Memorial Park

The course is kept in great shape for a municipal course and average shape for a private golf course. It is worth a stop if you are ever near the Houston area. We are very proud of our muni.

I have heard some good things about a few other munis as well such as in Charleston.

Make no mistake, Memorial Park is very much worth playing when in the greater Houston area, particularly if one is a resident of Houston given the very low green fee.

As the course is flat, Memorial Park is very much a walking golf course, and probably for most a walking and carrying one’s own bag. I give it high marks as well for the routing which is both logical and moves in multiple directions with only a few times having consecutive holes playing in the same direction. There is also a good mixture of doglegs, straight holes and pars of varying lengths.

We played it about two weeks after the Houston Open and the rough had not been cut since the tournament. While the rough I was not as high as I expected, balls would nestle down and it was a challenge to find some. Advancing them from the thick rough was a bit easier than I expected, but a full recovery was rarely available if more than 175 yards from the green.

The surfaces of the greens are not overly contoured with the exception of a couple holes such as the second, a short par 3 over a wide ravine. However, they are generally large and offer nice slopes and fall-offs if one gets too close to the edges. These are design features that Tom Doak uses often. These characteristics are maximized at fifteen, another short par 3. The green surrounds have a fair amount of contouring although perhaps a bit more shaping could have been done rather than relying only on fall-offs and run-offs.

The bunkering is restrained which emphasizes the playability of the course for everyday players.

The course builds to a dramatic finish with 15-17 offering water as part of the defense, although it should not be in play on fifteen. The incorporation of a pond on 16 and 17, a longer par 5 and short par 4 result in two strategic holes where one has to decide how much of the water they want to take on if searching for an eagle or birdie.

I felt the back nine to be more interesting than the front nine. The front nine’s two best holes are the two par 3’s at the second and ninth, both of which feature good angled greens, bunkering, fall-offs, and a lot of slope on the greens. Both also in fort are a forced carry over a wide ravine or narrow stream. The second’s green has a substantial back tier about six feet above the front of the green and additional movement on the upper tier. The ninth’s green has a bit of a bowl and several plateaus while also well defended on its left side with three irregular shaped bunkers.

The rest of the front nine lacks visual distinctiveness from one hole to the next until one starts to approach the green. The longest par 4 on the front nine is the fourth at 490 yards without a bunker. I did not see much interesting about the fourth other than the sharp falloff on the back right. The fifth has another sharp falloff into the stream/ravine behind the green after a short collection area. On the front nine it is not difficult to get to the greens but finding the right section of the green is important to secure one’s par. The eight is the longest hole on the course at 625 yards where I do not recall any bunkers. The green features a shorter false front and a middle vertical spine.

The back nine begins with a longer par 4 with a green that is well bunkered on the front left with a swale behind it. It is a good hole. What I thought was the least interesting hole on the course is the twelfth, a long par 3 of 237 yards. Twelve is the second longest par 4 on the course at 496 yards, offering a hole with an interesting green behind a central front bunker. Thirteen is the hole that players try to reach from the tee but if they miss to the right of the green they will face a semi-blind recovery shot about nine feet up. Fourteen is likely an eagle r birdie opportunity for the longest hitters as long as they right of the stream down the left side. My favorite hole on the course is the short fifteen par 3 of 155 yards to an elevated green with run-offs on all sides and a false front. The green is well contoured and the hole features appropriate bunkering - none. Sixteen is a long par 5 with water down the right side as the dogleg turns right. The water crosses also in front of the green as well as to the right and left. This green is very narrow at its triangular front but gets fairly wide at the back half. It might be a bit too wide at its rear. My second favorite hole is seventeen which plays around the lake that curves to the right and in front of the green. I like the options offered by the seventeenth as well as the requirement for execution. The finishing hole is straightforward and the longest par 4 on the course at 503 yards. It features perhaps the third best green on the course and is also very large.

I was impressed by Memorial Park for its playability and routing. It is a great course for walking. For the tournament it is a very good course for spectators given the amount of room between the holes and the drama offered by the finish. The only real criticism is that many of the holes look and play the same. Perhaps I would play a few more municipal courses if they were as good as this.

Some of the significant changes include adding both a par 3 and par five, so the layout is 5 3s, 8 4s and 5 5s. Incorporating the ravine into more holes on the front, cutting the bunker total by about half, eliminating underbrush and removing trees, expanding the main water hazard and creating more undulating green complexes. It is a much mor open course today.

The finishing holes are probably the strongest. The 16th a long par five with water in play the length of the right side. The 17th a dogleg right with a peninsula green and 18 is a 500 yard par four.

This course is a great asset to the city of Houston. It is a great value to golfers, if you can get a tee time. I strongly encourage you to try.

After the facelift for the Houston Open, Memorial Park is a fantastic course to play for an incredible rate