El Dorado at Quail Valley Golf Course
About
Developers eventually had their way with this cow pasture on the fringe of Houston. Loaded with native pecans and oaks and supplemented with even more transplanted trees, the terrain is ideal for golf, with two creeks and five natural lakes on the property. In fact, it's good enough to host the PGA Tour's Houston Open in 1973 and 1974.
The traditional El Dorado Course plays to a par 70 and features five par 3s that go 190-yards-plus from the tips. Jay Riviere designed the back nine.
Jeff Blume managed the redesign and complete renovation of the El Dorado Course in 2009.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 71 | 6931 yards | 74.6 | 138 |
| Blue | 71 | 6552 yards | 72.8 | 135 |
| White | 71 | 6146 yards | 71.0 | 128 |
| Gold | 71 | 5685 yards | 68.7 | 122 |
| Gold (W) | 71 | 5685 yards | 73.8 | 136 |
| Red (W) | 71 | 5100 yards | 70.7 | 123 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black M: 74.6/138 | 526 | 201 | 425 | 403 | 399 | 222 | 578 | 211 | 397 | 3362 | 516 | 222 | 404 | 412 | 224 | 401 | 403 | 399 | 588 | 3569 | 6931 |
| Blue M: 72.8/135 | 515 | 151 | 406 | 378 | 383 | 198 | 552 | 195 | 372 | 3150 | 499 | 204 | 388 | 398 | 208 | 382 | 377 | 385 | 561 | 3402 | 6552 |
| White M: 71.0/128 | 505 | 143 | 374 | 352 | 347 | 187 | 533 | 178 | 358 | 2977 | 484 | 191 | 360 | 372 | 184 | 362 | 342 | 350 | 524 | 3169 | 6146 |
| Gold M: 68.7/122 W: 73.8/136 | 462 | 129 | 352 | 304 | 322 | 170 | 522 | 155 | 339 | 2755 | 468 | 173 | 339 | 355 | 154 | 350 | 320 | 321 | 450 | 2930 | 5685 |
| Red M: 66.3/117 W: 70.7/123 | 420 | 107 | 329 | 261 | 298 | 147 | 463 | 127 | 311 | 2463 | 427 | 148 | 303 | 323 | 115 | 336 | 297 | 264 | 424 | 2637 | 5100 |
| Handicap | 5 | 13 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 17 | 3 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 18 | 14 | 6 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 12 | |||
| Par | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 71 |
| Handicap (W) | 5 | 17 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 15 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 16 | 14 | 4 | 18 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 6 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
Bar, Snacks, Grill, RestaurantAvailable Facilities
ClubhouseAccolades
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Golf Advisor: Top Courses in Texas (2022 #22)
Reviews
Reviewer Photos
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Photo submitted by u000003288063 on 10/22/2025
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Weather beautiful Photo submitted by u000003288063 on 10/22/2025
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Conditions great Photo submitted by u000003288063 on 10/22/2025
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Photo submitted by Houston2020 on 09/27/2025
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Photo submitted by Houston2020 on 09/27/2025
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Photo submitted by 18Hdotorg on 05/30/2022
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Photo submitted by afmarko99 on 09/19/2020
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Photo submitted by caddyshack79 on 07/06/2020
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Photo submitted by Floyd600 on 04/08/2020
El Dorado Review
I have played the easier non tournament La Quinta course but this was my first time playing El Dorado Course. It was in excellent condition, challenging course, well worth your money. The staff is always very friendly and willing to help in anyway possible. For a city owned course, the facilities are in perfect condition. Feels more like a country club setting. I will however note that a better chef might enhance the food experience, especially if you get a real meal (i.e.) burgers and fries, salad, etc. not hot dogs and chips.
Tough back 9
The back 9 is much more difficult than the front. Back 9 reminds me somewhat of the Wildcat Lakes course. Fairways & tee boxes were in good shape, but we were a little disappointed with the greens: they had a good amount of weeds on it, preventing you from getting a "true" roll.
Beautiful course
Challenging and very scenic. Enjoyed the course and maintained very well especially in the summer. Makes you think with every shot. Staff very friendly
Hard course
Very challenging course with lots of water and OB's narrow fairways, some greens had little spots of weed on them but were rolling fairly, will play again
Weedy greens
While I could still see the aeration holes, it was the weeds on many of the greens that was disconcerting. There is water available on the course, fountains at the rest rooms and the cart lady was very diligent about coming around.
One the best deals in town
Quail Valley El Dorado has it going. Great conditioned course with plenty of challenges. Pace of play was a joke though, never have 2 fivesomes back to back. Fairways were plush and greens rolled true. Will be back.
