Best golf courses near Houston, TX

River Oaks Country Club was originally designed by Donald Ross in 1923 before undergoing renovations by Rees Jones in 1990 and then by the Fazio design group in 2015. The course is located outside of Houston and is home to open fairways built along the muddy riverbanks of the flowing Buffalo Bayou. With holes routed across high and low elevations, the course features a unique mix of undulating and challenging riverside approach shots. Hurricane Harvey removed gigantic swathes of trees in 2017, which allowed the club to reroute holes to interact more with bayou and lowland areas, resulting in the creation of new holes. The most notable additions came at the par-3 third, played to a peninsula green and at the par-3 17th (formerly a par 4), now played over an intimidating hazard.

The 36-hole Champions Golf Club is one of the most appropriately named clubs in America. It was founded by Texans Jackie Burke, Jr. (who turned 100 in 2023) and Jimmy Demaret. Between the two, they hold five major championships, including four Masters green jackets. A procession of the game's best professionals have tested their games at the vaunted Cypress Creek course (the club's second course, Jackrabbit, actually scored higher in our Best in State rankings), which has played host to the 1969 U.S. Open, a Ryder Cup, several PGA Tour tournaments including the TOUR Championship, and the 2020 U.S. Women's Open. When Cypress Creek opened in 1957, it was regarded as one of the finest new courses of the post-World War II era, ranked among the 100 Greatest courses from 1966 to 1988. It's a tight, treelined shotmaker's course with treelined fairways and big, well-protected greens--the fourth, bending around a crook of Cypress Creek, was long considered one of the toughest par 3s in the country. A 2018 renovation by Texan Chet Williams, designer of Whispering Pines, the 66th-ranked course among America's 100 Greatest, kept the features and shot demands updated and sharp without straying from Cypress Creek's noble heritage.

A significant renovation was completed by Tom Doak (in collaboration with Brooks Koepka) to transform the old municipal course at Memorial Park—which hosted the first Houston Open in 1947 and then again from 1951 through 1965—into a layout worthy of being a PGA Tour venue. Originally built in 1912 at a hospital near Camp Logan for recovering soldiers to use, architect John Bredemus redesigned the course in 1935 and added a second nine. Now with signature Doak green complexes and tour-level conditioning, Memorial Park is once again a must-play in the state and averages 60,000 rounds a year.

Oakmont is known for several outstanding front-to-back fallaway greens, but it has nothing on the 13th green at Lakeside. This 1952 Ralph Plummer design in Houston was completely redesigned by architect Jay Blasi in 2023 with a new routing and newly created holes, including the 13th, a long brute that plays more like a par 4½ and used to run the opposite direction. Now it starts with a swing-from-your-heels drive toward a pair of squared spectacle bunkers 100 yards from the front of the deep, skinny putting surface that stretches nearly 60 yards front to back. The first quarter is level with the fairway before it slides down to a lower section tilted toward away toward the rear, and hitting long second shots toward it, hoping to see the ball bounce, roll and then disappear down the slope, is the kind of thrill that keeps golfers coming back. It’s not the only must-see green. The par-4 second is a combination Punchbowl-Redan. Eight is a classic Biarritz. Several par 3s have Redan-esque kicker slopes. Six is wide and shallow with a maddening knob in the center that divides it into small quadrants. Twelve is a Road replica. All of this is needed to jazz up a dead flat site that had drainage issues, and Blasi’s creative takes on classic architect give Lakeside far more energy and fun than a casual glance would suggest.

After the celebrated debut of the original Ralph Plummer-designed Cypress Creek course in 1959, Champions Golf Club commissioned George Fazio to build the complementary Jackrabbit course in 1964. While the Cypress Course grabs most of the headlines, the Jackrabbit also hosted opening-round play at the 2020 U.S. Women's Open and features more subtle terrain with tight tree-lined fairways and small greens well protected by deep bunkers. The course is highlighted by a collection of challenging par 4s, including the second hole with a fairway placed between a water hazard and out of bounds, as well as a raised green poised to repel mis-hit iron shots.

Lochinvar Golf Club, the first Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course in Texas, debuted in 1980, tucked among the towering pines just a few minutes from Houston’s airport. The course is set over gentle terrain with wide fairways guarded by overhanging limbs of old pines and meandering water hazards along its edges. The greens at Lochinvar are the course's best defense as surfaces are firm, quick and possess subtle but tricky breaks. The signature hole is the par-5 ninth (formerly the 18th), featuring a long snaking hazard up the entire left side of the hole and a well-guarded green intimidating players going for it in two.

This 1926 John Bredemus-designed course has a rich history with ties to Jackie Burke, Sr. (a founder) and Jimmy Demaret (who was once the head professional). Cary Middlecoff, Betsy Rawls and Fred Couples all won tournaments here. In 2021, Tripp Davis renovated the entire course to improve drainage, add irrigation and re-emphasize the strategic thoughtfulness of the design through the shifting of greens and tees, redistributing fairway contour and moving bunkers to more impactful locations.

Houston’s Gus Wortham Municipal Course—just a few miles from downtown—has roots dating back to 1908, when the original Houston Country Club was routed on the site. It’s the rare piece of property in the sprawling Texas metropolis with elevation changes that make for a scenic, rolling layout. The course is the oldest continually operated course in Texas, and Harry Vardon, Ted Ray and Bobby Jones played exhibitions there over the years. The Houston Golf Association entered a 30-year lease and operating agreement in 2014. Architect Baxter Spann restored the course in 2017, rebuilding greens, bunkers and reshaping contouring, as well has reconfiguring the irrigation system for better water conservation.

Fred Couples and Brian Curley-designed the course at Royal Oaks Country Club, set on the former Andrau Airpark. The track debuted in 2000 and features mildly sloping fairways protected by strategically placed oak trees and cross bunkers, forcing longer players to assume more risk if they attempt to shorten the golf course off the tee. TifEagle Bermudagrass putting surfaces add to the challenge at Royal Oaks as greens are firm and fast with steep runoffs and tight collection zones. Dramatic and intimidating water hazards run the length of many of the holes, most notably coming into play on the opening and closing par 5s as well as on the signature par-3 16th played to a devilish green with a false front and a rock-lined waterfall on the right side.