Wild Spring Dunes Unveils Plans For Its Texas Destination Golf Debut

An aerial of the new Tom Doak golf course set to debut for limited public preview play at Wild Spring Dunes in Texas.

Jeff Marsh | Wild Spring Dunes

Just over 10 months after beginning construction on its Tom Doak-designed course in a remote stretch of Northwest Texas, Wild Spring Dunes is opening to the public this month for a unique eight-hole preview play opportunity.

Wild Spring Dunes is the latest destination property developed and operated by Michael Keiser, who also created Sand Valley (Wisconsin) and Rodeo Dunes (Colorado), and is the son of Bandon Dunes founder Mike Keiser. Starting November 12, Wild Spring Dunes is offering golfers 16 holes of golf and lunch at its new course just outside Nacagdoches, Texas, for just $70. The sneak preview opportunity entails two loops around the eight holes that are currently finished: four par 4s, two par 3s, and two par 5s.

Unlike Rodeo Dunes, which recently had a soft opening just outside Denver (and not far from one of the nation’s busiest airports) for its Founder members, Wild Spring Dunes is considerably further off the beaten path, providing the chance to open early play at the initial Doak course much more widely.

The 2,400-acre property is located between Dallas and Houston, with the easiest access likely being a 2 1/2-hour drive north from the Houston airport — through The Woodlands community and into a rumpled, wooded landscape that looks like few other places in Texas. At times, the feeling is more like the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, as the region is bisected by a fault line that slipped thousands of years ago and created a sand-based landscape with significant roll and elevation. The property is full of spring-fed creeks, ravines, pine forests and open meadows. Some visiting golfers may see similarities to Sand Valley; for others, the property might evoke feelings of Pinehurst (North Carolina), just with more elevation change.

While each of the Keiser owned and operated properties are public golf destinations, they’re quite different from one another.

A Texas Retreat

Wild Spring Dunes is positioned as a Texas retreat, a resort getaway with golf, fishing and hiking, as well as a real estate component. “It’s far enough that you are out of your daily life,” says Tom Ferrell, the VP of Media and Communications for Dream Golf.

Homesites for two neighborhoods are on sale now, with residential lots away from the golf course that have ravine and lakefront views.

The golf cottages and clubhouse are being built in a central area that will serve as the jumping off point for the two 18-hole golf courses: the Doak layout as well as a second routing from Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. There isn’t a start date for the second course yet although clearing has begun on that property. “We don’t want to waste any time. We believe that iron is hot and Texas is ready for this,” Ferrell said. “On the other hand, (Coore-Crenshaw) are as busy as they’ve ever been.”

The two courses are considerably different, with the Doak course starting from a 40-foot elevated tee and venturing out into broad meadows framed by wire grasses, while the Coore-Crenshaw routing goes deeper into the woods. The current site supports two courses and a short course (in addition to the real estate, lodging and other infrastructure), and there is interest in acquiring a neighboring parcel that would allow for a third course. But Wild Spring Dunes won’t be as big as Sand Valley is (six courses and counting) or Rodeo Dunes hopes to be (as many as six courses).

Sneak Preview

The unveiling of the first course at Wild Spring Dunes is being overseen by Managing Director Mike Abbott, who developed Blue Jack National in Texas (among other properties) and is a veteran operator who spent considerable time with Discovery Land before forming his own golf development group. Abbott made sure the sneak preview has a hospitality component. The intent is to not only get golfers interested in vacations and golf trips after the property fully opens, but to foster interest in real estate offerings as well as the Founder member campaign that’s a vital component of future growth. Founders not only help fund additional development, but they also get exclusive opportunities for play, tours and events.

But like the Keiser family’s other resort properties, Wild Spring Dunes is public in nature. Amid the recent uptick in development in Texas, that’s been more of the exception, as private golf clubs have accounted for almost two-thirds of active new course projects in the state, according to the National Golf Foundation, including communities such as Loraloma, Travis Club, 1876, Luling Sport, Austin Beach Club and Bluejack Ranch.

Wild Spring Dunes is one of three active new destination golf projects from Michael Keiser (along with Rodeo Dunes and Old Shores on the Florida panhandle), and the grow-in process has been unquestionably easier in Texas than in a state like Colorado.

The first stages of construction outside Nacagdoches only began January 4 and almost half the course is already ready for play. More sod is on the way to complete other holes, but the course overall is already taking shape nicely – and very soon golfers will get to experience it for themselves.