Texas Guide and Deals

Click above to buy a $37 lesson with Luke Looney. Click on the links below for other instructors and prices:

Experienced golfing professionals and computers who’ve sworn allegiance to argyle socks fill each of GolfTEC's locations with more expert swings than a playground at recess. Motion sensors and high-speed cameras monitor your swing and break down your form on a high-definition video display. GolfTEC’s PGA specialists point out your flaws and strengths, and coach you on how to permanently improve your game from tee to green. Sensors chirp with approval when you’ve executed a perfect stroke or cracked an especially witty golfing joke.

In addition to providing custom clubs for PGA professionals and celebrities alike, CompuGolf Center lets golfers flex their muscles at a natural turf driving range, a short-game area, and putting greens. At the driving range, the center’s covered hitting stations keep the sun off swingers’ necks as they convince their golf balls to stop interfering with spin. After demolishing a bucket of range balls, golfers work on their short game at the pitching greens and hone their endgame at the putting greens. Finally, they head to the practice bunkers, pull out their sand wedges, and bring their favorite childhood arcade game to life by petting prairie dogs on the head. Those who need help eliminating slice or want to finesse their putting technique can schedule lessons with the center’s experienced instructors.

Situated northwest of Houston, the Houston National Golf Club and Strategic National Grass Reserve pocks itself with 27 holes, playable, like Voltron, in three possible combinations. Designed by legendary hole artists Von Hagge, Smelek, Baril, and McConaughey, the rolling green is punctuated by varied hazards and distractions like ponds, sand traps, and virtual gazelles. Both beginners and professionals can find something to challenge their walking and bad-shot-excuse-making skills. Houston National's GPS-equipped carts automatically keep the game's score and track your position in case you get lost amidst the unending flatness.

Heron Lakes Golf Course incorporates an array of water hazards into its 5,240-yard, par 68 executive layout. The course is comprosed mainly of par 3s and 4s, yet features one par 5 on both the front and back nine so players can test their long game and show off new flame decals on their drivers.

Players can stretch out their swings before rounds at Heron Lakes' driving range, which also serves as the classroom for lessons conducted by the course's teaching pros. After a day spent roaming the facilities, golfers can avoid a salad of fairway grass with a meal at The Sandtrap Grill, which slings tequila-lime chicken, baja fish tacos, and hamburgers among a menu of classic American fare.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 68 course

• Length of 5,240 yards from the farthest tees

• Course rating of 72.7 from the farthest tees

• Slope rating of 117 from the farthest tees

• Three tee options

Glenbrook Park Golf Course’s narrow fairways stretch across 6,700 yards of relatively flat terrain undulating with vibrant tree lines for a challenging, par 72 layout. Running in a straight line through the course, a 180-yard ravine stands in players’ way on six holes, placing confident swings and 9-irons unafraid of heights at a premium. Though not an overwhelmingly long course, the layout counters with narrow fairways and small- to medium-sized greens that are difficult to hit from any distance. Glenbrook’s par five ninth hole—the hardest rated on the course—amply illustrates the course’s manifold difficulties, as players must bisect a narrow, tree-hedged fairway, lay up to the edge of the ravine, and send their third shots somersaulting over the chasm and into a bashful green hiding behind a treacherous bunker and trust issues.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Length of 6,700 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 72.5 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 130 from the farthest tees
• Three tee options