Moody Gardens Golf Course

Had the best front 9 of my life "37"
3 par 5 and 3 par 3 on the front nine

Pretty much your only option when visiting Galveston. I’ve played here many times over the years and I’m never disappointed. Play got a little slow on my last visit but the marshal came out and got the slow groups moving.

The course plays long the greens and fairways were in good condition. The wind is a factor so make the necessary adjustments. Overall, I am an improving golfer 2.5 years of playing. I am playing better and this is a course I will play again.

All I can say is wow. The course was well kept and beautifully manicured. The facilities were top notch. The staff was friendly and helpful. Just came in for the weekend and decided to stop by and play a round. This was a wonderful experience and I would highly recommend playing a round here.

I play at Moody Gardens fairly frequently. The layout is very challenging with realistic tee boxes to suit a players skill. Water is in play on nearly every hole. OB is in play on several as well. I tell everyone “If you can play and score well here, you can play and score well anywhere.” The fairways are always in excellent condition with the exception of a few areas where grass has died due to salt water intrusion from drains or irrigation issues. Greens are fair to good. Unfortunately divots on some greens that are peppered from close range are not consistently repaired by golfers…much leas the staff. It really is a descent value for an island that attracts visitors who vacation in Galveston.
But, it is the attention to details that a regular is frustrated with. The sand bunkers are playable 3 months out of 12. Most often, there is no sand to play from. Interesting that this is an issue when other coastal courses don’t have this problem. Many of the tee boxes are divot filled and some have St. Augustine grass growing on them.
The range is large but generally not maintained. If anyone at any golf course has range balls in worse condition, I would like to know. $7 for 50-60 balls that I promise you are from the 80’s. I hit a RAM ball that was the color of creole mustard a few weeks ago. Hitting balls is only a warm up and you cannot hope to improve your game as the balls are cracked, have significant gashes in the covers to the point they can damage uuu ohr driver. They are colorful with varied shades of brown to pale yellow. And the golf mats. I hope you have good wrists. They are nothing more than astroturf over concrete. Zero padding whatsoever. The ferrules on my irons have shifter up the shaft as they would not open the range over the winter.
Despite all this, I STILL think this is a good value considering the location and condition of fairways and greens. This course is basically paying the price from record play and minimal investment over the last two years. Yes they have replaced many trees lost in the 2021 freeze. But golfers who call this their home course deserve more.

Fairways are plush. Greens very nice! A very challenging course, especially with the beach winds. Five tee positions to choose from. Highly recommend.

Practice facilities are awesome. The course is in great condition. The greens are true.

Plenty of hi HC and tourists play here. There is no effort by mgmt/ marshalls to protect course….. carts are routinely driven near greens, divots are rarely sanded, ball marks on greens are never repaired…. Marshall presence is minimal and nothing is done to correct above poor ettiquette

Played Moody Gardens for the 2nd time in 2 years. Very windy but sunny day. Course was very challenging due to wind, water, and layout. It is a good course, especially if you're looking for a challenge. Price was a bit high for the condition of the course. The 1st time I played the course it was in excellent condition due to closure because of the pandemic. This time the course was in fair to good condition. Some greens had blight or fungal rot and some fairways were suboptimal due to amount of play and winter damage. Hopefully, as the spring progresses the fairways will grow-in and the greens will heal. I recommend waiting another month or two to play. Right now, the course is overpriced. Would I play it again? Definitely, but I would wait till May or June unless you're looking for a challenge right now.