Golfcrest Country Club

I'm a member here, and have been (on and off) for 25 years, so I do have a bias. But the upgrades to this club over the past 15 years, especially from it's dog-days of the early 2000's is amazing. The course is always in fantastic shape, and the members and staff are friendly and accommodating. If you are invited to play out here, do it you won't regret it. If you are thinking about membership (and it's gotten more expensive, including initiation fees and a waiting list) do it now, I believe it's going to continue to become more difficult to get in as the club keeps improving and the area around it gets more expensive.

First thing; the course is hard, very hard as in difficult. While it's black tee USGA rating of 75.7 says that it's tough, I think it plays at that from the Blue Tees, even for the best golfers. Not a place for the faint of heart (aka newbies) with a couple of the holes bordering on the unfair (see #'s 2 & 3) and a couple of others while fair, playing a stroke above their par for most due to necessary forced carries (#'s 6 & 11).

Ahhhh, the conditions. Even in the midst of this unusual drought in SE Texas, conditions are sublime, and the greens are amazing. Every nice course says they have the best greens in their area, but Golfcrest actually does. It's heaven for better players who don't putt that well, since you really just have to get the ball on the right line and not hit it too hard (if you do it will run off the green). Smooth, fast and consistent on the whole course, it makes playing here a pleasure from a chipping and putting standpoint.

Excellent practice facilities, always in great shape, and excellent food and drink (great men's locker room).

Great place to play golf!

To this out-of-towner, Golfcrest seemed like a good representation of the Houston area's mid-level private golf: tree-lined, mostly flat mid-century design with very good conditions and some water hazards popping up now and again. That may sound a little reductive and mundane, but Golfcrest manages to rise above it in a couple ways. The first is its undulating greens, with some considerable rolling waves and tilts, which can make both putting and approach shots more complicated than they might seem at first. The second is the unique and eclectic architecture of the houses that encircle the course, from Chinese pagoda architecture to French chateau and seemingly everything in between. It's a very pleasant place to spend four hours chasing a golf ball around.