I'm thinking about going to school at SMU in dallas next year. Does anyone know of any public courses in the area as well as ones which are easy to get to? Also practice facilities near the school would help as i'm not sure if i'll have a car.

First of all, congrats on SMU. I grew up in the area and graduated from SMU. It was a fantastic experience.

If you are not gay, you will be attending a school with some of the best looking women in the world. If that is not good enough, road trip to TCU. They have the same women, but half as many guys attending. Finally, Baylor has a nursing school near the hospital. There is an entire dorm full of women that most SMU students do not know about. Basically, SMU is like Disneyland for the the single man.

Of course, don't forget the academics. If you work hard and get good grades, you can go to any graduate school you want.

Back to golf: We played at Keeton (boring, but cheap and easy enough for beginners), Tenison (fun and cheap, in terrible shape back then), and Stevens Park (short but fun - in good shape). Although I never played it while I was in school, Cedar Crest once hosted the PGA Championship and was designed by Tillinghast. I played it for the first time last year. By far, it was the best of the lot. Most of the courses are (or require driving through) very bad neighborhoods. Outside the city limits, there are plenty of public courses available in all price ranges.

On the Car Issue: Do not go to SMU if you do not have a car. Although things have improved with DART buses and trains, Dallas is a miserable place to live without a car.

Good luck.

Bill in Connecticut

thanks. lots of good information i'll consider

Hank Haney has a great practice range and short game area just a mile or two down I75....tons of courses within 20 min drive!! I like Sherrill Park, 36 holes and pretty eazy to get on.

There's a double deck driving range called Top Golf that is really close to SMU. It has golfballs that have some sort of code that keep a score for you as you go for targets around the range. It's pricey, but pretty fun if you do it every now and then with friends.

Visited Dallas a couple of weeks ago and played 36 at the Cowboys Golf Course in Grapevine (just outside Dallas). It was extremely nice. Pristine grounds, and a very challenging course. Loved it. If you get the chance, give it a shot.

Your best bet is to be ready to drive to the suburbs (not bad from SMU area, about 30 minutes tops to most of the better courses) and get your times set up on golfnow.com or golf512.com.

So far as practice is concerned, your best bet may be North Texas Golf Center off Walnut Hill and I35. It's in a dicey part of town but you won't pay $15 for a bucket of balls because the sign outside has "Haney" written on it.

Top Golf is cool, but it will wreck your swing if you care to take any kind of divot.

My suggestions for area courses that won't break the bank are Firewheel, Riverside, Waterview, Woodbridge, the Dallas Pubs (Keeton, Tennison, Stephens, Cedar Crest), Oakridge CC, Grapevine, Mesquite, Sherril Park, Bear Creek, and Los Rios.

thanks for the help. is top golf off of mats and the others are grass

Top Golf and Haney in Dallas are both off mats. I believe Tenison is as well.

at courses are the people typically friendly that you get paired with or are the courses empty. Also what non summer months can you play in comfortably (50 degrees +)

The summer months are brutal. One year, my dad took me out to play golf for my birthday. The cheap b'stard refused to spring for a cart. Normally, I wouldn't mind, but it ended up being the hottest day in Dallas history up to that point. When we finished, it was 120 degrees (I am not joking - I am serious) on our back porch. June-August are brutal.

The good news is courses are open year round. In the fall/winter, you will get some cold spells, but they go away quickly. I go home for Christmas every year. Most of the time, I can play in shorts.

As for pairings, Texans tend to be friendly.

golfq.com, golfdfw.com are some sites that have discounts and maps of golf courses in the metroplex. I second the woman thing.