Fall 08
Vol. 13 No. 4

Golf course is an emerald in city’s landscape

The Gus Wortham course club house, located at 7000 Capitol in Houston’s East End, served as a nexus for Houston’s high society from 1909 to the mid-Fifties. The original club house, pictured here, was demolished in 1976 and replaced by the present one in 1980.

By John Perry

Gus Wortham Golf Course turns 100 next year. But recently, its future seemed as unclear as the water in bordering Brays Bayou.

On any day the weather permits, golfers play their way through the wooded municipal 18-hole course known as the granddaddy of Houston golf courses.

“It’s one of the better designed courses,” said Willie Shankle, head golf professional at Gus Wortham since 2004. “It’s a classic old course. We have groups that play regularly. And those who come for the first time are surprised by how nice it is.”

“We get a good crowd whenever it’s not raining,” said Junius Simon, clubhouse cashier.

“This course is for anyone who loves to play golf at bargain prices,” said Shankle, the only black Professional Golf Association of America pro in Houston.

Yet, the links and clubhouse once catered only to the city’s social elite.

pened in 1908 as the first 18-hole golf course in Texas, it was originally built as the Houston Country Club golf course, intended as a private playground of the city’s rich and powerful. HCC member A.W. Pollard designed the course, considered the most prestigious in town, and its stately Louisiana colonial-style clubhouse became a gathering place for Houston’s budding social scene.

The course was the site of the 1931, 72-hole match between former HCC member and billionaire-to-be Howard Hughes and flamboyant professional golfer Walter Hagen. Opinions differed on who won. But all agreed that the course was among the 100 best in the world.

Changes come
Over the years, however, the city grew and demographics changed. HCC members decided to move their club to the Tanglewood area of town.

They began negotiations to sell the property to the city.

But in 1955, Gus Wortham, HCC member and president of American General Insurance, stepped in and bought the property. The course became known as the Executive Golf Course.

In 1973, Wortham sold the property to the city for $3.6 million. The course was renamed in his honor.

The once-stately clubhouse fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1976. And now the existing clubhouse, built around 1980, needs a facelift.

The course is not considered to be a long one by today’s standards, measuring just less than 6,300 yards. It is relatively wide open and playable for most golfers, including beginners.

“But that doesn’t mean it’s not challenging,” Shankle said. “The course is sculpted through tress with sloping terrain. Hit a bad shot and you’re stuck in the trees.”

Future tense
Last spring, rumors regarding plans to replace the golf course with a 15- to 20-field soccer complex, which would include a practice field for the Houston Dynamo professional team, circulated throughout the city.

East End locals and civic organizations hotly protested the plan at City Council.

“My constituents spoke and I heard them loud and clear,” said City Councilwoman Carol Alvarado, who represents the district in which the course is located. “We had to protect Gus Wortham as the historical East End venue that it is.”

The course was given a reprieve by Mayor Bill White and City Council.

“There’s no question that it’s going to stay a golf course,” Alvarado confirmed.

Earlier, Alvarado, in conjunction with the Houston Parks Recreation Department and the Houston Parks Board, hosted a town hall meeting at the Magnolia Multi-Service Center to receive input from residents about the future of the 151-acre property in District I.

The Houston Parks Board, a private nonprofit organization dedicated to creating, improving and protecting parkland for Houston, will spearhead a $9 million fundraising campaign to restore the course to United States Golf Association standards with new grading, grass, greens, and golf carts.

Other improvements include an improved drainage system; new driving range and training facility; new pro shop; additional parking; new restrooms with showers; and new maintenance facilities.

There are also plans for expanding and renovating the clubhouse.

“It has historical value. To destroy a gem like that would be a crime,” said Marilu de la Fuente, president of the Harrisburg Heritage Society.

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