The green at the No. 15 hole at Whispering Pines Golf Club
Courtesy / Whispering Pines Golf Club
The signature hole is back in all its glory at Whispering Pines Golf Club and so is the No. 1 ranking among Texas golf courses as voted annually by The Dallas Morning News’ golf panel.
Despite its rather remote location on the eastern shore of Lake Livingston near the small town of Trinity, about 100 miles north of Houston, Whispering Pines is well-known to the golf panel voters. This marks the 16th time for the Chet Williams/Nicklaus Design to finish on top since the course opened in 2002.
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In last year’s poll, Whispering Pines dropped to No. 2 behind a much more recent Williams design, The Covey at Big Easy Ranch in Columbus.
At the time, Whispering Pines was still recovering from a massive flood in May 2024 when the course received nine inches of rain in a four-hour period and 19 inches over several days, causing a devastating backup of the creek that flows through the property on its way to Lake Livingston.
The flood came just days after Whispering Pines was named the DMN’s top course in Texas for the fourth consecutive year and 15th time in 19 years.
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The most troubling course casualty was the submerged island green on the signature par-3 15th hole.
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The 17th hole at Whispering Pines Golf Club near Trinity, Texas, after several days of heavy rains last spring (top) and the 17th hole at Whispering Pines Golf Club near Trinity, Texas, has reopened after heavy rains last spring forced it to close for several months (bottom).
Whispering Pines Golf Club
Repair work to rebuild the green took a year at a price tag of $700,000. Steel piers 60 feet in length were driven into the ground to provide support.
“That green is never going under water again,’’ said Whispering Pines director of golf Chris Rowe.
During the year of construction, a “fake’’ 15th hole was manufactured by converting a hole on the juniors’ course, causing Rowe to quip at the time that Whispering Pines had 17 ½ great holes.
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The goal of getting Whispering Pines back in business for the fall 2024 season was accomplished, even if it was with an emergency par-3.
“Everybody came together, from caddies to servers doing all they could to help with the cleanup,’’ said Rowe. “It was really an impressive thing to see.’’
In his 23rd year at the club, Rowe said Whispering Pines now is the best it has ever been.
Owner Corby Robertson, who envisioned a championship golf course on the land he used to roam in his youth, recognizes how important the club is to the large number of people it employs. His philosophy on the flood recovery or anything course-related: “If it can be better, make it better.’’
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Although it fell out of the top spot, The Covey has made a soaring rise in just three years. Built on former hunting grounds, The Covey debuted at No. 10 in 2024 and was named The News’ best new course. Golf Digest named it the best new course in the country in 2025.
The par-5 14th hole at The Covey at Big Easy Ranch, the No. 1 course in the DMN’s 2025 Texas Golf Rankings.
The Covey at Big Easy Ranch
Dallas National Golf Club moves up a slot to third, exchanging places with Brook Hollow Golf Club, which drops to No. 4. Since opening in 2002, Dallas National has been ranked No. 1 by the golf panel four times with 15 second-place finishes.
Brook Hollow, which opened in 1920, is the second-oldest course in the top 50. The oldest is Lakewood Country Club in East Dallas, which opened in 1912 and is ranked No. 49.
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Darmor Club, ranked No. 5, gives Columbus two courses in the top five. Darmor opened one year after The Covey and is 8 miles from Big Easy Ranch. Columbus is 70 miles west of downtown Houston.
The venerable Colonial Country Club, which hosts the Charles Schwab Challenge May 28-31, tops the list of four courses that host PGA Tour events in Texas at No. 6. TPC San Antonio’s AT&T Oaks (Valero Texas Open) is No. 33, Houston’s Memorial Park Golf Course (Texas Children’s Houston Open) is No. 52 and TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney (The CJ Cup Byron Nelson, May 21-24) is No. 60.
The top 100 is dominated by private courses. No. 15 Black Jack’s Crossing in the Big Bend town of Lajitas is once again the highest-ranked course open to the public. Six other public or resort courses made the top 50: No. 31 Highland Pines in Porter, No. 33 TPC San Antonio’s AT&T Oaks, No. 35 Fields Ranch West in Frisco, No. 40 Rawls Course in Lubbock, No. 41 Fields Ranch East (site of the 2027 PGA Championship next May) and No. 50 Pine Dunes Resort in Frankston.
Lakeside Country Club in Houston made the biggest move in the top 100, climbing 50 places to No. 20 after a major renovation by Jay Blasi. Lakeside’s previous high was No. 23 in 2017.
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Rain from Hurricane Harvey in 2017 inundated the course. Blasi went to work, using some of the same corridors while introducing several Golden Age template holes. It reopened in 2023.
The best bargain in the top 100 is Houston’s Gus Wortham Park, which is ranked 74th in the top 100 and is the No. 1 course with a green fee under $100. A weekend round at Gus Wortham can cost as little as $64.
The biggest shakeup in any of the rankings was in the nine-hole voting. Sand Hill Farm in Waller has replaced Starr Hollow Golf Club in Tolar as the top course in Texas. Starr Hollow had been the No. 1 nine-hole course for 30 years, or all but seven years since The News’ rankings debuted in 1989. Chambers Creek, a Tom Lehman design in an active adult master-planned community in Willis, debuted in the rankings at No. 17. It opened in 2023.
What’s coming: Wild Spring Dunes, the much-anticipated Tom Doak design near Nacogdoches, is scheduled to have its grand opening in early September. It will be the first of two courses at the resort/residential community. The other is a design by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw that has been routed and cleared with construction underway.
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What makes Wild Spring Dunes special among the half dozen or so courses under construction (Bluejack Ranch, Maverick Golf and Ranch Club near Aledo among them), is that it is the only one that will be open to the public. Ten holes of the high-end course have been open for preview play. Walking with caddies will be required, although carts might be an option during hotter months.
It is being developed on sandy soil amid East Texas pines by Michael and Chris Kaiser, whose father, Mike, created Bandon Dunes in Oregon. The brothers also developed Sand Valley in Wisconsin.
Closer to home, the 1876 Country Club in Celina is grassed and maturing. A firm date for opening is yet to be determined.
The 77-person Texas Golf panel is composed of golf professionals, golf course architects, superintendents, people involved in the golf industry and amateurs. They are asked to vote on courses they have played, preferably within the last five years, considering seven factors: versatility, shot-making, design, beauty, maintenance, enjoyment and lasting impression.
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