Unfortunately out of the 150 courses, 100 of them suck and 30 of them are private. It's mostly because of the lack of any elevation variation and our clay (read hardpan) soils anywhere within the city. The Palmer Groups $29 dollar w/ lunch deals are ultra affordable but they are running the courses into the ground with over play and under maintenence.
I wouldn't say that 100 of 'em suck, but there are some sucky ones. You're right about the elevation and the soil.
Way to go, BigSherv. Everytime I come to this forum & see this thread still active, I smile. I haven't been able to play since mid November. (Boise, ID). My home course in the mountains has been groomed for cross country skiing. I was thinking about going to a driving range today at lunch (in the valley) but it started snowing this a.m. If it warms up any at all, I'm giving it a shot.
For great deals on green fees, check out http://www.golfq.com. Their site design sucks, but their content is good.
You aren't the only one. I have taken about a 3 month break (waiting for the weather to warm up again) and it has been killing me.
What are the cheap courses in Houston? A friend today told me Sharpstown is decent and is really cheap. The company has taken us out to Cypreswood and Tour 18, but honestly I know so little they all seemed fine to me. Are there any par three courses in Houston? There was one in Austin called Butler's Pitch and Put and it rocked.
It's good for the price, IMO. They keep it up pretty well and my good friend who plays a lot just played it last week and said he's never seen it in this good of a condition. I also saw John Mackovic playing out there last year.
Somebody help this MEXICAN--who has never played golf in his life--out and answer the following questions: What's the cheapest course in Houston? How much will I be spending whether it would be on a bucket of balls or putting? (by the hour? by the golf shot? by the swing? how is that calculated?) What are some relatively less expensive courses near Katy? (Fry & Clay intersection) Do the golf carts have space for me to put my bowl of beans?
Okay, folks, let's talk pricing... It's nearly impossible to talk about the "cheapest courses in Houston", because no golf course has the same price for all times. For example: Most courses are dirt cheap from Monday through Thursday, but prices increase dramatiacally on weekends. The prices even change during the day: teeing off at 10 am will cost more than a "twilight" rate (which usually means you tee off after 1 pm.) Tour 18 is a very nice course. At GolfQ.com they have discounted rates as follows: Mon. - Thurs. special: $30 before 9am, $40 starting at 9am (includes green fee, cart, and free lunch) Friday special: $35 before 9am, $40 starting at 9am (includes green fee, cart, and free lunch) Saturday special: $50 before 8am, $60 from 8am - 10:56am, $50 starting at 11am (includes green fee & cart) Sunday special: $42 before 8am and after 12pm, $50 between 8am - 12pm (includes green fee & cart) Twilight special: $25 starting at 1pm, $19 after 2pm (includes green fee & cart) <- I think they meant to add 'Mon. through Thurs' Ladies special: $30 Monday - Friday any time (includes green fee, cart, and free lunch) Senior Special: $25 Monday - Friday any time (min. age of 60) (includes green fee, cart, and free lunch) Heros special: $25 Monday - Friday any time (military, police, fire) (includes green fee, cart, and free lunch) Notice that sometimes you get a free lunch, sometimes you don't. So is Tour 18 expensive? Well, if you tee off on Monday at 2:15, you'll only pay $19, and that's dirt cheap. Tee off on Saturday at 10am, and you'll pay three times as much. And just about every golf course in town has different rates like this.
