Southwyck is an oldie but a goodie. This links course still holds its own, testing your game fairly despite losing some of its teeth: a few critical bunkers have been covered up w/ grass. The layout is typical Texas links, meaning there are no trees on the course. These Texas links courses do not allow you to run your ball up to the hole by landing it 50 ft short (like you see at the British open venues). It does have some strategic water hazards and tall rough w/ weeds and cattails to swallow the grossly errant ball.

The course design is fun, lots of risk/reward holes, including 2 drivable par 4s, #6 (not much trouble in play) & #15 (lots of trouble front and left). Some are nearly impossible to par: #5 225yd par 3 requiring 200+ carry to the green, or the #3 470yd par 4 that usually plays into the wind. My favorite aspect of the course is how visually intimidation some of these holes can be: #11 par 3 180yd w/ water front and right, OB left or #8 par 5 where the tee shot requires 240 carry over fairway bunker favoring the left side of the fairway to reach green in 2, but if you push that same shot too far right, the fairway runs out into a water hazard. Not hard to score if you can get your mind to block out the hazard. But therein lies the diabolical nature of this course.

This course is also managed by Arnold Palmer Co. so expect low rates, decent conditions, busy teetimes. If you're looking for links style w/o severe penalties, this is it.

This course is trying to go private, so if you're in the area and want a country club experience, this is it. The Clubhouse is enormous, with a huge patio/balcony overlooking the course. The practice areas are expansive and well maintained, from the driving range to the large putting green.

The course has a great layout, where trouble lurks on every hole, whether it be the tall pines to the sneaky water hazards. What stands out most about this course the speedy, undulated greens -- deadly combo. They usually roll 10-13 on the stimp. I always feel tested to the limit when I play here, forced to use every club in my bag, yet able to use my driver (which I like to do) almost every hole.

It's a great value. For the price you pay, you get superior conditions and a challenging layout. Top notch facility. Don't miss it if you're in the Tomball area.

If I'm struggling w/ my game or working out some new swing mechanics, this is the place I come to play. The conditions are usually pretty good. They favor themselves as having the best greens in Houston. That's a tall order. IMHO, their greens are better than avg, running usually 9-10, relatively flat, but not on par w/ the high end courses like Redstone or Woodforest or Panther Trail. The layout is kinda bland. No trees come into play at all, except if you slice it far right of the fairway on #16 and #17, so you can pretty much grip it and rip it. Errant shots usually end up w/ an unobstructed shot to the green. This is links style golf w/o any severe mounding or hairy fescue.

The fairways are borderline hardpan and the rough is cut low, rarely penal, definitely hardpan. If I don't hit the fairway, no problem, my ball may roll farther than if I had been more precise. Cost to play is inexpensive and I think it is a terrific bargain. Expect to pay muni prices for better than avg conditions.

They have an enormous chipping/putting green for those of us who like sharpen our short game. The driving range is serviceable, but be sure to bring your mosquito spray. The wooded area and drainage ditch next to the range is perfect to growing these stinging critter of prehistoric proportions.

The 3 nines here are fairly similar in style and difficulty. Layout is fun, if you don't mind target golf. No houses border the course, which is cut out of the pine forest. Great place to play when it's way too windy to play other courses. Conditions are usually very good. They take pride in caring for the course and it shows.

They have one of the best shortgame practice areas in the city: large putting green, lots of pitching and chipping areas, full driving range. The food is great, service is great, notable golf pro and teaching facility on site, and it's not too expensive. Come out for a high end golf experience at bargain prices.

The local highschool is across the street, so afternoons can be inundated w/ golf team members. A 15 yr old girl joined our group once and beat us by almost 10 strokes. Crazy good short game. Hate to admit it, but she played from the Mens tees. Ouch.

This has got to be one of the best values in town: $53-33 weekdays for a course that hosts many amateur and tour qualifying tournaments. Cut through the tall pines on N. Houston, it's a great place to play on the windiest days as the tall pines shelter you from the swirling gusts. This (and Timber Creek down south) is my go-to place to play on windy days. I love the fact that they have no houses on the course. Pace of play is always good b/c of the diligent marshalls.

The layout is challenging and fun. My buddies and I call it the 'poor man's Redstone.' Conditions are decent, not immaculate as at Redstone, but honestly, who is?

