Courtesy of Jon Schmenk
The Hermann Park municipal course in south central Houston will soon be wholly reimagined by golf course architect Jon Schmenk, in a large project privately funded by Astros Golf Foundation — founded in 2018 by Houston Astros owner Jim Crane — and by Hermann Park Conservancy.
Astros Golf Foundation backed the renovation of the Memorial Park municipal in Houston in 2019-20. Construction of the new-look course will be handled by Texas contractor Wolf Point Golf Company, headed by Don Mahaffey and his son Ryan, who is also the company president. Don Mahaffey built the well-known Wolf Point course in south Texas for rancher Al Stanger and, with support from Stanger, got into the golf construction business after its completion. Construction work on the Memorial Park project was also handled by Mahaffey.
The Hermann Park course dates originally from 1922 and sits on a small property.
“The current course is rather cramped,” Ryan Mahaffey said, “so this project will see it reconstructed with the front nine consisting of all par 3s and the back nine as a 3,400-yard par 36, and the front nine will be lit for night-time play. There will also be a large practice area, with a double-deck range similar to the one built at Memorial Park.”
To withstand the anticipated amount of play, Schmenk said, “the new layout will contain abundant tee space for golfers of varying skill levels, large softly contoured greens, even two double-greens on the par-3 course, gently rolling fairways and strategically placed hazards while trying to keep the course maintenance friendly.
“The layout will also provide plenty of challenge for the experienced golfer within a routing that preserves the large, old oak trees, which should give the course an established, mature feel on opening day.’
Astros Golf Foundation supports Texas Children’s Hospital — the title sponsor of the PGA Tour’s Houston Open, which is played at Memorial Park — and the Hermann Park project aims to provide a recreational space for children undergoing treatment: The plan includes an adaptive First Tee area, built with artificial turf to accommodate wheelchairs and related traffic.
“This is a great project, and we’re very proud to be involved,” Don Mahaffey said. “The community aspects of the project are obviously front and center, but perhaps the most interesting part of the plan from a golf design point of view is that all the ponds on the course are interconnected, and designed to capture stormwater for irrigation use. This system is very similar to the one we designed and built at Memorial Park, and that helped reduce potable water use by 50 percent. We are aiming for similar results here.”
Astros Golf Foundation president Giles Kibbe listed three necessities for the course’s long-term financial viability: “We have to significantly expand the driving range, which is a significant revenue generator; we need to increase the size of the ponds in order to create a stormwater recapture and irrigation system that is environmentally friendly; and we need to build a new clubhouse.
“Jim Crane’s goal is to provide all Houstonians with a great golf experience on a first-class facility at an affordable cost. Jim grew up as a caddie playing municipal courses. He wants the average golfer to be able to experience a great course in first-class condition. That’s what we did at Memorial Park and that’s what we’re going to do at Hermann.”
