Brook Hollow Golf Club is a private, member-owned club in Dallas, founded in 1920, with an A.W. Tillinghast course that Keith Foster restored for $20 million.
You can't buy a round or book a tee time, so the only realistic ways to play are as a member's guest or by qualifying for a championship the club hosts. Keep reading for a closer look at the course, its history, and how to get access.
Brook Hollow Golf Club at a Glance: History and Location
Founding and early years
Brook Hollow dates to 1920, when Dallas businessman Cameron Buxton set out to build what he called a “Pine Valley of the West.” Buxton was a Philadelphia cotton trader and a founding member of Pine Valley, so he knew the model well.
He asked his friend A.W. Tillinghast to find a site near Dallas and design a course there. Tillinghast picked rural farmland above a branch of the Trinity River, and the course opened in 1922.
Sources put the site either six miles west of downtown or seven miles northwest, so the exact distance depends on who you ask.
The course grew and earned recognition fairly quickly. About 300 yards were added in 1925, and Tillinghast reportedly spent more time at Brook Hollow than at any other site outside the Northeast.
The club also claims to have been the first course with complete fairway irrigation. For tax purposes, it has operated as a 501(c)(7) social club since August 1934.
A few other milestones are worth knowing:
- During World War II, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby played an exhibition match here to raise money for war bonds.
- The Texas Golf Hall of Fame added the course to its Historic Registry of Courses in 2010.
Location and contact details
The club sits at 8301 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX 75235, in northwest Dallas near Love Field, between I-35E and Harry Hines. To get there, take I-35 north to the Regal Row exit, turn right, then turn right again onto Harry Hines Blvd.
Because the club is private, most of its website content is for members only. If you need to reach someone, use the phone numbers below.
- Phone: (214) 637-1914 is the number most often listed. (214) 637-1900 also appears in some directories.
- Website: brookhollowgc.org
- Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. The club is closed Mondays.
The Course: Design Changes, Layout and Signature Holes
How the design evolved
Tillinghast's original 1920–22 design borrowed heavily from Pine Valley. It had square greens, sandy waste areas, deep grass-faced bunkers and a “Great Hazard” crossing the 15th fairway. Later architects changed much of that over the years:
- 1940s: Perry Maxwell rounded the square greens.
- Early 1990s: Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw renovated the course (one source dates this to 1993). The club declined to remove the trees between fairways, which limited how far the work could go.
- Later: Tripp Davis did additional work. Some directories also credit Jay Morrish and Ralph Plummer, though the record on their involvement is less clear.
The 2019–2021 restoration
Keith Foster's restoration aimed to bring the course back toward Tillinghast's original ideas. The club began planning in 2016 and closed the course on November 4, 2019. LaBar Golf Construction built Foster's plan. Before he started, Foster visited 10 Tillinghast courses and used a 1925 aerial photograph as partial guidance.
The work reshaped the property in a few ways:
- Trees: More than 300 were removed (some accounts say over 400), and 550 were planted around the edge of the property.
- Native areas: The sand-and-scrub areas were rebuilt with Texas sage and coastal Bermuda.
- Greens and bunkers: The greens returned to their original size and square shape. The bunkers were rebuilt with flat bottoms and grass faces, and the Great Hazard on No. 15, known as “Hell's Half Acre,” was revived.
- Turf and systems: The new bentgrass greens use SubAir and a hydronic system that circulates chilled water beneath them. The fairways are Tahoma 31 Bermuda, reportedly its first full-course use anywhere. A new irrigation system went in as well.
- Practice areas: The range and short-game area were rebuilt from scratch.
The range reopened in September 2020 and the course followed in November 2020.
Layout, yardage and ratings
The front nine starts with a six-hole loop, then a three-hole loop that brings you back to the clubhouse. The back nine runs as an outer loop over the lower part of the property. Most holes are doglegs, so placement and shot shaping matter more than raw distance.
For the 2025 U.S. Junior Amateur, the USGA set the course at 7,049 yards, par 70 (35-35), with a course rating of 75.5 and a slope of 143. It played harder than Trinity Forest, the event's co-host, in the first round, averaging 76.3 strokes against 74.1.
Members play to par 71. The opening hole is now a roughly 490-yard uphill par 4 from the Tillinghast tee, though forward tees can still play it as a par 5.
Published tee data from golf directories looks like this:
| Tees | Yardage | Rating/Slope |
|---|---|---|
| Championship | 6,752 | 73.5/138 |
| President | 6,503 | 72.0/134 |
| “II” | 6,451 | slope 128 |
| Tillinghast | 6,271 | 71.0/133 (men), 77.3/143 (women) |
| Brook Hollow | 5,768 | 68.6/124 |
| Founders | 5,081 | 65.0/119 |
Some of these figures may predate the restoration. For a current card and ratings, check the USGA Course Rating database or ask the golf shop.
Signature holes
No. 15 (par 5, about 533–535 yards). This is the course's best-known hole. The restored Great Hazard runs the full width of the fairway, and you have to carry it on your second shot.
