Memorial Park

[tiderider]

played it saturday ... walked 18 ... like the changes, but not sure they're worth $20 million, or however much they spent ... or maybe not sure the public will return the investment ... greens are smaller, with some drop off areas ... thought they needed some more undulations around them to make it harder to get up/down ... liked the new fairways and turf ... some holes really weren't changed that much except for reducing the size of the green and putting in some more movement to it, though the greens are considerably smaller overall ... they haven't built a new chipping area yet, but may be putting one in ... still have a lot of grass to grow and construction to carry out, though wouldn't think the new clubhouse would be operational by the tournament ... best new hole is the 4th, imo ... pushed that green to the right and back a little, next to a small creek/ditch ... one thing you never knew was the extent of that creek/ravine running through the front part of the property ... thought maybe they could've used that a little more ...

 

apparently having some issues with the hitting area as a tennis player on the courts located at the end of the range was struck by a ball ... no drivers off top deck and right side of the lower deck ...

 

bet that ticked off that tennis player ...

[mbbrewer]

The range is open but limited to irons only on the right side. Woods are allowed on the left unless you get a huge tailwind in which case they restrict that side to irons only also. Long term plan is to remove and relocate the tennis facility. I’ve heard the city is extorting the Astros Foundation for an excessive amount of money than what it should actually cost to relocate.

They’ve made a grass hitting area between the 10th fairway and the tennis courts and the pros will hit back towards the double decker tee during the tournament.

Someone mentioned the balls feel hard and have a weird sound but I think that has more to do with the echo if the strike against the metal roof. I get the same Feel/sound when I hit a pro V1.

[scott_Donald]

Just back from there right now. It was irons only today for the whole range with the wind.

The balls do feel hard but again I am guessing they are like the old balls and don't fly as far.

Funny one of the guys that work here was asked what the story with the range, everybody stopped hitting and listened -' If only the tennis courts would just leave!' he said.

On a side note playing there next Friday, very early and looking forward to it.

[J_Birdie]

Coming in from SA to play Memorial Park with my buddy on the 25th. Looking forward to it. Gonna try to play somewhere Sunday too. Who wants to bring me and my pal out to Bluejack? ;)

[scott_Donald]

I played the course for the first time on Friday. A few thoughts;

it was damp underfoot, I thought the drainage would be better. greens stayed real firm which I like.

I hit driver on every Par4/5 - kind of boring.

I played bad and still shot 5 over(couldn't chip or putt), tour pros are going to tear it apart.

Green complexes were great.

I think it will be much better in the summer after more growth.

Price is awesome.

I will play it again in a month and then when my dad visits from Scotland in April. Cypresswood Tradition is still my favourite easy to get on Houston Course.

[Dashfast]

Playing there on Wednesday (coming in from Chicago)... I'll have to rent clubs. Does anyone know what the club rental options are?

[lc1342]

A guy that I was playing with looked like he had a set of rentals and they were M6’s.

[Dashfast]

That’s pretty sweet. Thanks for the info!

[J_Birdie]

Played Memorial yesterday. Course conditions were mediocre at best. Layout was wide open off the tee and some challenging greens that were a bit slow and bumpy. I agree with the sentiment that pros are probably going to tear that course up. Course feels unfinished and really needs a good grow season. My $.02.

[Dashfast]

Played Memorial Park with a rented set of M6 stiff clubs. Was very grateful for the warmth of the staff even if the weather itself wasn’t so warm. Customer service and vibe were great, conditions were fine. It had rained the day before, so I wasn’t expecting much. The drainage on the course is pretty solid - it was still playable, but I found it weird that there were no ball washers anywhere and the routing was not clearly denoted. More signs and some ball washers would make the course much much better in my opinion. Enjoyed the layout, didn’t feel like it was particularly memorable, but the green complexes were very cool/challenging. Shot 91.

[snagy2000]

It's very rough around the edges because they had to get it open by early November in order to hold the tournament there later this year. Anything outside of the fairways and greens is really in need of a lot of growth. There's a lot of attention to detail which also needs to get taken care of over the next year. By the time the Pros get there, it will be in decent shape. They'll grow the fairways in really tight and the rough up and make the green slick. Just like they do every year for the City Amateur.

