How Childress Hall became one of golf's hottest hangouts

Howard Head was born 84 years ago in Childress, Texas, a small town in the southeast corner of the Panhandle. He left for a short time but has spent nearly three decades there as a veterinarian and rancher.

Head knows the world well but still wonders what has become of the 2,400 acres of his sandy, Hilly Rocking Chair Ranch that he is selling in 2023. That parcel has become home to the Childress Hall Upper and Lower courses that architects Tom Doak and Gil Hanse developed, respectively, into one of the most secretive spaces in the US.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think they would do something like this,” Head said one day. “Something like this was not even in my imagination.”

Doak's Upper Course, which opened in the fall of 2024, and Hanse's Lower Course, which opened in late 2025, were built as playgrounds to rival such prestigious courses as Sand Hills in Mullen, Neb., and Ohoopee Match Club in Chibbtown, Ga. The property still uses the clubhouse as a Hotel – Hotel – but a permanent clubhouse and 50-room lodge is being built on the property to open in late 2026/early 2027. These courses are walk-only and have many local students.

Head, who doesn't play golf but still lives with his wife a few miles from the world courses he saved, said he and his family walked away with seven figures during the sale, although he didn't take this lightly. “We had to think hard about selling our land,” he said. “We had been here for 28 years, but there was still a big place to take care of.”

Doak, who co-founded the investment firm Blackfin Interests, whose founders include former Yale University golf coach Colin Sheehan and Alabama attorney Bert Guy, only had to see the property a few times to know it was real estate gold.

“Childress Hall is like Ballyneal [a Doak design in Colorado] in terms of setting, with yucca and prickly pear, although there are also mesquite trees in some areas,” Doak said. “Both have a wide variety of topography.”

He continued: “I was drawn to the Upper Course section because it had a great view of the cliffs at the end of the course. [holes 11-14] and at the same time the inland part was beautiful, a gentle rolling landscape that reminded me of St. Andrews Beach in Australia. All we had to do was build green spaces and places to live.”

The course is a three-and-a-half-hour drive northwest of Dallas but shares land with a former US bombing base used in World War II. Although long since closed to military operations, the base is now used for private jets, allowing members (about 50 with a projected cap of 125) and their guests easy access to what's in this remote corner of Texas.

“I wanted them to see what West Texas ranchland is really like,” Head said. “Now it's like 'Yellowstone' on TV for sure.”

The region's sand dunes paired with the Prairie Dog Fork of the Red River attracted Doak and Hanse, as well as the first wave of members.

“The sandy area is as amazing as any we've worked on anywhere, as it reaches the Red River,” said Hanse. “The course spans three six-hole loops and utilizes a variety of terrain. Combined with Doak's Upper course, it will be unique to Texas golf.”

Head is grateful for the economic development Childress Hall has provided to his town, which has been losing residents for years. But he still struggles to wrap his head around how architects have transformed Hereford cattle pasture land into a dream friends' golf outing. Even after traveling the world with Doak, Head couldn't see the vision.

“He was pointing to the hill and said we're going to put the green there and the tea there. I thought you guys were crazy,” said Head. “I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.”

Doak's course is wide open with sweeping terrain and the Red River, which separates Texas from Oklahoma, runs behind the 11th green. Hanse's course is firm and tree-lined.

To get to the site from downtown Childress Hall, take the four-lane highway out of town, pass Walmart on the left and Dairy Queen on the right and continue past the Texas Highway Patrol HQ (not too fast!). If you see a small highway sign, take the next right where the road quickly turns to dirt. After that, good luck with a few unmarked wanderings, before a small gate magically opens in front of you.

Head said the origins of Childress Hall date back to June 2021 when he received an unexpected call from two landowners working with Blackfin, looking for sand dune soil for development. He met them for lunch in town and later showed them his farm.

“I thought how painful it would be, we have a lot of soil here,” said Head.

He was told that his plot was one of 18 properties in the US that were under consideration, but the decision to proceed with his property was not made until early 2023, with the final agreement being drawn up in August of that year.

For its size, Texas has relatively few courses on GOLF's Top 100 Courses list, but Doak and Hanse hope their work at Childress Hall — and other new course developments in the state — will change that.

“If you're doing a study that's very far from the population,” Doak said, “it should be considered a very good thing to be successful.”

When and if that happens, no one will be more impressed than Howard Head.