From the seed of an idea in 1989, Texas Golf sprouted into what it has become today.

The original thought was to determine the best courses in the state. That quickly evolved into a ranking of the 50 best courses in the state, the 25 best public courses in the state and the 10 best resort courses. Oh, and while we're at it, let's identify the 18 best holes, 18 most beautiful holes and 18 toughest holes.

In the next 19 years, there has been much growth, along with some pruning, but the basic elements that you see today, in the 20th edition of Texas Golf, appeared in that first edition.

For the inaugural Texas Golf section, a panel of 17 experts, including former PGA Tour players Byron Nelson, Don January and Charles Coody, nominated 97 courses. Each panelist then ranked the courses on the ballot from one to 50. In those days, long before computer spreadsheets were commonplace, longtime SportsDay golf writer Harless Wade compiled the rankings manually, carefully noting each vote and then calculating the scores.

Colonial Country Club came out on top in the first rankings of "The Best Texas Fifty." It remained in that spot for six more years. Colonial returned to No. 1 in 2003-04 and holds the record of nine years atop the rankings, followed by Crown Colony Country Club in Lufkin and Whispering Pines in Trinity. Crown Colony, which debuted at No. 3, has been No. 1 four times. Whispering Pines is No. 1 for the third year in a row. Champions Golf Club's Cypress Course in Houston was No. 1 twice. Barton Creek's Fazio Foothills and Vaquero Club in Westlake were each No. 1 for one year.

Among the features that have remained staples of the section over the years are the 18 best holes, the 18 most beautiful holes and the 25 best nine-hole courses.

Some staples have evolved. For the first time, the rankings have expanded to a top 100. The top 50 courses you can play is new this year. A few years back, four new lists of public courses were created. In the beginning, lists of public courses were divided by categories such as municipal, daily fee and resort. Now, public courses are ranked by price points so that courses that charge similar fees compete against each other.

Texas Golf is a perennial, something that grows and blossoms every spring.

The first Texas Golf panel was made up of 17 men. LPGA Hall of Famer Kathy Whitworth was on the original panel but did not participate because she hadn't seen enough of the courses nominated. The panel members with their roles in 1989 or a notable part of their résumés:

Joe Black: Former president of PGA of America

Duke Butler: Exec. director, Houston Golf Association

Charles Coody: Won three times on the PGA Tour, including the 1971 Masters

Sherwin Cox: Head pro, Ross Rogers G.C., Amarillo

Ben Crenshaw: Won 19 times on the PGA Tour, including two Masters

Don January: Won 10 times on the PGA Tour, including the 1967 PGA Championship

Buddy Kalencki: Head pro, Harlingen Country Club

Bill Kay: Executive director, Dallas Publinx Association

James McAfee: Executive director, Northern Texas PGA

Byron Nelson: World Golf Hall of Fame member

Bill Penn: Executive director, Texas Golf Association

Bob Putt: Master professional at the Club at Sonterra

Mike Ray: Executive director, Southern Texas PGA

Randy Smith: Head pro, Royal Oaks Country Club

Earl Stewart: Retired SMU golf coach; won PGA Tour event as a club pro

Harless Wade: SportsDay golf writer

Dave Williams: Retired Houston golf coach