Houston Memorial news....

[Steve_ Shaffer]

One of America's best new value courses hikes green fee by $102 (for non-residents)
Even still, the new PGA Tour stop remains one of the better values on the schedule.
Houstonians, your Memorial Park green fees still look marvelous: $38 walking on weekends and just $30 weekdays. You will need to apply for a resident card, show proof of residency and supply a photo. .
Non-residents, get ready to pay a premium $120 weekday, $140 weekend.





https://www.golfpass.com/travel-advisor/articles/memorial-park-houston-new-2021-non-resident-green-fee

[Tom_Doak]

Wheee!


Don't blame me.  The city was actually not our client and didn't have to pay anything for the work done, other than taking the hit for closing the course while it was done.

[PCCraig]

Well - seems about right? If the increased NR green fee helps keep the maintenance up, then I suppose its worth it.

[Tom_Doak]

Well - seems about right? If the increased NR green fee helps keep the maintenance up, then I suppose its worth it.

I suppose it just means relatively few visitors will play the course, and all the locals can say they are getting a steal.  I can't see it being that much in demand at $140, but I will be curious to find out!

[Steve Lang]

   Tom Doak , you're not getting off that easy!!!


Well, OK,... thanks to the whole team for a job well done!  Glad I've played a handful of times and will try to walk on again before the new rates take effect.  Will probably at least play once or twice a year.  Will certainly be interesting to see how # of rounds and maintenance is impacted by the City's action. 

[Tom_Doak]

Will certainly be interesting to see how # of rounds and maintenance is impacted by the City's action.

It's a very busy course and I doubt they would dare do anything to restrict play from the locals.


Part of the agreement was that the sponsor and the Tour have some oversight of the maintenance of the course to ensure that it stays up to Tour quality for the life of their agreement.  I think that included a financial commitment.  I wonder if any profit from outside play counts against that commitment?

[Mike Nuzzo]

Will certainly be interesting to see how # of rounds and maintenance is impacted by the City's action.

It's a very busy course and I doubt they would dare do anything to restrict play from the locals.


Part of the agreement was that the sponsor and the Tour have some oversight of the maintenance of the course to ensure that it stays up to Tour quality for the life of their agreement.  I think that included a financial commitment.  I wonder if any profit from outside play counts against that commitment?

I recollect it was a straight fee.
One complexity of the agreement was that it was between the COH, AGF and the Memorial Park Conservancy.
The city golf fees have been significantly lower than the other Texas metro areas, not accounting for the non-resident fee.
Technically I am not a resident of the COH.

[Alex Miller]

No surprise. Torrey Pines did it to an extreme.

[PCCraig]

Well - seems about right? If the increased NR green fee helps keep the maintenance up, then I suppose its worth it.

I suppose it just means relatively few visitors will play the course, and all the locals can say they are getting a steal.  I can't see it being that much in demand at $140, but I will be curious to find out!

If I were to take a business trip to Houston and want to sneak in a round at a high quality course, where else would I play? A Tom Doak designed golf course that hosts a Tour event is a pretty good place to start, no?

[Forrest Richardson]

I find it interesting that you refer to Memorial as a "Tom Doak" course. Does this mean that Bredemus Family should throw away all of the scrapbooks they may have lying around?  Of course, I only say this because if I look back through the archives of GCAtlas, one is continually reminded of the need to acknowledge the past and "never forget" the old dead guys practicing the art of GCA during the "magical" years when nearly everything in the world of golf design was far better than anything ever since.

[Tom_Doak]

Forrest:


The new course sticks pretty closely to the original corridors established by Bredemus, but mostly because doing anything else would have required massive clearing that the Memorial Park Conservancy would have denied.  The previous course was so flat that the routing had little to do with fitting the topo.


The locals all said they loved the old course but I tried and failed to get anyone to identify a hole they thought I should preserve intact.  So it is really a new course.  If someone wanted to keep Bredemus' name on it, I wouldn't have objected, but they did not in fact put his name on the scorecard.

[jeffwarne]

If it's as busy as I hear anecdotally, then clearly there's high demand from the locals.
Raising the price for the non residents seems the best way to raise a bit more revenue, and keep it from becoming inaccessible and over run by non-locals.
 $120-140 is far less than other accessible Tour courses cost. (Sawgrass,Scottsdale,Torrey, Bethpage(reasonably close), Pebble,Spyglass, The Greenbrier, Doral, PGA National etc.)
and I'd venture a guess that the course is of higher quality than at least a few on that list.