It's not too far from the airport, so for those visitors flying in and out of IAH, I highly recommend this course for a quick round. Tour 18 is a close 2nd for you travelers.

This 27-hole complex is far from Houston proper, but worth the drive. However, don't forget to bring your best driver swing b/c if you have a hard time hitting the fairways, this place will eatcha up. Some holes require the proper flight off the tee, forcing you to squeeze your teeball through the canopy of the trees 50-150 yds out, a la Agusta National's #18 (not that I've ever played that hallowed course). There are just enough undulations in the layout to make things interesting, but the greens are relatively flat, although faster than most local courses. It's a true test of golf that will get you to pull out every club in your bag.

What I love most is how fast you can get around during the weekdays. I usually play all 27 in 4.5 hrs, and why not, after driving all that way. They do a good job hosting tournaments here so be sure to call ahead to avoid being stuck behind that logjam.

My only gripe is the quality of the bunkers, whose sand is akin to construction site stuff, full of pebbles and rocks, thin and inconsistent. I guess the best way to overcome that is to avoid the bunkers all together, like Tiger does at the British Open venues.

Great staff, nice halfway house w/ big covered patio. I always get the itch to stop an play when I'm driving back from San Antonio or Austin. Maybe one of these days when I'm not hung over on that drive, I can actually play at River Ridge.

Meadowbrook is the only Greg Norman designed course in Houston (recall that he also did the new TPC San Antonio, site of the Texas Open) and it's an absolute gem. There's nothing tricked out about his course, what you see is what you get, but boy is it a tough one, esp. if the afternoon winds kick up. Blue tees are 6600 yds, but I like to test myself from the back tees, just over 7000yds. Gotta have your game when you come here, your driving, approaches, recovery shots my be on.

The fairways are always in great shape, not too dry, not too wet. The greens are usually in good shape, but they do tend to do frequent maintenance on them so be sure to ask specifically how long ago the greens were aerated, sanded, etc. One time I called and asked if their greens were aerated and the proshop said no. I come out and they were sandy. When I brought it up to the guy on the phone, he said, "well, you didn't ask about the sand." Whah?!

That said, this is one of my most favorite courses in the city. Conditions are usually great, layout is superb (very cool par 5 #18 that is reachable if you have the wind at your back and you bomb your teeshot. Great way to finish.) I find that when I try to overpower the course w/ aggressive lines off the tee, it kills me. But if I play conservatively, play target golf, I can score well.

Though the course winds through the high end neighborhood of Seven Meadows, the houses are not as penned in as some other courses (Houston National or Atascocita or the back 9 of Tour 18), so it didn't bother me a bit.

The mgmt is still trying to sign up enough members to take the club private, and you definitely get that high end, country club feel here, from the clubhouse to the nice range to the cart staging area. Sometimes if I can tee off early in the morning, I can whip around in under 3 hrs, unheard of for a public course. But what's most important to me, layout and conditions, Meadowbrook does just great.

One last tip, on the way to the 1st tee, across the ravine from the back of the club house is a terrific shortgame pitching/chipping green. Hardly anyone ever uses it. Great place for practice.

Montgomery and Conroe have some terrific courses, but this layout has to rank among the best of them. Fairways are wide on some holes, narrow on others, but fair. Rarely was there a long hole w/ narrow fairways, or vice versa. So come and expect a pretty fair test of golf. What makes this course stand out from the other local courses is the undulations and fast conditions.

When I played here in late Jan, the greens may have been as fast as 13 on the stimpmeter. Fairways were hardpan, rough was thin and brown, but the sparse conditions did not detract from how good a setup this layout is. If you're looking for a good test of your long and short game, this is the place: 75.2/139 rating with 7196 yds from the tips. I played one tee up but it was still 74.6/136, 7006 yds. You can lose your focus for a second or the strokes just keep piling up.

Most memorable were #9 and #10. #9 is is 466 yds from the Gold tees (one up from the tips) with a wide fairway that slopes left to right. Gotta boom your drive, then when you see the downhill approach to the narrow green that's protected w/ a diagonal water hazard in front right, bunkers up the left side, and drop off the back of the green, you'll find yourself wondering if you can pull off one of those Tiger-esque high flying long irons that will land softly enough to hold the green. If you par this hole, it will feel like an eagle. If your game is not on that day, play it as a par 5 to avoid the dreaded snowman.

