Royal Oaks opened in 1969 with a difficult Don January and Billy Martindale design, which was made even more challenging with Jay Morrish’s renovation in 1985. The course lays out in the floodplain of White Rock Creek just east of I-75 north of downtown Dallas, and was noted in the late 1990s as the home course for US Amateur and British Open Champion Justin Leonard.
Some of the most demanding holes in the DFW area reside here, including the signature 467-yard, par 4 13th–a truly a pro-only hole that features loads of trees and huge carries. No. 13 doglegs around White Rock Creek, and involves a tee shot over water, followed by a mammoth approach shot that must carry the creek again.
