MOUNT ENTERPRISE, Texas — Wild Spring Dunes isn’t a golf resort — yet.
“Yet” is the operative word.
With the September grand opening of its new Tom Doak course, Wild Spring Dunes is well on its way to challenging the two Omni golf properties — the 72-hole Barton Creek and 36-hole PGA Frisco — as Texas’ top golf resort. All it needs is time.
The Doak course at Wild Spring Dunes, part of the Sandborn collection of golf resort communities being developed by Michael Keiser Jr., is the first piece of the puzzle that will eventually unfurl across 2,400 acres of rolling sandy terrain in rugged and remote east Texas. Getting there is part of the challenge and the reward.
Reaching the property requires a three-hour drive (roughly 175 miles) from Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport. Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (147 miles) or Louisiana’s Shreveport Regional Airport (72 miles) are likely better options for flying in. Either way, golfers will cruise country roads feeling slightly lost. Finding Wild Spring Dunes is one of golf’s greatest scavenger hunts.
“It’s a unique part of the state, and Nacogdoches has a good small college town identity,” Doak said in an email. “I think it will be a great draw for anyone in Texas. It’s tougher for those outside the state because they’ll have to drive a couple of hours from wherever they land, but I think Sand Valley and Bandon have proven that people will make the journey if the golf is worth it. I personally live somewhere where we can't play golf from November to April, and Wild Spring Dunes is a very attractive option for all of those months.”
Resort infrastructure remains a ways off at Wild Spring Dunes, but visitors can still build a unique stay-and-play itinerary. Golfers can bed down at the Fredonia Hotel in Nacogdoches, a charismatic college town of 32,000 residents roughly 25 minutes away. The home of Stephen F. Austin State University is considered the oldest town in Texas, dating to 1779, and has been governed under nine different flags — a fun fact too complicated to fully explain in a course review.
REVIEWING WILD SPRING DUNES
Without resort amenities to welcome guests, Wild Spring Dunes rolls out the red carpet in other ways. It starts with complimentary valet parking.
There’s no clubhouse — yet — only a configuration of temporary trailers that house a pro shop and covered outdoor dining space. It is perfectly functional and comfortable for breakfast or a pre- or post-round meal and drinks.
There’s no driving range, either — only a couple of hitting cages. Instead, first-class service comes via a massage therapist who provides table stretching to prepare golfers for the hilly walk ahead.
Golfers are shuttled up to the first tee in small groups. The first hole kicks off the round in spectacular fashion: an elevated tee overlooking a scenic 379-yard par 4 from the blue tees, one forward from the tips. This moment alone makes up for any lack of amenities.
“The Old Baldy hill where our course starts was the first place we went to see when I visited the site, and it was obviously going to be a feature of the course, though it was a while before we decided on it as a starting point,” Doak noted.
This launching pad begins a fun front nine that can yield good scores. Both par 3s require only short irons from the blue tees — 145 yards on No. 4 and 124 yards on No. 5 — although both greens repel shots skirting their edges. Holes seven through nine might be the most “gettable” three-hole stretch Doak has ever designed. That is not to insinuate that they are easy; errant approach shots can quickly turn into double or triple bogeys. Two outstanding short par 4s — 270 yards on No. 7 and 305 yards on No. 9 — bracket a shorter par 5, the 472-yard eighth, which tempts golfers to go for the green in two. Beware the potential ugly lies in the bunkers and rubble short of the putting surface.
Pulling driver on the 223-yard 10th hole — which can play 240 yards or more when the wind kicks up — provides a not-so-subtle reminder that the back nine is tougher. Hazardous spring-fed creeks and barrancas crisscross several fairways on the journey home. There’s even a tree in the middle of the 13th fairway, a par 5 dipping to a cool green site below. For every bogey-inducing bruiser of a hole — like the uber-long 471-yard, par-4 16th — there is a birdie opportunity like the 322-yard 17th. This yo-yo effect makes playing Wild Spring Dunes endlessly interesting.
The setting alternates between secluded pine forests and open meadows. The sandy soil keeps the ball bounding in all directions. Temporary comfort stations serve complimentary food and nonalcoholic drinks throughout the round until more permanent structures are built.
Doak’s biggest challenge was making it walkable, a prerequisite for all Keiser courses. Caddies are required for every group.
“It’s pretty hilly, so keeping the course walkable was always in the back of my mind,” Doak says. “My early routings had all gone up over the ridge behind the number four and 13 tee, but we decided that was one big climb too many, which meant altering and reconnecting several of the holes at the south end. (Holes numbered) five, 11 and 12 were all created as a result of that change.”
WHAT’S NEXT AT WILD SPRING DUNES?
There is plenty happening behind the scenes to bring the full resort to life.
Clearing is underway for a second course designed by Coore & Crenshaw. Tom Ferrell, Sandborn’s vice president of media and communications, said preview play is scheduled for 2028.
“The C&C Course will be the perfect complement to the Doak course, however,” he says. “They both begin and end at the same place, but the golf journeys are varied and unique.”
Architect Jim Craig has designed — and construction has begun — on a 12-hole course inspired by his recent success creating the Commons at Sand Valley, a popular Wisconsin property Keiser Jr. co-owns with his brother. A fourth architect, Clyde Johnson, is adding an 18-hole “garden golf” putting course for all ages and skill levels.
Construction of the clubhouse and expansive practice facility will begin next year in a proposed village hub, located away from the current staging area. Plans also call for a 32- to 36-room golf lodge within the village.
The first available stay-and-play accommodations will be up to seven multi-bedroom custom homes currently under construction. They could enter the rental pool by late 2027. Other Legacy and Village homesites are available for purchase.
Ultimately, Wild Spring Dunes aims to be wildly different from anything else in the state.
“The No. 1 reaction we get is people feel like they are not in Texas, even people from this area,” says Ryan Huddle, the marketing and communications director at Wild Spring Dunes. “They feel like they are not in Texas at all. We are on that same sandbelt that runs through the southeast, so you get out here and the pines are staggering. People are just not used to that driving from Dallas or Houston.”
WILD SPRING DUNES
21043 US 259
Mount Enterprise, Texas, 75681
Yards: 6,962
Par: 72.0
Slope: 147
Green Fees: $195-$275
