Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas was recently inducted into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame’s Registry of Historic Courses. The iconic club has played an important role in the history of golf in Texas as well as with the TGA. It has served as the host venue to numerous TGA major championships through the years and is the longtime home club of current TGA President Lee Sandlin. This content is part of the club’s exhibit in the Texas Golf Hall of Fame’s Digital Museum.
There’s a host of reasons why Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas is so special. From the pedigree of the original architect and the course’s consistent, sublime conditioning to its coveted location and tradition of excellence, the private club nestled just 20 minutes north of downtown Dallas is one of a kind.
It’s the type of family-centric club that feels like a home away from home. The staff knows every member’s name. More than that, the staff knows the members’ likes, dislikes, and more often than not, they know the family backstory as well. The welcoming culture at Royal Oaks is designed to make the high-end club an inviting and comfortable escape from the rigors of modern life. With every touchpoint and opportunity, the staff creates an experience that the members want to share with their family and friends.
The course was originally designed by J. Press Maxwell, who worked with his father, Perry Maxwell, to create a pair of America’s most beloved courses: Augusta National and Southern Hills. In the late 1960s, Press Maxwell collaborated with 1967 PGA Champion Don January and his design partner, Billy Martindale, to conceive Royal Oaks.
The club opened in 1969, and many of the charter members are still active there as of 2024. From 1994-2000, Royal Oaks member and PGA Tour pro D.A. Weibring, who by that time had established a well-earned reputation as a respected golf course architect, provided ongoing renovations and enhancements. Then, in 2014, the course was refurbished by Chet Williams, who designed two of the state’s most celebrated courses, Whispering Pines and Houston Oaks.
More recently, Royal Oaks completed another major improvement project in 2023. That’s when the course’s entire irrigation system was modernized, and the fairways, tees, and rough were upgraded with Tahoma 31 Bermuda grass. The greens also were redone with TifEagle Bermuda grass to create dynamic putting surfaces.
Always a demanding examination, Royal Oaks has played host to some of the region’s and state’s most prestigious championships, including the 2017 Texas Senior Amateur, 2015 Texas Mid-Amateur, the Texas Amateur in 1974 and 2010, and numerous Northern Texas PGA Section Major Championships.
Philanthropy is yet another critical mission for Royal Oaks. Back in 1983, legendary golf instructor Randy Smith started the “Great 108” fundraiser to support junior golf initiatives at the Northern Texas PGA Foundation. Smith and his staff of instructors play 108 holes in a single day at Royal Oaks while giving playing lessons to juniors. As of 2024, Royal Oaks had raised more than $2 million through the fundraiser, which led to hundreds of college scholarships and paid NTPGA internships for junior golfers.
Among all these impressive accolades, however, one singular distinction stands above the rest.
Royal Oaks is the home of Scottie Scheffler, the ball-striking savant who has twice won the Masters (2022, ’24) and The Players Championship (2023, ’24), as well as an Olympic gold medal (2024). As of 2024, Scheffler at age 28 had recorded 13 PGA Tour victories and held the No. 1 position in the Official World Golf Ranking for more than 100 weeks.
Royal Oaks has always had a robust junior program, and that’s where Scheffler learned his craft.
From the age of 8, he grew up at the club under the tutelage of Smith, who was inducted into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame in 2011. Smith, an institution himself at Royal Oaks, also taught the game to Justin Leonard. A Royal Oaks member and a member of the Texas Golf Hall of Fame Class of 2012, Leonard went on to win 12 times on the PGA Tour, including the 1997 Open Championship at Royal Troon.
From the start, Smith instructed both Scheffler and Leonard to be careful of spending too much time on the practice range. Smith wanted them on the golf course, where they would learn to hit creative, situational shots.
Royal Oaks offered the perfect proving grounds. The narrow fairways are framed by towering hardwoods and feature tricky doglegs and looming penalty areas. Long considered one of the most challenging courses in Dallas, Royal Oaks has held that reputation since its beginnings.
To visit Royal Oaks Country Club’s full exhibit in the Texas Golf Hall of Fame’s Digital Museum, click here.
