Golf: Swinging in Texas

Dallas, Las Colinas and Austin

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Two of the best courses in Texas state are in Las Colinas, only a short drive from Dallas’ DFW Airport. Look for two superb but very different courses at the Four Seasons Resort and Club at Las Colinas . First, the Tournament Players Course is a challenging green that is the site of the annual Verizon Byron Nelson Classic each spring. Recent million dollar renovations have made the course even more ambitious and attractive. If the tournament level TPC course proves too arduous, look just across the street to the resort’s second course, Cottonwood Valley, for a true Texas experience. Designed by Robert Trent Jones II, the first hole features a huge green shaped like the Lone Star State. The approach shot is over a large lake resembling the Gulf of Mexico and the monstrous sand trap behind the green is the shape of our neighbor north of the Red River, Oklahoma.

The Four Seasons also is host to the Byron Nelson Golf School, a program that boasts a $1 million practice facility and caters to business groups around the world. Not just for golfers, the Four Seasons Resort offers a lavish spa and an extensive sports club.

After the links, you can partake of trendy restaurants and lively entertainment venues, many of which cater to the Dallas Cowboys who practice nearby at Texas Stadium in Irving. The Las Colinas complex , an ultramodern, multi-use complex on 12,000 acres features an Equestrian Center, farmer’s market, movie studio, business facilities, hotel, restaurants and shops. Mandalay Canal Walk, one level below street is an European style canal walk featuring Venetian-built water taxis. Don’t miss the striking Mustangs of Las Colinas, located in the center of Williams Square. The striking sculpture showcases nine mustangs that appear to be splashing through a stream of water. The bronze mustangs are one and a half times life size making them the largest equestrian sculpture in the world. Lastly, visit the spectacular Las Colinas Flower Clock at Texas 114 and O’Connor Road. Flowers are planted at least eight times a year for eye-popping displays and great photos year round.

A three and half hour drive from the Texas Metroplex, Austin’s Barton Creek Country Club and Resort offers a dramatically different setting. Located on 4,000 acres admist the spectacular hills and canyons west of Austin, Barton Creek is a four-star resort with four exceptional courses. Each one is rated among the state’s best. A favorite of former UT Austin football coaching legend, Darrell Royal, Barton Creek keeps its greens in impeccable playing condition. Its Fazio Foothills course is considered by many to be the best course in Texas. You’ll long remember the large cave in the middle of one fairway and its canyon waterfall protecting the green. Beautiful and dramatic, the Crenshaw Course was designed to minimize detrimental effects on its environmentally sensitive location near Austin’s Barton Creek. Designer Ben Crenshaw takes full advantage of the natural terrain requiring golfers to shape their shots to the land, rather than the other way around. Perfectly executed approach shots are a must on this challenging course. A half hour from the main resort, the Palmer Lakeside Course provides lake views and wide-open fairways. The newest of the four, the Fazio Canyons Course is routed through deep, spring-fed canyons and crisscrossed with bubbling creeks, rare madrone trees and limestone bluffs.

In the evening, you can discover why Austin is known as the “Live Music Capital of the World” with abundant live acts playing nightly in venues across town. From blues, country, reggae, jazz, Tejano, swing and rock, Austin has it all. The capitol also features fabulous dining from world class cuisine to Texas barbeque served on butcher paper.