Bayou Golf Course

About
Joe Finger laid the Bayou out in the 1970s. The links-style course he carved out of the 200 acres along Moses Bayou has plenty of water and elevated tees and greens. The Galveston Bay winds affect this open course, so the 6,665-yard, par 72 plays significantly longer. Every par 5 is over 500 yards, and four of the par 4s are over 400 yards.
On the front, the long par 4 No. 6 is tough because the approach must carry the bayou to a tiny green. And No. 10 involves a lake off the tee and on the approach.
The back is what really tears into the soul of a golfer, though, presenting a 580-yard double dogleg on No. 15 followed just a short while later by the ridiculous 475-yard par 4 17th. This hole is lined on the left by old Moses, and water hazards creep into the fairway. The inevitably long approach goes into an elevated green guarded by water.
Getting there : From Hwy. 146 south, turn right on Loop 197, and head over to Ted Dudley Dr. Turn right, and the course is on the right side of the street.
Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
---|---|---|---|---|
Blue | 72 | 6665 yards | 71.0 | 114 |
White | 72 | 6251 yards | 69.4 | 111 |
Red (W) | 73 | 5448 yards | 70.0 | 118 |
Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blue M: 72.5/123 | 511 | 366 | 414 | 335 | 180 | 414 | 134 | 502 | 412 | 3268 | 481 | 361 | 368 | 164 | 349 | 562 | 191 | 459 | 393 | 3328 | 6596 |
White M: 70.7/120 W: 75.5/130 | 490 | 352 | 395 | 318 | 167 | 385 | 117 | 487 | 393 | 3104 | 419 | 349 | 355 | 149 | 332 | 506 | 161 | 444 | 333 | 3048 | 6152 |
Gold M: 68.8/118 W: 73.6/126 | 462 | 310 | 370 | 295 | 140 | 360 | 100 | 460 | 377 | 2874 | 409 | 339 | 345 | 139 | 322 | 477 | 144 | 428 | 313 | 2916 | 5790 |
Red M: 66.0/113 W: 71.3/121 | 421 | 300 | 282 | 281 | 150 | 296 | 94 | 418 | 323 | 2565 | 326 | 331 | 330 | 135 | 313 | 438 | 134 | 411 | 278 | 2696 | 5261 |
Handicap | 10 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 14 | 2 | 18 | 16 | 6 | 15 | 9 | 11 | 17 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 1 | 3 | |||
Par | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
Handicap (W) | 10 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 18 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 17 | 13 | 11 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
SnacksAvailable Facilities
ClubhouseReviews
Reviewer Photos
Long Gone
Had to check it out, Paid 25 dollars, what a dump,
The grounds crew needs help . Weeds everywhere . Front nine is dead no grass so I skipped five holes and went to 8 and 9 . Back nine playable somewhat ? So far playing in southeast Houston the greens had sloop , great potential . At least I am not paying Florida greens fees this winter. lol I’ll keep looking
Honest Review
First off, there wasn't a ranger on duty, so the pace of play was awful. There were too many two man groups that could have been paired together to help the flow of play. If that wasn't frustrating enough, the course conditions were terrible. There are too many bare areas/dirt patches in the fairways and the greens clearly aren't maintained. It was like putting on concrete. Bayou appears to have plenty of potential, but is far from being even close to desirable to play as it stands. It's not worth ~$30 for 18 holes + cart.

Great value
Still have several fairways in poor condition. And a couple greens needing TLC. However I did notice some improvement since my last round here. Can’t complain as this course is priced right.
Overall value is great. Nice practice area as well.
Great layout
Challenging and nice scenery
Very fun layout, great price
Greens need a little work but for the money this is the best deal around
Don’t Play Here
Not worth the greens fees. Fairways barely have grass. No map of where the holes go, with alot of blind shots. Greens are not maintained. Staff/ customer service was slow.
2 different courses
We played Bayou in Feb 2025 and fairly cold. First off the clubhouse guy was excellent.
The layout of the course is fairly easy an average golfer will enjoy playing here. All the greens were in decent shape
The front nine had large areas of "ground under repair" and we often moved our ball 15-20 yards to find some grass to hit off of.
The back nine was in good shape and we were able to play without re-spotting the ball. I would play here again (better weather!) as the price is reasonable
Front for practice Back for Play
First off, the clubhouse guy was fantastic. Very friendly and helpful. Rates were very reasonable for a twosome (played by ourselves) with cart.
Its hard to review the course with it being cold and breezy.
Front nine a lot of "large, unplayable areas" - we played winter rules and would often move the ball 20 yds to a grass area- we looked at this as our warm-up for the back.
Back nine - was in good condition, very playable
With what I know now - I do plan on coming back - with the same intentions (front nine warm-up - back nine play the course)
Nice Greens
The course has a tight layout. Got to be aware of the players driving on the hole right next to you.
This place obviously holds a lot of water. Most of the fairways appear to be cartpath only.
However, great place for working on your game for a good price.. The greens a in surprisingly very good shape. Especially for January.

Decent course for the price
My home town course. Has its highs and its lows. In the end its very budget friendly to go out and get some good practice . Greens decent boxes and bunkers need work. Muddy this time of year.
Woman Beginner
I am new to golf and for my first time here I enjoyed it because of the layout. The openness was great, it was a good pace, the putting greens were nice, and lots of restrooms! Which is a plus for most courses for women!
The things I that weren’t as good were that holes 1-9 are clearly on the water side so lots of mud areas and washed out parts but it really didn’t affect the game like you would think.
Overall we would go back and play again! Good course for the money and it was quiet.
Good Course, get what you pay for
Really enjoyed playing here. Greens were good. Easy to find your ball with wide open fairways. Had a great time
Bayou
If you can get past the lack of grass of some of the fairways on the front nine, Bayou's greens more than compensate making Bayou a great value for the dollar. Re-opened snack bar also helps.