DENTON COUNTRY CLUB

The rolling blackland prairie terrain north of Dallas creates natural elevation changes that architect Leon Howard exploited brilliantly in 1962, with doglegs that reward local knowledge and greens that slope toward hidden collection areas. Water comes into play on seven holes, but it's the native Texas wind whistling through centuries-old post oaks that provides the real defense, especially on the exposed back nine where approach shots demand one extra club. Members rave about the par-3 16th, where the tee shot plays over a creek to a green guarded by a massive oak that's been shaping golf swings here for over sixty years.