Memorial Park Golf Course and Driving Range — Restaurant in Houston

Memorial Park and the golf course are a great asset to the City of Houston and the quality has significantly improved in recent years thanks to the generous donations of private groups like the Kinder Foundation who made a $70 million lead gift to renovate the park. Unfortunately, I can only give this a two star review because it is run by the City of Houston who has a great track record of ruining many things it gets involved in (don't get me started on the 610 bus lane).

Range and Practice Facilities: Nice range with lights, new mats, and plenty of space. They close at 9:00 but don't believe that lie, you show up at 8:01 or later and you won't be able to purchase any balls. It's commonplace to see someone who showed up at 7:30 to purchase balls and then go eat at Beck's Prime while the range opens up. They walk over to the range at 8:15 - 8:30 to start their session, the employees don't care about them, they only care if you're purchasing balls less than a full hour ahead of their close time.

Golf Course: Good course but at least 70%+ of the time you pay to play here, they'll be working on or "improving" something. Among the 6-8 rounds I've played here not a single one has been played when the course was in great condition. Over half the times the greens were recently punched or in bad condition and for the last 4 months they've substituted a 50-yard par 3 for the hole 17 par 4 that they've been "letting the grass grow out" at. It's looked fine the last 2-3 times I've been forced to frustratingly drive by it towards the 18th. Don't expect any discounts as a result of course condition, you're lucky and should be thankful to even get a tee time here (or at least that's the opinion of the course employees). The only time this course is in tip-top shape is right before the Houston Open and unless you're on the tour, don't expect to be able to play during this time.

Cost: The worst part about all of this is that Memorial Park was fully renovated via private donations and the city comes in and finds a way to fee everyone that wants to use the facilities, even to just go for a run. The park should be a benefit for residents of the city, and our tax dollars (which are already too high and wasted excessively) should go to the parks upkeep requirements. Instead, city residents who want the best shot at getting on this course can pay an annual fee to verify their residency. By paying this annual fee, you get the opportunity to sign up for a tee time between 4 - 14 days in advance (instead of 1-3 which makes it impossible to get on) so you can pay a tee time booking fee that's non-refundable and doesn't go towards the cost of your green fees. When you get there you get the opportunity to pay money to use a golf cart that costs more than most private clubs charge. Before all of this, you also have to pay for parking which I consider a nice wining and dining before you get fu#&ed. Don't try to get away without paying for parking, they have an attendant there at all times waiting to give out tickets. Maybe their salary is where all the parking income goes? At the end of the day, you're paying more than you would pay as a guest at a mid-level private club to play a golf course that is never in great condition. If you're paying non-resident fees, go literally anywhere else,...

Although it is a municipal course, I think it is respectfully maintained. The driving range is extremely fluid, though there are often many stand by the wayside type folks hanging around. Mid day would be the best time of day to visit this course.

I will definitely return to this location as I'm new to the area.

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Useful Funny Cool Michael C. Michael C. KEW GARDEN HL, NY 13 friends 24 reviews Share review Compliment Send message Follow Michael C. 3.0 star rating 2/25/2012 Hmmmm where should I start? For starters, this place can get extremely crowded at the obvious times so don't plan on walking on unless you go solo or only want to play 7 holes before sun down. Just make your tee time online and plan accordingly. The best days to play are early in the week and at early times. Same goes for the range; expect a wait during rush hour. There are a lot of high school kids that crowd up the place in the afternoon.

Practice facilities: The range is nice and spacious. Only downside is you have to hit off mats and rubber tees. They have plenty of targets out there to work on distances. If you hit the long ball they might tell you to put the driver away. I have hit it over the net a few times and was told to stop. I can't help it! Putting greens are nice and chipping area works for me. They have a trap to practice out of.

Course: I love the layout! This is what keeps me coming back. They can make it really tough and also really easy. Expect to wait on all the par 3s.

Staff: I have met some very friendly staff and also some real a-holes. I go to this course once a week and they treat me as if I've never played. The starter also accused me of stealing!! Yes can you believe it. Right before I teed off on #1. That's a big no no. I have everything a golfer could want. Why would I steal. He also accused me of breaking the 90 rule on every hole once when I was -2 thru 9. I know better and why was he following me on every hole??? Maintenance crew does a great job.

Beck's Prime: hot dog is killer and so are the sandwiches. Great place to chill and get normal food at a public course. Can be a bit over priced but to each is own.

Only reason I give it a three is because some of the staff can be rude and accusing me of stealing is an awful thing to do. He did come up a few holes later to tell me he had the wrong guy. It was a...

This is an update for the Memorial Park trails and Nature Center/Arboretum. I've enjoyed the Park for close to two decades now, and have been impressed at how well one of the largest parks and green spaces for a US metropolitan City has been maintained. Houston frequently deals with floods, droughts, hurricanes and tropical storms, sometimes one after the other, but the park management has kept on top of things and maintained the park for the public. The park is also well supported by private citizens, including major donors and philanthropists such as the Kinder family. The main focus of this updated review is to recognize the increased police presence at late hours in the park and the Memorial Drive picnic areas. HPD has always patrolled the area during normal hours, but over the course of a few months I've noticed at least one police cruiser making the rounds as late as 1:15am. Most people don't go out walking that late but sometimes schedules get in the way and the only time left to put out an hour or so is after midnight. At most one might find half a dozen or so cars by the main parking lot by the time 1am rolls around. Nevertheless, HPD obviously noticed and decided to patrol the area. Walking the trials that late is not something I recommend, but for those who chose to take the risk occasionally it is a great comfort to see the police cruiser cruising by or parking and observing. Their presence obviously deters potential criminals, and the few walkers/runners on the trails can feel much less anxious knowing that law enforcement is nearby. Just wanted to point this out and give the...