Sugar Tree Golf & Country Club

Sugar Tree Golf Club sits in Lipan, in rural Parker County near the Brazos River, about an hour and a half west of Dallas. Course designer Phil Lumsden built it in 1988, and it has long carried a reputation as a shot-maker's course: tree-lined fairways and four sets of tees demand well thought-out shots rather than raw distance. In recent years the club has been reshaped under general manager J.J. Killeen, a former professional tour player, and his business partner, who added strategically placed new bunkers and opened up the course through selective tree removal while keeping its wooded character. A recently built eight-bedroom lodge now lets groups of golfers stay on site, and stay-and-play packages have turned the course into a getaway destination as well as a local club, with a relaxed atmosphere aimed squarely at everyday golfers.