Fine, challenging course
Excellent general conditions, except for the greens, which had been punched for aeration recently (players should be advised before play as a matter of course).
Very, very hot day-- the cart lady came around several times and distributed cups of ice. Nice touch!
Nice golf course for the price!
Played El Darodo and it's a very nice and challenging track! I would recommend this course to anyone looking for a quality course at a good price.
excellent course
excellent conditions except for greens. had been aerated and sanded but got better as round went on. excellent fairways,rough and tee boxes.
Nice course, but brutally hot....
the course was in decent shape, since we haven't had any rain for a couple of weeks now and the temps have been in the upper 90's....however, managment of Quail Valley needs to be more attentive to their player's needs....there was only two places over the course of 18 holes in which to get a drink of water...this time of year, there should be a water cooler every third hole...the cart girl came around only once in the four hours we were there....
Great course
It was an extra hot day. There seem to be no drinking water on the course and we saw the cart girl just once. The course was busy, you think they would be more than one cart girl out.
Challenging Golf
The course is in good shape, although it will be better after the aeration of the greens has healed. This is, in general, a narrow course with out of bounds on both sides of many of the holes. There are many water hazards that have to be carried. This course is not for the faint of heart! However, the course can be made less difficult by using some of the more forward tees. We will be back to play again.
Awesome Golf in Missouri City!
Played the La Quinta Course and the El Dorado Course on back to back days. Both courses were in superb condition! The greens were unblemished and the fairways were lush. The twilight rates start around 2 PM and could be one of the best values in the Houston area. $20 La Quinta and under $30 for El Dorado past 2. The El Dorado course is a few shots tougher than La Quinta and offers some holes with serious challenges. Driving the ball accurately is a must for both courses although La Quinta has a few holes were it is wide open. Many holes have OB right and left where houses sit on both courses. Water is plentiful on both courses. The greens have some undulations to them so make sure you take your time reading your putts. There are some spectacular holes on El Dorado including the Par 5 7th. I've played many of the top public courses in Houston and the surrounding area and El Dorado easily is around the Top 5.
Not Enjoyable
This course is confusing. There are no sigs on the tee to tell you what hole you are on or the distances to the pin from the different tee markers. Also there are places where you have to go across a residential area to get from one green to the next tee. There are no signs to tell you which direction to go in so you can get lost. Staff was not very friendly.
Played many times thru the years
First off, Quail Valley is no longer a Country Club as the name indicates. The course belongs to the City of Missouri City and open to the public. It is a daily fee golf course with options to buy an annual pass.
ElDorado was redone in 2009 by Jeff Blume and is more of a target golf course now. You do not need driver but it comes in handy on a few holes. Let me say, the weather in the Greater Houston area has been terrible so conditions of any golf course in or near Houston may be suspect as a result of all the rains. It is tough to mow on the regularity needed when it is pouring down rain day after day. Bunkers may not be in great shape due to this either. Eldorado has some seriously challenging holes and then some that are pretty easy. The mix is very good. There is a lot of water to contend with and of course it is routed thru houses so OB is on both sides of the course most everywhere. The tee boxes are a little bit hard but everything else was in very good shape.
I saw the comment about the marshall. I can tell you this...if you are ever there and you encounter that...either call the pro shop or report the incident to the pro shop. It will get resolved.
The staff is very friendly. The food in the grill is very good. The service in the grill is too slow and could be greatly improved. The driving range...well it needs some work...beat up and more weeds than grass on tee box.
Will Not Be Back
Horrible shape, quite a few greens with a lot of dead spots. The tee boxes looked like they have not been moved in months. We waited on every tee shot and fairway shot, while Marshall looked for balls along the lakes. Did stop him as group behind kept hitting into our group even though they could see when they pulled up to the tee box that we were waiting and group in fairway was waiting. His response was for me to talk to them, what a joke. One fairway bunker had the fabric showing through. To many courses in Houston area to play to ever go back.
Very Callenging
Lots of forced carries. Lots of water. Course is not for beginners,but once you have moved above that stage,a great course to measure your game.
Great Course
The construction on the streets around the club house made it a little difficult getting to the club house but didn't effect the course. We played over Thanksgiving week so it was very busy but the staff was very friendly. Had to wait on the cart for a few minutes but with the crowd that was to be expected. We started out as a twosome but soon joined up with another twosome and had a great time and met some really nice people. Would difinitely play this course again.
The golf now app has GPS on it and I find it to be very helpful when getting yardages since most courses are not always accurate on the tee or in the fairway.
Give it a shot. Sucks about getting lost out there too. That's never good.