After my morning round I thought I had plenty of time before my 3pm tee time at Tour 18 Houston. And I would have if I didn’t do something stupid. Unfortunately, after driving an hour over to Tour 18 I realized I left my wallet at the course I played in the morning. Darn!

I hurried back across town, picked up my wallet and then drove back to Tour 18 – again. Not the most efficient use of time or money! Thankfully the proshop was understanding and was able to move my tee time to 4pm on a very busy afternoon. I joined a nice family and we finished the round just as darkness fell. It was a later night than I originally planned, but it was worth it as I managed to check out four new courses in two days.

Besides my rushed arrival and then long waits playing the final few holes, I loved my time at Tour 18. Out of the four courses I played on my quick trip to Houston, Tour 18 was the one I was most excited to play. And, I’m happy to report that the course lived up to my high expectations.

Tour 18 is a replica course which is one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. The course was designed by David Edsall and is filled with golf holes modeled after holes from some of the most recognizable courses in America. From what I can find Edsall appears to specialize in replica courses and also designed Tour 18 Dallas, which I played last year. For those curious about a comparison between Tour 18 Houston and Tour 18 Dallas, I much preferred the Houston version. The Houston course has more friendly green complexes and the landscape in Houston seemed to compliment the design better than in Dallas.

I played the tournament/blue tees which are 70.4/124/6302. The tips, at nearly 6,800 yards, were more than I wanted to try since I knew we would be barely squeezing in the entire round. I certainly wouldn’t have minded some combo tees. The biggest challenge at Tour 18 should be the water in play on many holes. Overall, water can grab shots on 11 of the 18 holes. The front nine has a nice, tree-lined setting while the back nine has more of a neighborhood feel with some out of bounds for wild shots.

The front nine is the better nine because of the more natural surroundings and because it has the more widely-known replica holes. So, make sure to enjoy the front! The 2nd, 5th thru 7th and 9th holes should all be fun to play if you are familiar with any of the PGA Tour courses. The back is a little more plain.

The 2nd at Tour 18 is modeled after the boomerang par-5 6th at Bay Hill and gives you all sorts of angles, lines and options from tee to green. The 9th is a replica of the island green 17th at TPC Sawgrass and then the 5th thru 7th are modeled after Augusta National’s Amen Corner. The 5th, 6th and 7th is a good stretch that is laid out similar to the real thing at Augusta, at least directionally. So, as you head up the par-4 5th, you’ll see a big scoreboard left of the green and “Golden Bell” along with the Hogan Bridge to the right.

Then on the 7th you’ll face a hard dogleg left (Augusta’s 13th) with Rae’s Creek which cuts in front of the green. I was impressed and while things aren’t a perfect copy, you should get the idea. The wind was swirling on the 6th and at the last minute I switched clubs. Thankfully, I picked the right one and ran in the birdie putt. Sadly, I tried to go for the 7th green in two when I shouldn’t have and hit it in Rae’s Creek.

I paid about $50 and Tour 18 was in nice shape, especially considering the February freeze. The turf was lush and provided good lies in the fairways. The greens were full and rolled smooth – at a medium pace. The sand was softer and looked newer. As you’ll see in the pictures the only below average areas were the tees, which looked to be affected by the winter.

Out of the roughly 10 public courses that I’ve played so far in the Houston area I’d put Tour 18 towards the top. I’d even go as far as saying that it is one of my Texas favorites given its fair pricing and unique layout. I’m sure some people may think the course is a gimmick with all its fake golf holes, but if you like the idea then I think you’ll enjoy the course.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):