Preston Trail Golf Club

Preston Trail Golf Club was organized in 1962 by four Dallas businessmen including Lamar Hunt (founder of the AFL and Kansas City Chiefs). Ralph Plummer — one of Texas's most prolific mid-century architects — designed the course, with Byron Nelson serving as design collaborator and contributing specific elements including crepe myrtle plantings and green features inspired by Augusta National.

In 1968, the Dallas Open was renamed the Byron Nelson Golf Classic and relocated to Preston Trail, beginning a 15-year PGA Tour tenure. Notable winners included Jack Nicklaus (back-to-back 1970–71), Tom Watson (four titles, the most dominant player at the venue), Raymond Floyd, and others. The tournament outgrew the site after 1982 and moved to Las Colinas.

In 2007, Tripp Davis was selected from a competitive process to oversee a complete reconstruction. Davis met with Byron Nelson at his ranch to gain firsthand insight into the original design intent — remarkable because Nelson recalled specific details from 45 years earlier. The full reconstruction was completed in 2008–2009 with follow-on renovation work in 2018, regrassing to Zoysia and rebuilding bunkers. Golf Digest has ranked Preston Trail in the Top 5 in Texas throughout the post-renovation era.

Preston Trail is an adults-only, men-only private club (21+ required; no women, no exceptions) that produces fewer than 10,000 rounds per year. With those numbers, the course almost never feels crowded, and the lightning-fast bent-grass greens are maintained to a standard that rivals any club in Texas.

Ralph Plummer's parkland design winds through White Rock Creek with tree-lined fairways and large, contoured greens. The Tripp Davis renovation restored the original design intent while transitioning fairways to Zoysia for year-round playing conditions. Club dining is described by multiple sources as the best of any private club in Dallas.

Notable current members include George W. Bush, Troy Aikman, and Lee Trevino. Mickey Mantle was a longtime member — a shrine to his memorabilia is in the locker room.

The bent-grass greens run fast and break more than they appear to. Being below the pin is the top priority on every hole — uphill putts are manageable, but downhill putts on back-to-front slopes can be career-defining.

Hole 7 (Handicap 1): commit to the fade off the tee. A straight or pulled drive leaves no angle into the green. Don't bail left.

Holes 16 and 17 both cross White Rock Creek. The visual drama of the elevated tee on 16 can tempt aggressive play — the correct play is a controlled drive to the lay-up zone.

The par 5s are collectively the strongest holes on the course — they play varied in length and shape, and all offer genuine risk-reward decisions. Know your distance to the creek on par-5 approach shots.