Golf Club of Houston

The Golf Club of Houston was originally established as Redstone Golf Club in 2003. Its Tournament Course, a collaboration between renowned architect Rees Jones and PGA Tour champion David Toms, was purpose-built to serve as a premier competitive venue. The club also features a second 18-hole layout — the Member Course — designed by Jim Hardy and Peter Jacobsen.

The Shell Houston Open moved to Redstone in 2002 (playing the Member Course for its first three editions before transitioning fully to the Tournament Course). The tournament remained here through 2018, giving the club a 17-year run as a PGA Tour host site. Winners during that era include Vijay Singh (who won back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005, defeating John Daly in a playoff in 2005), Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan, and Matt Jones. Vijay Singh also claimed the 2004 PGA Championship just months after his Houston victory, cementing the course's place in that season's narrative.

In 2013, Fort Worth-based Escalante Golf purchased Redstone and the facility was rebranded as the Golf Club of Houston. The Houston Open departed for Memorial Park in 2020, but the club's profile was revived when it hosted LIV Golf Houston in June 2024, won by Carlos Ortiz.

Today the Tournament Course remains open to the public. Measuring 7,441 yards from the championship tees with a slope of 148 and course rating of 76.4, it stands as one of the most legitimate championship public tests in the greater Houston market.

The Tournament Course at the Golf Club of Houston is a genuine championship track that pulls no punches. Playing to 7,441 yards from the back tees with a slope of 148, it is the most demanding publicly accessible round in the Houston area. Multiple forward tee options (including sets under 6,000 yards) make it playable for a wide range of handicaps, but the course is built to test the best.

The front nine plays through more open parkland with strategic bunkering as the primary defense. Wide fairways are a Rees Jones trademark — you can find them off the tee — but the green complexes are well-guarded and demand precise wedge play. The Mini-Verde bermudagrass greens are firm, fast, and fair, though they punish approaches from the wrong side of the hole.

The back nine is where the course flexes its teeth. Native wetlands and standing water come into play repeatedly from holes 10 through 16. Holes 10, 11, and 12 ease you in before the course opens up its full arsenal: a long par 5 (hole 13, 588 yards), the brutal 219-yard 14th over wetlands, and the 573-yard 15th with water left. The finishing hole — 488 yards with water all the way down the left — delivers a final test that is genuinely feared.

Course conditions are typically excellent. Fairways are well-maintained, and the greens are consistently fast. A forecaddie is included in the higher-tier tee times, which significantly enhances pace of play and on-course guidance.

Course management is the key to scoring at the Golf Club of Houston. The wide fairways are inviting, but over-aggression with driver on several holes — particularly hole 5 — leads to big numbers. On holes where the fairway narrows, consider a 3-wood or long iron to stay below the pinch point.

The greens reward approaches from below the hole. Rees Jones's green complexes tend to slope back-to-front and side-to-side, and putts from above the hole are treacherously fast. If you have a choice between short of the green and over the back, take the front every time.

On the back nine, give the wetland hazards significant respect. The lines of penalty areas on holes 10 through 15 are not always obvious from the tee. When in doubt, lay back to a full approach yardage rather than trying to squeeze a career drive.

The 14th is the most underrated danger hole on the course. At 219 yards over water, recreational players should consider playing to the front of the green and taking the two-putt bogey as a win, rather than gambling on a long carry that leaves a drop zone and three putts.

For the 18th, aim for the center or right side of the fairway to open up the approach angle. The water is unforgiving on the entire left portion of the hole. A par on 18 after a solid round is something to be proud of.