The Old Mine Club near Dallas is building The Canary, a Beau Welling course on former mining land targeted for 2027. See the plans and access details.
A former coal-mining site southeast of Dallas is being reshaped into one of Texas’s most unusual new private courses. The Old Mine Club, an invitation-only development connected to the Long Cove lake community, is building The Canary, an 18-hole Beau Welling design targeted for member play in 2027.
TGN likes the central idea: reclaim disturbed land and let its industrial history inform the golf instead of erasing it. That is a more interesting story than another generic luxury course. The project still deserves the same clarity we apply everywhere else—its 2027 date is a target, its renderings are not finished holes, and access will be private.
The Canary Course Plan
The Canary is planned to play more than 7,400 yards and use elevation changes, bold contours and extensive water features. Water is expected to influence ten holes, with much of the drama concentrated on the second nine.
Two par fours, the 11th and 18th, are designed with tee shots over a cove to island fairways. They will sit in view of the clubhouse and connect back to the mainland by bridges. Other highlighted concepts include a dual-green setup at the ninth, holes routed through a pine tree farm and a closing stretch shaped by channels left from mining excavation.
Why the Mining History Matters
Abandoned mining land often contains large elevation changes, spoil mounds, cuts and water-filled excavations that do not resemble untouched North Texas terrain. Those features can create memorable golf if they are stabilized, drained and integrated responsibly.
The project name is a direct reference to canaries once used as warnings in coal mines. More importantly, the design has an opportunity to preserve evidence of the site’s past instead of covering it with a manufactured landscape. Successful reclamation should improve environmental performance while making the course feel specific to its place.
Clubhouse and Practice Facilities
Plans call for a roughly 20,000-square-foot clubhouse overlooking the island holes, including fitness and wellness space. The golf program is also expected to include a driving range and short-game area, while the broader club offers water-oriented recreation.
That combination positions The Old Mine Club as more than an overflow course for Long Cove. It is intended to be a separate invitation-only membership experience built around golf, fishing and lake access. Prospective members should confirm how the club relationship, guest policies and construction phases will work as the opening approaches.
Opening Timeline and Access
Construction is underway, and the stated target is member play in 2027. Course openings depend on earthwork, grassing, weather, permitting and adequate grow-in. TGN will treat 2027 as the project goal until the club announces a firm opening.
The Old Mine Club is private and invitation-only. It will not provide public daily-fee access. That is a meaningful limitation for readers, particularly because the property is close enough to Dallas to attract broad interest. The course may become influential without becoming widely playable.
Why It Is Big Texas Golf News
Texas course development is increasingly moving onto unconventional land: waterfront islands, Panhandle dunes, Hill Country cliffs and former industrial sites. The Canary extends that pattern. It gives a respected architect a canvas with ready-made drama and connects golf construction to land reclamation.
It also strengthens the growing cluster of Beau Welling work in the state. His Texas portfolio already includes Fields Ranch West, Travis Club and Freestone. The Canary will be judged against those courses while establishing its own identity through the mining landscape.
The TGN Bottom Line
The Old Mine Club is a project to watch, not a course to rank yet. The plan is distinctive, the setting has genuine character and the proposed island-fairway holes could become instantly recognizable. None of that replaces the need to see how the finished course plays.
Our early read is positive because the development starts with a specific piece of Texas land and a clear architectural idea. The responsible next step is patience: let the construction and grow-in finish, verify the 2027 opening, then judge The Canary on strategy, conditioning and how well it honors the site it reclaimed.
