Houston, we have a tournament. The Texas Children’s Houston Open to be precise. It’s taking place right now at Memorial Park Golf Course, a Tom Doak-renovated muni that ranks among the best values in the Lone Star State. It’s a must-play when the tee sheet isn’t taken up by Tour pros. Meantime, here are six of the top public-access alternatives in the area.
Golf Club of Houston
Before the Houston Open to Memorial Park, this was tournament’s longtime host. A partly private club, it has two courses, one of which (the Members Course) is open to — you guessed it — members and their guests only. The Tournament Course, though, (which also hosted LIV Golf Houston) welcomes outside play on a Rees Jones-David Toms collaboration that is known for its impeccable conditioning. It’s a country club experience, minus the initiation dues.
Tour 18 Golf
The concept of a “replica” course has been replicated all around the country. But Tour 18 is a particularly commendable example of the form. The 1st hole is a tribute to the 18th at Harbour Town (sans lighthouse in the backdrop). The 2nd is a faithful homage to the 6th at Bay Hill. And on it goes from there, with replicas of such iconic holes as the perched-green par-5 14th at Pebble Beach and the island-green 17th at TPC Sawgrass. There’s even a trip around Amen Corner, without all the azaleas but with many other specs pretty much spot on.
BlackHorse Golf Club
Peter Jacobsen and Jim Hardy designed both 18-holers at this well-maintained facility northwest of the city. Both the North and the South present stout tests, with water hazards complicating matters on many holes, and tees that tip out at more than 7,000 yards. But the South is slightly tougher and, in the eyes of many, more memorable, with a closing stretch that cuts through a former mine which has been remade into dramatic wetlands.
The Wilderness Golf Club at Lake Jackson
Drive some 45 minutes south of the city, and you can reward yourself with a round on this sleeper, where a gated road cuts a sylvan path to a cabin-like clubhouse and a character-rich course fringed by wetlands, spliced by streams and routed to be walking-friendly.
Gus Wortham Golf Course
Like Memorial Park, this is a muni, though it occupies a site where the original Houston Country Club was routed more than a century ago. Unlike a lot of courses in the area, Gus Wortham works through notable elevation changes. Back in the day, the likes of Ted Ray and Harry Vardon put on exhibitions here. More recently, the greens and bunkers, among other features, were rebuilt by the architect Baxter Spann.
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