How remote Texas ranchland became one of golf’s buzziest 36-hole hangouts

Howard Head was born 84 years ago in Childress, Texas, a tiny town in the southeastern corner of the Panhandle. He moved away for a while but has spent nearly the last three decades there as a veterinarian and rancher. 

Head knows the land well but still marvels at what has become of the 2,400 acres of his sandy, hilly Rocking Chair Ranch that he sold in 2023. That parcel has become home to the Childress Hall Upper and Lower courses that architects Tom Doak and Gil Hanse developed, respectively, into one of the most buzzed-about private-golf destinations in the U.S. 

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think they could do something like this,” Head said the other day. “Something like this wasn’t even in my thought process.” 

Doak’s Upper Course, which opened in the fall of 2024, and Hanse’s Lower Course, which debuted in late 2025, were built as match-play playgrounds to rival such revered courses as Sand Hills in Mullen, Neb., and Ohoopee Match Club in Cobbtown, Ga. The property is still taking shape — the club is using the downtown Childress Hotel as a clubhouse and lodging facility — but a permanent clubhouse and 50-room lodge is being built onsite with a targeted opening of fall 2026. The courses are walking-only and staffed with dozens of local caddies. 

Head, who doesn’t play golf but still lives with his wife a mile from the courses on land he retained, said he and his family walked away with seven figures from the sale, though he didn’t take the transaction lightly. “We had to do a lot of thinking about selling our land,” he said. “We had been here 28 years, but we still had a lot of land left to tend to.” 

When Doak saw the land, he knew almost immediately it was architectural gold. 

“Childress Hall is more like Ballyneal [a Doak design in Colorado] in terms of setting, with yucca and prickly pear, although there are also some mesquite trees in spots,” Doak said. “They both have lots of variety of topography.” 

He continued: “I was attracted to the portion of ground for the Upper Course because it had that big view of cliffs at the far end of the course [holes 11-14] and at the same time the inland portion was beautiful, gentle rolling ground that reminded me of St. Andrews Beach in Australia.  All we had to do was to build greens and bunkers.” 

The course is a three-and-a-half-hour drive northwest of Dallas but is near a former U.S. bomber base used in World War II. While long since closed for military operation, the base now is used for private aircraft, allowing members (there are about 50 with a projected cap of 125) and their guests easy access to what is a remote corner of Texas. 

“I wanted them to see what West Texas ranchland is really like,” Head said. “It’s not like ‘Yellowstone’ on TV for sure.” 

The region’s sand dunes paired with the Prairie Dog Fork of the Red River attracted Doak and Hanse, along with the first wave of members. 

“The sandy landscape is as dramatic as any we have worked on anywhere, as it nestles up to the Red River,” Hanse said. “The routing takes three six-hole loops and takes advantage of a variety of terrain. Combined with Doak’s Upper course, it will be a unique addition to Texas golf.” 

Head is grateful for the local economic boost Childress Hall has been providing his small town, which has been losing residents for years. But he still struggles to wrap his head around how the architects turned once prime grazing land for Hereford cattle into a site for a dream buddies golf trip. Even after walking the land with Doak, Head couldn’t see the vision. 

“He would point at a hill and say we are going to put a green there and a tee there and I was thinking you guys are crazy,” Head said. “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.” 

Doak’s course is more open with sweeping terrain and the headwaters to the Red River running behind the 11th green. Hanse’s course is tighter.

To get to the property from the town of Childress, you take a four-lane highway out of town, past the Walmart on the left and the Dairy Queen on the right and keep going past by a Texas Highway Patrol HQ (not too fast!). When you see a small highway sign, take the next right where the road quickly turns to dirt. After that, good luck navigating a couple of unmarked turns, before a small gate magically opens in front of you. 

Head said the origins of Childress Hall date to May 2021 when he received an unexpected phone call from two developers who were looking for sandy dune soil for a possible project. He met them for lunch in town and later gave them a tour of his ranch. 

“I figured how can it hurt, we got a lot of sand here,” Head said. 

He was told his plot was one of 18 sites in the area under consideration, but the decision to proceed with his property wasn’t made until February 2022. 

For its size, Texas has disproportionately few courses on GOLF’s Top 100 Courses lists, but Doak and Hanse are hopeful their work at Childress Hall — along with other new course development in the state — will change that. 

“When you build a course so far out away from a population base,” Doak said, “it really has to be considered great to be a success.” 

When and if that happens, no one will be more impressed than Howard Head.