Right after this heart thumper, you get to #10, 196yds downhill par 3, maybe the best looking hole on the course. Go right of the green and the water hazard will accept your offering. Go left and you have wooded brush. You may be able to find your ball, but then you get to hit a flop onto a green that slopes away from you, water for shots hit too strong.

I guess the best complement I can give Blaketree is that I drove 90 min to get here and it was well worth it, despite the spartan winter conditions. It's fair, difficult, and memorable.

This course has 27 holes, at $40-50/round, what a bargain. They have some of the best, fastest greens in the city. The layout is fun, cut through the pine forest of Magnolia, but fairways are very generous. Your approach has to be pretty precise, as the greens are often tiered and, did I mention fast? They may be superfast if you're on the wrong side. I thought the conditions back in mid July was a bit damp and soggy in the fairways, but the greens complex were quite firm. I also like the multiple doglegs that lures you into cutting them off then punishes you for forgetting course management.

I just wish that this course was not so far away from me, otherwise, I'd be a member for sure. They have some crazy cheap deal where it's unlimited golf and ranges balls for ~ $200/month. Yaoza!

This has to be one of the top 2-3 public course in the greater Houston area, if not THEE best:
- Driving range is immense, great short game area, new range balls, practice putting green that rolls nice and fast
- Layout is crazy tough if you try to play from the pro tees. Swallow your ego and move up to enjoy your round. I shoot 10-15 strokes higher than my avg from the pro tips.
- Conditions are usually as good as can be on the course, fast greens, lush fairways, flat teeboxes
- Premium price ($125-165) but relative bargain when you consider that this is a regular tour venue. I paid $145 for Torrey Pines and Harding Park but those courses are usually in subpar shape.
- Food in the dining room is maybe the best of any course in town. Try the eggs benedict or gourmet burgers w/ fresh cut twice fried french fries
- Caddy service required for tee times before 1pm (which I'm not crazy about, but may be fun to try if you never done so)

The old line, 'you get what you paid for' definitely applies here. They don't shortchange any aspect of the golf experience, from the staff on the course, to the proshop, to the restaurant, to the conditions of the greens/fairways/teeboxes/sandtraps. I always look forward to a round here and they never disappoint.

As for the conditions, I played here in April after the tour event and it was crazy thick in the rough, fast on the greens. You want the best that Houston can offer? This is not a bad place to start.

I haven't played here since the spring, but this is definitely a fun course.

Tour 18 replicates some of the more iconic holes on tour. #1 is Habour Town, replete w/ red and white water tower/lighthouse to aim at, although it always plays into the wind. My favorite section is Amen Corner replicas. This course's designer cheated a bit and made these holes a bit shorter and wider, but the visuals are pretty darn close to the real thing, including the bridge on the short par 3 (Augusta #12, Tour 18 #6). #13 Augusta replica is #7 at Tour 18, and I always look forward to trying to reach this green in 2. Then on the back 9 is a replica of TPC Sawgrass #17, the infamous island green. There are some drivable par 4s. Come here for a fun layout, easier than the pro set up (thank goodness), but don't expect pristine conditions.

Since the Arnold Palmer Co took over the course mgmt, they've lowered the price and solicited lots of tournaments. Be sure to call ahead to make sure it's not at snails pace. They usually have good play and eat/drink deals, too.

All in all, one of the great bargains in town for fun golf w/ mediocre conditions.

I just played Stone Tree again and to my great satisfaction, none of the good points I mentioned in last year's review has diminished one bit. I wholeheartedly agree w/ my previous review (see below). Here are some current comments:

1- Conditions were superb: greens are bent and poana blend so they tend to grab your approach shots and spin much more than I'm used to w/ bermuda in Texas, so be forewarned. Tee-boxes, fairways, and 1st & 2nd cut of rough are all in great condition.
2- Layout is as good as I remember. Terrific risk/reward layout. Stray shots will be punished, good shots rewarded.
3- Staff was courteous, breakfast taco yummy, starter got us off early, marshall didn't rush, 2 free bottles of water in the carts. Good stuff.

This is my 'must play' when I'm in SF. Absolutely worth the $85 weekday price.

Keep up the good work Stone Tree!! Glad to see you haven't cut corners in a difficult economic environment.