Gus Wortham Park Golf Course sits just minutes away from downtown Houston, but the beautiful setting makes this public course feel a world apart and is a peaceful escape from the hustle and bustle of the nation’s fourth-most populous city.
For those who enjoy playing a wonderful course at a wallet-friendly price, Gus Wortham is one of the best values in the Houston area, offering a memorable experience with incredible views of the towering downtown skyline. It is also a perfect example of the great things that can happen when golf and community leaders get together to revive a treasured public asset.
A trip to Gus Wortham is a journey back in time. The course traces its roots back to 1908, when the original Houston Country Club was routed on the site. It was one of the earliest 18-hole courses built in Texas and hosted some of the biggest exhibition matches of the era, attracting such all-time greats of the game like Harry Vardon, Ted Ray, Walter Hagen, Francis Ouimet, and Bobby Jones.
When Houston Country Club moved to its current location more than 70 years ago, club member Gus Wortham purchased the course and named it the Houston Executive Club. The City of Houston acquired the property in 1973 and renamed it in honor of Wortham.
Over the next several decades, the course slowly fell into disrepair and its future became uncertain. That is until 2014 when the Houston Golf Association (HGA) got involved and entered into a 30-year lease agreement with the City of Houston to oversee facility operations at Gus Wortham. The HGA immediately started working on a multi-stage improvement plan and, together with the nonprofit Wortham Park Friends, began raising money to completely overhaul the facility and breathe new life into the community gem.
The first and most important revitalization phase was the course itself. Baxter Spann, of the Katy-based golf architectural firm Finger Dye Spann, was hired in 2017 to oversee the comprehensive restoration project, which included reshaping all tees, fairways, bunkers and greens, enhancing mounding and contours in the playing areas, removing dead trees and undergrowth, and reestablishing creek banks. To improve course conditions and sustainability, the greens were resurfaced with TifEagle Bermuda, a new irrigation and drainage system was installed for better water conservation, and a 2½-acre irrigation lake was added for storm water retention.
Spann kept the integrity and uniqueness of the original design but elevated everything else, including the fun factor. When the modernized course opened in October 2018, Gus Wortham felt at once both brand-new and happily familiar. The imaginative par-71 layout, which measures a little over 6,300 yards from the back tees and just under 5,000 yards from the forward tees, has drawn rave reviews from locals and visitors alike and is an enjoyable experience for all levels of play.
In addition to the golf course redo, improvements continue apace at Gus Wortham with a new 12,000-foot clubhouse, featuring a well-stocked pro shop and The Gus Bar and Grill, and expanded practice facilities that now include a large driving range, putting and chipping greens and practice bunker.
The flexibility of the Gus Wortham layout is not only welcoming to recreational golfers but has also proven to be a terrific stage for elite competitive players as well. It has been home to the Greater Houston City Amateur and Senior City Amateur Championships since 2019, and last year hosted the TGA’s South Senior Amateur, won by longtime Houston resident and Texas Golf Hall of Fame member Mike Booker.
And soon the best juniors in Texas will have an opportunity to test their skills on the strategic design when Gus Wortham welcomes the Legends Junior Tour’s Collegiate Preview from June 24-25. One of the premier events on the LJT’s annual schedule, the 36-hole stroke play championship features an elite 84-player starting field comprised of the state’s top-ranked boys and girls.
For more information about Gus Wortham Park Golf Course, click here. For more information about the 2024 LJT Collegiate Preview, click here.