Seems like a reasonable decision to me, and allows non locals a chance to tick a box or two.

[Paul Jones]

I am glad I got to play it last year for a lot cheaper and see all the great work.  That would have been a staple stop every time I would go to Houston, but now...it is cheaper to play a private course.

[Forrest Richardson]

Tom — I admit not being at Memorial after your work, which I've heard came out very well. I did see it several years ago, and I recall the routing and setting as being rather "stoic", or at least having that feeling. I also had a good sandwich.

[Blake Conant]

I also had a good sandwich.

Beck's Prime is worth every penny.

[Tom_Doak]

If it's as busy as I hear anecdotally, then clearly there's high demand from the locals.
Raising the price for the non residents seems the best way to raise a bit more revenue, and keep it from becoming inaccessible and over run by non-locals.
 $120-140 is far less than other accessible Tour courses cost. (Sawgrass,Scottsdale,Torrey, Bethpage(reasonably close), Pebble,Spyglass, The Greenbrier, Doral, PGA National etc.)
and I'd venture a guess that the course is of higher quality than at least a few on that list.


Seems like a reasonable decision to me, and allows non locals a chance to tick a box or two.

It was just as busy *before*, because it's downtown in a big city, and it's always been a hangout for good players.


But it doesn't have the bells and whistles of the courses you named, so I'm thinking $140 sounds like a stretch.  I always get nervous when people start talking about banking on my name.  But what do I know?

[JMEvensky]

It was just as busy *before*, because it's downtown in a big city, and it's always been a hangout for good players.


But it doesn't have the bells and whistles of the courses you named, so I'm thinking $140 sounds like a stretch.  I always get nervous when people start talking about banking on my name.  But what do I know?

You should take it as a compliment. Some Houston friends went to play it for the sole reason you worked on it. Before, they wouldn't have played it on a bet.

[Kalen Braley]

Torrey packs the tee sheets with their insane $252 non-resident fee for Fri-Sun golf on the South course.  ($160 on the North). $140 in comparison almost seems reasonable.

It would seem its hard to over-estimate how much golfers will pay to play where the pros do...

[Forrest Richardson]

The Torrey Pines model serves golf well. A foursome can all be "happy as hell" with one guy, a local construction laborer paying $45...a couple from Oceanside paying $90 each...and, finally, a retired guy on a once-in-a-lifetime trip West, staying at the Hilton, paying $200. Each one smiling.

[V_Halyard]

Will certainly be interesting to see how # of rounds and maintenance is impacted by the City's action.

It's a very busy course and I doubt they would dare do anything to restrict play from the locals.

Part of the agreement was that the sponsor and the Tour have some oversight of the maintenance of the course to ensure that it stays up to Tour quality for the life of their agreement.  I think that included a financial commitment.  I wonder if any profit from outside play counts against that commitment?

Folks will pay it.
When I played it, the locals told me to make sure I hit the SUBMIT button to sign on at 06:00:01AM or else I would not get a tee time. The combo of a PGA/Doak in a major metro with frequent biz travelers. The locals win.
And if folks from out of town don't pay the freight, the locals are still winning with the tee times.

[MCirba]

I sure hope this model works.


Some of us are counting on it.

[Kalen Braley]

I sure hope this model works.

Some of us are counting on it.

In some ways it seems to resemble the UK private model.

The locals are basically "members" as local residents and get to play an interesting course for cheap, while outsiders who don't mind paying full freight, and then some, for a one off round.  Seems like most are #winning in this scenario...

[Bernie Bell]

It will be interesting to see how they price rounds at East Potomac after the work there.  "Resident" is a trickier proposition in DC, as the City does not own the course and the population of DC proper is probably 30% of Houston and 50% of San Diego. 

[David Wuthrich]

Houston resident and I think it is fair.  I even think that they should raise the resident rates, because it is one of the least expensive public options in the city, but that will never happen!!  GREAT value for a Houston resident for the cost.  Let me know when you are coming to Houston, I'm happy to play with anyone and share some pre and post renovation commentary.  I am one that LOVES what Tom did!!

[Mark_Fine]

Tom,
You said many of the locals didn't care about restoration of the golf course.  Did they make the call?  This is a sincere question as I get it asked often, who should decide these things and/or who should make recommendations as to what should be done and what should that be based on?  As we both know, many owners/members/golfers often don't know what they have or don't have.  Many also don't have the vision to know what it could be because it has been changed so much and/or hasn't aged well.