[true8]

Has anyone played here recently? I'm heading there at the end of March and have a tee time booked.

[snagy2000]

This year's inaugural event at Memorial Park is being moved to the week before the rescheduled Masters. With the course being closed for a good while this spring, it should be growing in pretty good right now and look a lot better when re-opened.

[scott_Donald]

I am really missing the range right now, normally there 3+ times a week.

Glad they are going to keep the Houston Tournament, fingers crossed!

[mbbrewer]

Should be growing in for sure. Haven’t played out there in a couple months but it was still pretty rough. I bet they overseed the course. I Actually think memo could be a good tune up for the masters. Those green complexes are very similar.

[scott_Donald]

Morning,

Does anyone know anything about the course and range here re opening?

I have been heading to 5050 Acorn once a week but not a fan of the turf at all. Been hitting lots of balls in my net but again its fine for swing but not being specific to shots and yardages.

[ND2005]

I would guess after Memorial day.

 

Hermann park is insane right now. The guys in the pro shop said it is the most crowded they've ever been. I went once like 2 days after they reopened and I think people hadn't figured it out yet, it was pretty nice - 4 hr round, walking, only waiting periodically. A week later we quit after a 3 hour front nine.

[scott_Donald]

I don't care about the course really, just the range. I need my 3 times weekly practice sessions!!!!

I have played a walking 3 hour round at Blackhorse North 2 weeks ago on the Saturday afternoon, it was perfect - cooler day.

Playing Cypresswood Tradaition tomorrow morning first thing but will use a cart.

Been hard to get a tee time at any course right now!

Never played Herman Park ever but been to the range a couple of times.

[scott_Donald]

interesting been looking around and there seems no sign of it opening any time soon, last update was April 30, saying it will open some time in May.

[ND2005]

Reopening 6/1 per the Houston Parks website

http://www.houstontx.gov/parks/

[scott_Donald]

awesome, thank you sir!

[ND2005]

PSA - not only is Memorial reopening tomorrow, they’ve changed their system - you can now reserve tee times up to 30 days in advance (including weekends) for a $15/player fee. Normal rates apply for tee time bookings in the standard 3 day window.

 

Two early weekend tee times locked in for June!

[scott_Donald]

I will be down to practice tomorrow afternoon after my first haircut in almost 5 months!

Hope the course is not too filled up, I want to play it in June.

[dbdors]

Are you sure about that? I’ve been waiting to book for 6/11. Their website still says only 3 days out. When I tried, it says no times available. The calendar only goes out to 6/14. Sharpstown has plenty of spots but you can only go out to 6/6. Only one spot left for tomorrow!

[ND2005]

Yup. If you go to their site, there are separate links for “advanced tee times” - click those and then you can book further out

[dbdors]

I see, I was working from an iPad. I can see the drop down on the desktop. And there an extra $15 charge for the advanced.

[snagy2000]

How's the course looking since it reopened?

[RXGolf86]

Played Saturday morning. The greens looked like they were punched a couple weeks before, but weren't terrible. Fairways were pretty lush for the most part, rough has gotten pretty thick in areas. The pace was awful though. We were the fifth group off and were waiting on every hole from 7 on.

[snagy2000]

Played this morning in 3:40 shooting out at 7:30. Group behind us was 2 holes back. Lots of walk-up action this morning. At least 15 people waiting before 1st tee time. As mentioned above, the course is starting to grow in nicely. The greens were shaggy, bumpy and slow to putt on since they're recovering from being punched. They're also still rock hard and don't hold balls very well, which makes playing the newly designed undulating greens even more challenging. Better have a good short game since the greens are the only thing protecting this course. The green on Hole 13 is probably the worst designed green on the entire course. Small, crowned with many steep slopes to funnel the ball away. I'm not a big fan of it! They could have done so much better with what was there prior to remodel. Off the course, the property still needs A LOT of TLC. Trees need trimmed, grass needs to grow in, etc. Will be embarrassing to look at during the tournament if they don't get busy on it.

[ND2005]

Doesn't sound promising for the tournament...especially with a hard/hot summer season ahead...

 

This was why I was skeptical of the plans to host the tournament here. Even if the reno went great and the layout was up to snuff, how would they handle heavy play, ongoing maintenance needs, and upkeep...?