Those of you who have played there, what are the best courses? Looking to play probably 6 courses.

Has anyone done one of the stay and play packages? Are they better than getting an AirBnB and booking golf yourself? TIA for the advice.

If anyone has any other recommendations for road trip golf areas from DFW, I'd be interested to hear those as well. Would like to keep drive under 6 hours. Would like to be able to play several different courses over 3-4 days.

Diamante is the best, but private. Assuming you cannot play there:

1. Ponce De Leon
2. Isabella
3. Granada
4. Cortez (back nine is a thing of beauty)
5. Magellan
6. Balboa

Coronado is an exec course. DeSoto is the oldest.

Haven't played there is a about five years, but played every year before that for about 10. Great golf destination.

Oh, as for the Air BnB vs. booking yourself, look to see which one gets you booking priorities. I know back when we played we needed property owners' credentials to get good tee times.

My mom lives on Isabella course which I think is the top course by far of the public ones in the Village. I like the list above switching Isabella and Ponce. Granada is the newest and has some thoughtful holes.
As for tee times. I was there for a while this summer and the play was sporadic in terms of carts going past which indicates plenty of tee times should be available

No idea on where to stay. I lived in Hot Springs and played the village weekly. Your course list is fine but I would play Ponce later. It requires you to be on your game. Best practice facility is Magellan. Isabella has 27 holes. Try to play Nina-Pinta. I always played on Sunday morning but I wouldn't expect you to have any trouble getting a tee time during the week. For food, you will want to go to Hot Springs. The closer you are to a gate, the better. It's 17 miles from east gate to west gate. I don't recommend anything in the middle. Takes forever to get out. Most of the courses serve breakfast and lunch. I recommend Isabella's grill. Have fun.

Also if you are doing this in the near future the main road Desoto is closed. No thru traffic. Don't know how long for

I agree with poster above. Magellan has the best warm up area and the top 9 holes in Isabella are Nina and Pinta. Our favorite restaurant in the area Italian House Grill looks like a Covid causality or I would recommend

I go every summer with a group of college buddies for our annual "Natural State Natural Light Tournament of Champions". A grueling Ryder cup style format where the drinks of choice are...you guessed it Natty light. Here is how I would rank the courses:

1. Diamant (If you are a member at a club have your pro reach out and they can get you on) zoysia fairways are wonderful and course is always in great shape.
2. Granada
3. Cortez
4. Isabella (although I was a little disappointed in the shape of Isabella when we played there this summer)

I would recommend booking an air bnb on 1 of the lakes for good views and a place to cool off after you play. It's an extremely affordable option for a weekend golf trip.