Trinity Forest Golf Club
A bold experiment minutes from downtown Dallas, Trinity Forest is a Coore and Crenshaw treeless links built on reclaimed land and opened in 2016. A par 71 of about 7,400 yards over firm Zoysia turf, it hosted the AT&T Byron Nelson and looks like nothing else in Texas.
Photo: Grayson Nichols via Google.
The verdict
Trinity Forest Golf Club is one of the most distinctive courses in modern American golf, a true links transplanted to South Dallas. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw routed it over a capped former landfill beside the Trinity River and it opened in 2016, treeless and wide open, with vast firm greens and tawny native grasses that make it look more like the British Isles than Texas. It plays as a par 71 of about 7,400 yards, and it asks a kind of ground game most American visitors rarely see at home.
The club hosted the PGA Tour's AT&T Byron Nelson in 2018 and 2019, and it serves as the home course for the Southern Methodist University golf teams, so it carries both championship and collegiate pedigree. Reaction has always been split, which is part of its charm: some love the running, imaginative golf it demands, others miss the trees and shade. For a traveling golfer it is a fascinating, contrarian round, a private club reached through a member, and a striking contrast to the parkland Texas norm at Colonial or Dallas National.
Trinity Forest Golf Club at a glance
- Opened
- 2016
- Designer
- Coore and Crenshaw
- Type
- Inland links
- Par
- 71
- Yardage
- About 7,400 yds
- Green fee
- Members and guests
Designer, opening year, par and length verified June 2026 from the club, the PGA Tour and leading course databases. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw designed the course and it opened in 2016, a par 71 of about 7,400 yards in Dallas, Texas. It is a private club; access is generally only through a member or an arranged visit, so always confirm directly before booking.
The holes worth the trip
Trinity Forest is defined by its enormous, wildly contoured greens, several of them shared, including a giant double green serving the eleventh and fourteenth. With no trees and no rough in the usual sense, the architecture lives in the ground: humps, hollows, false fronts and run offs that let a player choose between a high approach and a low runner, and that punish the shot played without a plan. The wide fairways are not as generous as they look once you study the angles into each pin.
Wind is the chief defense. On a breezy Texas afternoon the firm Zoysia turf sends balls scampering, and the smart play is often to land short and use the slopes, a skill many visitors have to relearn on the spot. The par 3s vary dramatically in length and exposure, and the closing holes can be reached or wrecked depending on how a player handles the firm conditions and the swirling wind off the open ground.
What stays with visitors is how different it feels: a minimalist, strategic links in the middle of a major American city, designed by the architects behind Sand Hills and Streamsong. You either embrace the ground game and love it or fight it and struggle, but no one forgets a round at Trinity Forest.
How to get on
| What to know | Detail |
|---|---|
| Access | Private members club; not generally open to public play, with access usually through a member or an arranged visit |
| Green fee | No published public fee; any guest play is arranged through the club and a host (indicative, 2026) |
| Booking | An introduction and arrangement well in advance through your host is essential |
| On the day | Walking suits the firm links turf; caddies available; collared shirt and a traditional dress code expected |
| Getting there | South Dallas, about 15 minutes from downtown and within easy reach of both Dallas airports |
| Best months | April through June and September through November; firm, breezy conditions show the course at its best |
Access arrangements verified June 2026; Trinity Forest is a private club and policies change, so always confirm directly before planning a visit with the club or your trip planner.
Where to stay nearby
Downtown Dallas is the natural base, just fifteen minutes north, with the full range of city hotels, dining and nightlife and quick access from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas Fort Worth International. Staying central keeps transfers short and lets you pair an early links round with the rest of the city.
Trinity Forest folds neatly into a Dallas Fort Worth golf trip alongside Dallas National and Colonial, giving a striking range from inland links to classic parkland in a single visit. We can build the itinerary, secure access where possible, and arrange the lodging and transfers around your rounds.
Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts around Dallas.
Build a Texas golf trip
We help arrange access where we can, plan the visit to Trinity Forest and book the lodging and transfers around your round. Tell us roughly when and who is travelling and one concierge costs it to the head, with no obligation.
Trinity Forest Golf Club questions
Who designed Trinity Forest and when did it open?
Trinity Forest was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and opened in 2016, built on reclaimed land south of downtown Dallas, Texas.
What is the par and length of Trinity Forest?
Trinity Forest plays as a par 71 of about 7,400 yards, an open, treeless links style course with firm Zoysia turf, vast greens and a single shared double green at the eleventh and fourteenth.
What tournament did Trinity Forest host?
Trinity Forest hosted the PGA Tour's AT&T Byron Nelson in 2018 and 2019. It is also the home course of the Southern Methodist University men's and women's golf teams.
Can visitors play Trinity Forest?
Trinity Forest is a private members club and is not generally open to public play. Access is usually only through a member or an arranged visit, so contact well in advance is essential.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Designer, opening year, par and yardage verified June 2026; AT&T Byron Nelson hosting verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.