In this place, Carpenter envisioned a new downtown area with modern, glass buildings and a modern tram to get from one place to the next. There would be new modern homes to house all the people that worked here and, of course, a place for them to play golf. This was 1963. This would be Dallas’ new frontier, and Carpenter called on architect Joe Finger to help tame it. 

Finger would never forget the day when he was out on the property checking to make sure the greens at Las Colinas Country Club were coming in smoothly when he looked over a hill and saw a herd of angry Brahma steer coming at him being chased by several of Carpenter’s ranch hands. 

“Carpenter wasn’t a golfer, so his cattle came first,” Finger said. “I’m just glad none of them got hurt while running over my golf course.” Some four decades later, Carpenter’s dream city is a reality, and people who live and work here have replaced the cattle. 

Finger took advantage of the undulating terrain to create a balanced combination of uphill, downhill and side-hill holes and produced a layout that measures 6,809 yards but plays to a par 71 and a rating of 73.0. 

“We built Las Colinas Country Club in the style of that era,” Finger says. “We didn’t do all the mounding and contouring that we did 20 years later down the road at Hackberry Creek. But because of the terrain we didn’t really need to.” 

Las Colinas Country Club is truly a sight to behold. Standing atop the No. 1 tee box, it seems as if the entire world is spread out before you, a carpet of treetops and rooflines rolling all the way down to the Dallas skyline. The par-4 holes could be the best collection of driving holes around. The course offers a real challenge for golfers of all skill levels. Water comes into play on eight holes, and the fetching hills make for some severe uphill approach shots. 

“Driving into this Club is like going back in another era – a wonderful setting plus an unforgettable ambience as you journey back in time.”