How Can I Play Memorial Park Golf Course?

Covering 1,466 acres, Houston’s Memorial Park is one of the largest urban parks in the US. Beyond the bike and walking trails, the park is also home to a famous golf course.

Memorial Park Golf Course is considered one of the best municipal courses in Texas. It has humble origins. In 1912, the area it is built on was the site of a nine-hole course with sand greens. It remained that way until July 1936 when, following a complete redesign by John Bredemus, the course reopened as an 18-hole effort. Bredemus was delighted with his efforts and called it his “greatest golf course ever.”

It would be almost 60 years until its next big makeover when, in 1995, it received $7m for a renovation following a campaign to restore the course embarked on by a Houston Park board member. The result was a 600-acre site with a lighted driving range, putting greens and a new clubhouse.

The course has had another redesign in more recent years. The $13.5m project was carried out by Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design company in consultation with Brooks Koepka. Eight greens were moved while the par-5 eighth hole was lengthened. There are oak tree-lined fairways and contoured greens. Meanwhile, tees and fairways on the front nine were relocated so ravines could come into the equation. Additional water was added to the closing holes to present a challenging finish to anyone’s round – including on the course’s signature hole, the par-3 15th, where a stream guards the green.

The course began hosting the Houston Open 11 years after Bredemus’ redesign, in 1947, while it also hosted the tournament in successive years between 1951 and 1963. Most recently, it was again the host of the tournament in 2020, an honour it still holds today. Over the years, legends of the game have played at Memorial Park Golf Course, including Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicholas. Meanwhile, some of the ashes of 1965 PGA championship winner Dave Marr were scattered over his favourite hole – the 14th – following his death in 1997.