golf getaway.
West Texas and the Panhandle
Lajitas Golf Resort (Lajitas) — Resort
Lajitas is one of the most unique golf experiences in America. Located in the Big Bend region near the Mexican border, the resort course plays through Chihuahuan desert terrain with the Chinati Mountains as a backdrop. The course features dramatic elevation changes — some tee shots play over canyons with hundred-foot drops — and the desert landscape creates a visual experience unlike any other course in Texas. If you are planning a golf trip with a sense of adventure, Lajitas delivers an unforgettable round in one of the most remote and beautiful settings in the state.
Gulf Coast
The Clubs at Houston Oaks (Hockley) — Private
Rees Jones designed this exclusive club about forty minutes west of Houston on rolling ranchland that feels nothing like the flat terrain most people associate with the Gulf Coast. The course features elevation changes uncommon for the area, mature hardwood trees, and a routing that uses two creeks and a large lake as strategic hazards. The low membership cap keeps pace of play fast and conditions pristine.
Moody Gardens Golf Course (Galveston) — Public
For a seaside golf experience in Texas, Moody Gardens on Galveston Island offers a links-influenced layout with Gulf Coast breezes, saltwater marshes, and views of the bay. The Jacobsen Hardy design incorporates the flat coastal terrain with mounding, pot bunkers, and coastal grasses that create a distinctly links-like feel. Wind is the primary defense — on a calm day the course is very scoreable, but when the Gulf breeze picks up, club selection becomes an exercise in judgment and creativity.
Planning a Texas Golf Trip
Texas is large enough that you will want to focus your trip on one or two regions rather than trying to cover the whole state. For a long weekend, the San Antonio and Hill Country region offers the best concentration of quality courses with the bonus of excellent food, wine tasting in Fredericksburg, and the charm of San Antonio’s River Walk. A DFW trip combines outstanding golf with easy logistics and a wide selection of accommodations. And for something truly different, a Big Bend trip combining Lajitas with hiking in Big Bend National Park creates a golf-and-adventure experience unlike anything else.
The best time to visit for golf is October through May, when temperatures are comfortable and the courses are in peak condition. Summer golf in Texas is possible but demanding — temperatures regularly exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and early morning tee times are essential. Many courses offer significantly discounted summer rates to compensate for the heat, which can be a smart value play if you do not mind the conditions.
If you are looking for more regional golf guides to help plan your travels, our guides to the best courses in California and public courses in Arizona cover two other top golf destinations in the Sun Belt. Each state offers a completely different character of golf, and combining regions makes for an excellent multi-stop golf road trip.
Whether you are a scratch player seeking championship tests or a weekend golfer looking for beautiful settings and good value, Texas delivers. The combination of year-round playing weather, diverse terrain, and a deep roster of outstanding public courses makes it one of the best — and most underrated — golf destinations in the country.
