Westwood Golf Club - Texas - USA

Westwood is a modern parkland design enclosed from the outside world in Houston's Bellaire/Sharpstown area. The club's membership is under 400 and primarily draws from the Bellaire and West University Place neighborhoods. Westwood has a friendly and relaxed atmosphere with a good amount of junior, college and mini-tour players on most days.

It is one of the only courses in the area not to feature any houses along the course. The course tips out at 7,200 yards and often plays in high wind due to its exposed southern border to the gulf coastal plains. Its green complexes are heavily bunkered with consistently elevated putting surfaces that are historically stimped above 11, contributing to the high slope and rating found on the scorecard. While the parkland layout is lined by trees throughout the course, Westwood's fairways are wide and the trees rarely cause a full stroke to be lost, as they are not dense. A small ravine runs through the property, dividing the front and back 9s and playing as a hazard. Water or the ravine come into play on 11 holes while the perimeter of the property is lined with out-of-bounds stakes. The fairways are also defended by tall fescue along holes 4, 5, 6, 11 and 12; at the same time, the rough is rarely grown thick. Westwood has been restored to a lush, premium condition with the addition of a news greenskeeper in spring 2022 and its conditioning competes with any other club in the city. Its practice facilities include a 5 acre short game area with enough space and variation to practice every permutation of shot, lie and slope inside of 100 yards.

The scorecard is defended at the men's tees by several long par 4s whose scoring is heavily dictated by the prevailing wind. Hole 2 plays towards the clubhouse slightly uphill at 420 yards, with trees pinching into the landing area and demanding a well struck drive for a shot at a GIR. The hole challenges the bomber with a pond left of the fairway at 280 yards catching long draws. Hole 7 plays the same direction as Hole 2 at 410 yards over a long dogleg left that rewards a draw and penalizes a fade with a massive fairway bunker, water and deep sand right of the green. Hole 11 plays the opposite direction through a narrow fairway lined by trees and ravine, playing to an elevated green guarded on the right by a large oak. The approach shot must be shaped left to right if the player is playing from the center or right. Hole 14 plays at 450 yards next to Hole 11, punishing the left to right ball with a fairway bunker and water alongside the right side, then requiring skilled navigation of a large and contoured putting surface to score. Hole 16 rounds out the challenging par 4s with a straightaway, 450 yard hole that plays to a massive back to front-sloped green, where the player must stay beneath the hole at all costs. Each of these holes may present a surprising birdie opportunity or play close to a par 5 depending on the day's wind.

Westwood's routing gathers into an oasis in the back 9 with 14 green and 15 tee forming a quiet reserve at the center of the property. It makes for a beautiful setting at golden light. The course requires every club in the bag, and this varied challenge and idyllic respite from the pace of the city are some reasons why the club's membership and quality of experience have remained so strong following the renovation.