No. 10 (par 3, about 144–166 yards). The elevated green sits over native scrub, right beside the clubhouse and golf shop.
No. 8 (par 3, about 169–193 yards). You play over a creek and pond to a heavily contoured green. During the 1987 U.S. Mid-Amateur, Donald Bliss made holes-in-one on Nos. 8 and 10 in the same round, the only time a player has made two aces in one round of a USGA championship.
No. 14 (short par 4). A raised green sits above deep bunkers, and reviewers compare it to the 8th at Pine Valley.
No. 17 (par 4). The green is L-shaped. A four-shot swing here decided the 2023 Trans-Mississippi Amateur.
No. 16 (par 3, about 208–213 yards). It plays uphill and usually into the wind.
Reviewers often compare the course as a whole to Pine Valley and Winged Foot. The land is unusually sandy for Dallas and has some pines, which adds to that feel.
Tournament History, Rankings and Reputation
Championships hosted
Brook Hollow has hosted a steady run of national and regional events since the 1930s. Here are the biggest ones.
Trans-Mississippi Amateur. The club has hosted this event in 1934, 1957, 1972, 1978, 1997, 2006 and 2023. The 2023 edition was its eighth overall, and only Kansas City CC has hosted more. Winners include Ben Crenshaw (1972), Bob Tway (1978) and Jake Holbrook (2023). Holbrook beat Neal Shipley in a playoff, finishing at 268.
1946 Dallas Invitational. This was an early version of today's Byron Nelson tournament. Ben Hogan won at 284, two strokes ahead of Paul Runyan and Herman Keiser.
1987 U.S. Mid-Amateur. Jay Sigel beat David Lind in 20 holes to win his third Mid-Am title. It remains the longest 18-hole final in the event's history.
2025 U.S. Junior Amateur. Brook Hollow hosted the stroke-play rounds alongside Trinity Forest. The field had 264 players, including Charlie Woods, who opened with an 81 at Brook Hollow.
The club also hosts a long list of other events:
- Southern Amateur
- Texas Amateur (nine times, the most of any course)
- Texas Women's Amateurs
- USGA sectional qualifying
- Texas Cup matches
- TGA Jackie Burke Cup matches
- NTPGA Joe Black Cup matches
- Senior Women's Invitation matches
One correction if you're researching the club's history: at least one directory says Brook Hollow hosted the 1951 U.S. Women's Amateur. USGA records show that event was held at Town & Country Club in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Rankings
Brook Hollow's restoration has pushed it up several lists, though the numbers vary by publication.
| Ranking | Result |
|---|---|
| Golf Digest, America's Second 100 Greatest (2025–26) | No. 194, its first appearance on the list |
| Golf Digest, Texas (2025–26) | No. 7, up from No. 20 |
| Top 100 Golf Courses, Texas | No. 4 |
| Dallas Morning News (2025) | No. 1 in North Texas, No. 3 in Texas |
| D Magazine/AvidGolfer, Dallas–Fort Worth country clubs (April 2024) | No. 2, behind Northwood |
Golf Digest panelists rated the course highest for conditioning, with a score of 7.51. The 2024 Dallas–Fort Worth ranking carried this comment: “Brook Hollow might have the best pure architecture in North Texas.” AvidGolfer's 2025 ranking also places the club in its “Platinum” tier, which covers clubs with initiation fees of $150,000 and up.
How to Play Brook Hollow as a Non-Member
Guest play
Brook Hollow doesn't offer public play or outside bookings, and directories list its guest policy as closed to unaccompanied outsiders.
In practice, you play as a member's guest. The member pays any fees through their account, so you shouldn't expect to settle up with the pro shop yourself.
The club doesn't publish guest fees, limits on guest rounds or reciprocal arrangements. One aggregator lists a “$250” green fee, but that figure is unreliable, so ignore it and ask your host what to expect.
The club also doesn't take tee times. Its caddie program encourages walking, so plan to take a caddie. Bring cash for the caddie fee unless your host tells you otherwise.
Other routes in
If you don't know a member, you still have a few ways onto the property:
- Qualify for a hosted event. The club regularly hosts USGA qualifiers, the Trans-Mississippi Amateur, and Texas Golf Association (TGA) and North Texas PGA (NTPGA) events.
- Caddie through the club's program. Local caddies worked the 2025 U.S. Junior Amateur, so the program has handled championship play.
- Attend a clubhouse event. Weddings, debutante balls and charity functions in the ballroom get you inside the clubhouse, but not onto the course.
Tips for getting an invitation
Invitations come through relationships, so start with the local golf and social circles where members spend their time. Once you have a host, confirm the dress code and clubhouse rules with them before you go, since the club's official rules aren't public.
Membership: Process, Costs and Finances
Structure and size
Brook Hollow is a private, equity, member-owned club. A 15-member Board of Governors runs it, with staggered three-year terms and five seats up for election each November. The club also has 14 committees.
A 2020 search profile gives a sense of scale: 1,149 members with an average age of 54, about 21,000 rounds a year and 225 full-time-equivalent staff. The membership is small enough that the club doesn't need tee times.
