The Top 10 Best Public Golf Courses in Houston

Host of the Shell Houston Open from 2006 to 2018, the Tournament Course at the Golf Club Houston is one of two golf courses at the club that was built in the same spot as the old El Dorado Country Club. Open to the public (the other course is for members only), architect Rees Jones put together a compelling layout with a really good collection of holes.

It's also a first-class experience in every way, which reflects the green fees, which are usually well north of $120. Forecaddies are required at certain times as well, but they really do add to the experience to get you around the course. It's also not a good walking course with considerable distance between some of the holes, including between the first and second, and 17th and 18th in particular. 

Speaking of the 18th, it's a doozy at 480-plus yards from the back tees with a carry over a lake to a fairway guarded by bunkers to the right. Even for long hitters, the approach is usually pretty long with water all down the left side. 

Exceptional, tour-level practice facilities, and a terrific restaurant in the clubhouse round out the experience at Golf Club of Houston’s Tournament Course.

One of two excellent 18-hole championship layouts designed by Jim Hardy and Peter Jacobsen, the South Course at BlackHorse GC is probably the more difficult of the two with more scenic holes, including a particularly stunning back nine.

Part of the second nine is built in and around an old quarry. The finishing stretch includes the risk-reward par-4 16th. Less than 300 yards from the back tees, big hitters often try to carry the tee shot all the way to the green over wetlands. 

The 17th is a par-3 with another carry over a marsh. Finally, the 18th is an exceptional par-5, where again, long hitters must consider whether or not they want to go for this well-protected green in two.

A complete renovation a few years ago by the Houston Golf Association and architect Baxter Spann elevated Gus Wortham Park Golf Course way beyond expectations. Built on the site of the original Houston Country Club just east of downtown (Howard Hughes used to play there), the municipal course dates back more than a century. Unlike most Houston courses, it isn't flat either, with several holes like the seventh and 18th offering difficult uphill approach shots.

The course is always in terrific shape, too, even better than most country clubs in the area. That's because the HGA, which used to run the Houston Open, puts money back into the course. At $38 to walk during the week, Gus Wortham is Houston's best value, especially considering you don't have to be a resident to get that rate.

Designed by Jeff Brauer, who also designed The Wilderness in Minnesota, the Texas version of The Wilderness is a little out of the way, southwest of Houston, but well worth the drive. There are no homes on the course, and the clubhouse is log-cabin like, so it truly feels like it's in the wilderness.

Carved out of the marshes that harbor all kinds of wildlife, the course has lots of doglegs and some really interesting greens. In particular the 550-yard par-5 seventh is capped by a green that's 180 feet deep. Depending on the pin, that could be a six-club difference.

One of the unique aspects of High Meadow Ranch is that it’s made up of three six-hole loops that all route back to the clubhouse. It gives the course a unique flexibility. But more than that, as a golfer, you can break it down six holes at a time, feeling like you've started a new course on the seventh and 13th holes.

High Meadow is always in good shape, and offers a wide variety of holes that find their way through pine forests and around lakes, ponds, and streams. The finishing hole, a long downhill par-4 with an approach over a pond, is particularly strong.

One of the newest courses in the Houston area, Highland Pines is brought to you by the same group that not only started Tour 18 (a facility that earned honorable mention status on this list), but also opened Augusta Pines, which played host to a PGA Tour Champions event for several years.

What's really unique about Highland Pines, which is northeast of Houston, is that the fairways and greens are zoysia. The latter is grassed with a new zoysia called Lazer, and they are amazingly fast and smooth. Beyond that, this course also has hilly terrain, so there are some pretty interesting holes, especially the par-5 ninth, where if you can hit it long enough to find the downhill speed slot, you can have a mid-iron into the green.

The other course at BlackHorse has plenty of character, too. The most interesting stretch might be on the front nine, holes four, five and six, that work around a lake and wetlands. All three are very different and very scenic. And they're difficult as well. 

The fourth, for example, is a dogleg right with a lake running down the entire right side. There's a huge fairway bunker you have to avoid, too, to set up a long approach.

Whether you play the South or the North Course, BlackHorse has nice practice facilities with a good golf academy as well. There’s an excellent bar and grill inside the clubhouse, so if you play there, it's a good place to make a day of it.

Perennially used for PGA Tour Qualifying School as well as Monday qualifying for the Houston Open, The Tradition Course is by far the better course at 36-hole Cypresswood. Cut through thick forest with ponds, streams, and lakes, it's a good test, and when it's in excellent condition, it's certainly one of the Houston area's premier courses.

Cypresswood has decent practice facilities with a full grass range and short-game areas, but unfortunately, there's not a clubhouse at either course now. The Cypress Course lost its clubhouse during Hurricane Harvey and only has a large trailer now. The clubhouse at The Tradition Course closed years ago, so you have to check in at the trailer and drive your cart quite a ways to get to the first tee, but it remains a quality experience nonetheless.

Though it didn't make my top 10, I highly recommend Tour 18 in Humble near Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport if you've never played it. This is the original replica course, ironically. It has gone through ownership changes over the years, but this replica course, the first of its kind in the United States when it opened in 1992, is a blast to play.

For those who will never have the opportunity to play Augusta National, the copy of Amen Corner at Tour 18 is probably the best one you will find anywhere because of the pine trees. The green around the pond at the replica of Augusta's 11th does a decent job of creating the feel of the original, and the hole that copies the par-3 12th beyond Rae's Creek is pretty good, too. (I can attest to this since I finally got to play Augusta National in 2023).

Of course, Tour 18 also gives guests the opportunity to play holes that mimic other famous courses like Bay Hill, Doral's Blue Monster, Oakmont (the church pew bunkers), and the island green 17th from The TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course. Even though the green at Tour 18 is larger than the one at Sawgrass, it feels pretty authentic, too.

Also worth mentioning is East River Nine, a new nine-hole par-3 course with great views of Buffalo Bayou and the Houston skyline. The whole complex is a great place to hang out with its open-air restaurant and bar, pickleball courts, driving range, and practice putting green.