Pecan Valley Golf Club

J. Press Maxwell laid out Pecan Valley in the early 1960s in the Salado Creek valley south of downtown San Antonio, threading fairways through stands of pecan and oak with the creek in play on roughly eight holes. The par-70 course rewarded precise shotmaking, with open green fronts inviting run-up approaches. Its defining moment came at the 1968 PGA Championship, where 48-year-old Julius Boros edged Arnold Palmer and Bob Charles by a stroke to become the oldest major champion at the time; a plaque near the 18th marks Palmer's famous closing 3-wood. Ahead of hosting the 2001 U.S. Amateur Public Links, architect Bob Cupp led a multimillion-dollar restoration. The course closed in January 2012, but its championship pedigree keeps it a landmark in Texas golf history.