Joining
Admission is selective and requires sponsorship from existing members. The club doesn't publish an application process, so you'll need to work through your sponsors to learn the steps.
The waitlist runs several years, and some reports cite a wait of more than 10 years. Newcomers without strong local ties may face higher costs, if they get in at all.
To confirm current rules, call (214) 637-1914 and ask for the membership office.
Cost history
The club doesn't publish its fees, so every figure below is a third-party estimate.
| Year | Initiation fee | Monthly dues |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | $20,000 | Not listed |
| 2014 | $100,000+ (one member reportedly paid $137,000) | About $600 |
| 2020 | About $125,000 | About $900 |
| April 2024 | $225,000 | $1,280 |
The April 2024 figures are the most recent published estimate, and costs are probably higher now. Initiation fees nearly doubled between 2020 and 2024, so budget with some room above those numbers.
Finances
According to the club's IRS Form 990 for the fiscal year ending September 2025, Brook Hollow brought in $40.6 million in revenue against $26.1 million in expenses, and it held $60.8 million in net assets. Revenue the year before was $25.3 million, a jump of more than 60 percent.
Facilities, Dress Code, Leadership and Planning Your Visit
Practice and golf facilities
The driving range, short-game area and putting green sit behind the 18th tee, and all of them were rebuilt in 2020 as part of the restoration. A second short-game area next to the 8th hole has a large green and two bunkers.
The golf shop opened in 2014. It covers 3,000 square feet and handles merchandise, club storage and workroom services. For instruction, the club has a Director of Golf, assistant professionals and a Director of Instruction, along with a junior golf program.
Clubhouse and amenities
Beyond golf, the club offers a full set of amenities:
- Dining: Formal and casual options, plus the Brook Grill, which seats 36 inside and 60 outside. Executive Chef David Sokol has been at the club for many years and built the culinary program's reputation.
- Ballroom: A well-known Dallas venue for weddings, debutante balls and other formal events. Idlewild presentations have been held there since at least 1951.
- Tennis: 17 courts in total, including 4 indoor, 2 Har-Tru and 4 pickleball. The complex was renovated in 2014.
- Fitness: A 3,600-square-foot fitness center with classes, personal trainers and massage.
- Aquatics: A heated six-lane lap pool, two leisure pools, a slide pool and a children's wading pool.
- Family: A game room, an outdoor basketball court and childcare.
Many of the fitness and family spaces sit in the two-story athletic building completed in 2014.
Dress code and etiquette
The club's official rules aren't public, and the head professional enforces them. Directories describe a fairly traditional code:
- Collared shirts
- Bermuda-length shorts
- No denim on the course
- Golf or tennis shoes only, with no open-toed shoes and no metal spikes
- Street shoes allowed on the putting greens only
Plan on traditional private-club attire, and ask your host about rules for the clubhouse, dining and phone use.
Leadership and notable members
The club is in a leadership transition. Chris Bonvie, General Manager since about 2019, is leaving for La Jolla Country Club, a move announced on June 3, 2026. A search for a replacement was posted around June 30, 2026, and no successor had been publicly announced as of October 2026.
The club's most recent tax return lists Timothy King as Director of Golf, Matthew Wilson as Director of Grounds and Maury Purnell III as club President.
Reported members have included George W. Bush, Ross Perot Sr. and Jr., Dee Wyly and Jerry Jones. Older sources also name the McDermott, Murchison, Schoellkopf and Wynne families, and a 2020 profile mentions champions and Texas Golf Hall of Fame inductees among the membership. These lists come from older or secondary sources, so they may be out of date.
Action steps and caveats
Your next move depends on what you want from the club:
- To play: Seek a member's invitation, or look for USGA, Trans-Mississippi, TGA and NTPGA qualifiers held at Brook Hollow.
- To join: Expect to need sponsorship, a waitlist of several years and roughly $225,000 or more for initiation.
- To visit: Clubhouse events such as weddings and charity functions are the most accessible way in.
Keep a few caveats in mind. All fee figures are unofficial estimates, and yardages and ratings from directories may predate the restoration, so verify them before relying on them.
Sources also disagree on a few details: most spell the founder's name “Buxton” while one says “Braxton,” the reopening is dated to either 2020 or 2021, and yardage figures vary.
Finally, don't confuse Brook Hollow with Brooklawn CC or Hollow Brook GC in New York, since policies you find for those clubs don't apply here.
Conclusion
Brook Hollow is hard to get into, but you have a few realistic paths. The simplest is a member's invitation, which gets you onto the course with a caddie.
If you don't know anyone, you can enter qualifying for events the club hosts, such as USGA qualifiers or Trans-Mississippi, TGA and NTPGA championships, or caddie through the club's program. Weddings, debutante balls and charity events will get you inside the clubhouse, though not onto the course.
Your next step depends on your goal. If you want to play or visit, start by building relationships with members and ask your host about dress code and what to expect.
If you're thinking about joining, call (214) 637-1914 and ask for the membership office, since the club doesn't publish its application process or fees. Either way, check yardages and ratings against the USGA Course Rating database before you rely on any numbers.
