Preston Trail Golf Club

Preston Trail Golf Club in Dallas, Texas, opened on May 1, 1965. The course was designed by Texas native Ralph Plummer, a prolific architect who created or remodeled over 100 courses, primarily in Texas, including Dallas Athletic Club (host of the 1963 PGA Championship won by Jack Nicklaus), Champions Golf Club in Houston, and Shady Oaks Country Club in Fort Worth. Plummer, who began his career assisting John Bredemus in 1927 and later served as president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects from 1962 to 1963, collaborated with golf legend Byron Nelson on the layout. The club was founded in October 1962 by prominent Dallas figures including Stuart Hunt, Jim Chambers, John Murchison, and Pollard Simons, who provided 170 acres of farmland near White Rock Creek. No previous names or ownership changes are documented.

The club hosted the Byron Nelson Golf Classic, a PGA Tour event, from 1968 to 1982, earning acclaim as one of the tour's finest venues. Notable wins included Miller Barber in 1968, Jack Nicklaus in 1970 and 1971 (defeating Arnold Palmer in a playoff in 1970), and Tom Watson's three consecutive victories from 1978 to 1980. Membership has included pros like Lanny Wadkins, David Graham, Ben Crenshaw, and Tom Watson, alongside business leaders from the Hunt and Murchison families and Dallas mayors. The course underwent a complete reconstruction in 2008-2009 led by Tripp Davis, who restored the original strategic intent while modernizing for contemporary play, including new irrigation, drainage, tees, bunkers, greens, and Zoysia grass on fairways. Davis returned in 2018 for bunker renovations. The men's-only club maintains a membership cap of 250 and emphasizes pure golf without additional amenities.