Here in Texas, not every hole in the ground spouts oil. Fact is, you can play 18 at more than 900 golf courses in the state. Come test your skill at some of the country's most diverse and challenging courses, which are home to numerous PGA and LPGA tour events. And of course, the 19th Hole is famous here, too.

It's true. We Texans love our land. And we have a lot of it. So it's nothing for the Lone Star State to pepper the landscape with pockets of lush oasis-like playgrounds, otherwise known as golf courses. With more than 900 courses in our grand state, you won't be shy any rounds if you come to play the links.

If you do pack your clubs while visiting Texas, you won't be alone. You can count over 70 of the top PGA players as Texas residents. And many of the courses are stops on the tour itself, including these tournaments:
· The Shell Houston Open, held at The Woodlands
· The Verizon Byron Nelson Classic in Irving
· The Mastercard Colonial in Fort Worth
· The Texas Open at La Cantera in San Antonio
· The Tour Championship in Houston

We even host a stop on the LPGA tour as well:
· The Kathy Ireland Championship Honoring Harvey Penick in Austin .

Plus, Houston and Dallas / Fort Worth are homes to two very special courses. Their Tour 18 courses offer a virtual tour of some of the most challenging and famous courses in the world.

On Houston's Tour 18 course, you'll tee off at an exactly duplicated hole found at Hilton Head's Harbor Town 18th-complete with the famous red- and white-striped lighthouse. A few holes later, you can test your mettle against an identical twin to Augusta's "Amen Corner." On the back nine, go up against Desert Inn's famous 10th hole-a 518-yard par 5. Next up, the "Mickey Mouse bunker" hole from the Magnolia course. You'll even play the Fort Worth Colonial Country Club No.3 hole on this course. And if you're not challenged by the time you get to the 18th, The Doral Resort and Country Club's famous 435-yard par 4 "Blue Monster" will command your respect and serve as a fitting end to a round on this "dream course."

You can tee it up anywhere in the state, from East to West, North to South. While visiting the Panhandle Plains check out the Quicksand Golf Course in San Angelo . In the Big Bend area, there's the Painted Dunes golf course in El Paso , which is one of the premiere golf courses in the Southwest United States. You can also visit Marfa's municipal golf course. At 4,688 feet above sea level, it's the highest golf course in the state. Bandera , the "Cowboy Capital of the World," boasts the beautiful Lost Valley Resort Ranch in the Texas Hill Country. The Resort offers guests a tranquil, unique and beatiful setting all year long. Deep in the Piney Woods in Huntsville , lies a golfer's nightmare, created by world-renowned golf architect Pete Dye. Waterwood National Resort is ranked by Golf Digest as one of the best golf courses in the state. If you're in the South Texas Plains, visit The Quarry Golf Club in San Antonio which has been consistently named as the world's best. This course, created by renowned designer Keith Foster, includes a one-of-a-kind back nine which descends into a massive limestone quarry surrounded by 100 foot cliff walls. The Prairies and Lakes region includes the Mill Creek Golf Resort and Country Club in Salado , with it's fabulous Robert Trent Jones II golf course. In his book, "Great Texas Golf," Golf writer Pat Seelig calls Mill Creek "the most beautiful golf course in Texas.". Located on a plantation setting, in Texas' Gulf Coast Region is the magnificent Columbia Lakes Resort in West Columbia outside of Houston . Consistently ranked as one of the top ten resort courses in Texas, Columbia Lakes is definitely a must play.

You can find the most beautiful courses all over Texas. But if you're traveling with non-golfers, just use our search feature to see what other activities and events there are to do while you're not living it up on the fairway. Who knows, maybe you'll find a few hundred things to do in between rounds.

There are plenty of golfing events and tournaments around Texas. And if you're looking for any other events happening in our great state, use our search feature.

Why send a postcard when you can send a fairway? Send a Texas golf postcard to a friend or relative. Who knows, it make the trip with you!

And to keep a little part of Texas right on your desktop, download a Texas golf screensaver . You'll not only enjoy the Lone Star links every day, you won't even have to fib about your score.