How to Get Tee Times in Texas
Texas has a PGA Tour muni you can play for the price of a nice dinner, marquee resort courses you reach through your hotel room, and private clubs that need a member to open the gate. Knowing which route a course takes, and exactly when its tee sheet opens, is the whole game. Here is how to get on in Texas, course by course, with the booking windows and indicative 2026 fees.
Photograph: Memorial Park Golf Course, Houston, via Google
The short version
Almost every course worth playing in Texas falls into one of three buckets, and each has its own way in. The municipal and daily fee courses are pay to play, booked online a few days out, and they include some genuine gems, above all Memorial Park in Houston, the Tom Doak redesign that hosts the PGA Tour. The resort courses, the ones attached to the big Hill Country properties, are reached through a stay and play package, the cleanest route onto the marquee names. And the state's very best private clubs need a member to host you, so they sit outside the public system entirely.
Get the route right and the timing follows. Munis reward speed on the morning the window opens; resorts reward booking your room early; private clubs reward who you know. Below is how each one works, the courses to target and what they cost in 2026.
The three routes onto a Texas tee
Municipal and daily fee: book early, online, a few days out
This is the value end and it holds the single best public round in the state. Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston was rebuilt by Tom Doak with input from Brooks Koepka and reopened in late 2019 as the host of the Houston Open, yet it remains a city muni. Its tee sheet opens to the public three days in advance online at 6 in the morning, and the prime times vanish within a minute, so you set an alarm and book the instant it opens. Houston residents who verify residency play for an indicative 38 dollars, with non residents at around 140 dollars in 2026. The big cities all have strong daily fee and municipal golf in the same mould, the affordable backbone of Texas play.
Resort stay and play: book the room, get the course
The simplest way onto the marquee courses is to stay at the resort that owns them. The Oaks at TPC San Antonio, the Valero Texas Open venue, and its Pete Dye Canyons sister come with a room at the JW Marriott Hill Country. Omni Barton Creek near Austin, with its four courses led by the Fazio Canyons and Fazio Foothills, Horseshoe Bay Resort on Lake LBJ and La Cantera in San Antonio all work the same way, bundling rooms, carts and tee times into a package you can lock weeks or months ahead. For a visiting golfer this is the most reliable and least stressful route.
Private clubs: you need a member
The state's elite clubs, from Whispering Pines, consistently rated the best course in Texas, to historic championship venues such as Colonial in Fort Worth and the Crenshaw shaped layouts of Austin, cannot be booked publicly. Access needs a member to host you or a reciprocal arrangement through your own club. If your group has a connection, it is worth the effort, but build your trip around the public and resort golf and treat a private round as a bonus.
Key courses and how to book them
| Course | Route and booking window | Indicative 2026 fee |
|---|---|---|
| Memorial Park, Houston | Municipal; online 3 days out at 6am, book instantly | Around 38 resident, 140 non resident dollars |
| TPC San Antonio, the Oaks | Resort; stay and play at the JW Marriott Hill Country | Package based; confirm with the resort |
| Omni Barton Creek, the Fazio courses | Resort; stay and play near Austin, book with your room | Package based; confirm with the resort |
| Horseshoe Bay Resort | Resort; stay and play on Lake LBJ | Package based; confirm with the resort |
| Whispering Pines, Trinity | Private; member host required | Not publicly bookable |
Access, booking windows and indicative fees verified June 2026 from course and resort sources. Memorial Park resident rates require verified Houston residency. Fees move with season and demand. We do not quote our own pricing, so always confirm directly before booking. Check tee time availability.
Booking windows and timing tips
For the municipal gems, the booking window is everything. Memorial Park and courses like it release tee times exactly three days out, online, at 6 in the morning, so create your account in advance, save your payment details and be logged in and ready the moment the clock turns. For resort golf, the opposite logic applies: book the room as far ahead as you can, because the tee times come with it, and the marquee Hill Country resorts fill fastest for the spring and fall peaks. Either way, Texas plays best in spring and fall, so the prime months are also the busiest, and a little planning is the difference between the round you want and the one that is left.
Need a base near the golf? See our recommended Texas hotels and resorts across the Hill Country and the big cities.
Plan your Texas golf trip
Tell us the courses you want and roughly when, and one concierge holds the resort packages, navigates the muni booking windows and costs the trip to the head. Spring and fall tee times go early, so the sooner we start the better. No obligation.
Texas tee time questions
How do you get a tee time at Memorial Park in Houston?
Memorial Park, the Tom Doak redesign that hosts the PGA Tour's Houston Open, opens its tee sheet to the public three days in advance online from 6 in the morning, and the best times are gone within a minute, so log in and book the instant the window opens. Houston residents who verify residency pay an indicative resident green fee of around 38 dollars, while non residents pay around 140 dollars in 2026. Always confirm current rates and the booking window directly before booking.
Can the public play TPC San Antonio?
Yes, through a stay and play package. The Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio, home of the Valero Texas Open, and the neighbouring Pete Dye Canyons course are open to guests of the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa. Booking a room at the resort is the simplest and most reliable way onto these courses, with tee times arranged through the resort golf desk. Always confirm package details and tee times directly before booking.
How far in advance can you book golf in Texas?
It depends on the course. Municipal courses such as Memorial Park typically open online booking three days ahead, so you must act the moment the window opens. Resort courses booked as part of a stay and play package can usually be locked in weeks or months in advance with your room, which is the great advantage of the package route. Private clubs require a member to host you and cannot be booked publicly at all. Always confirm the booking window for your specific course before you travel.
What is the cheapest way to play good golf in Texas?
The municipal and daily fee courses are the value play. Memorial Park in Houston gives PGA Tour quality golf for an indicative non resident fee of around 140 dollars, and cities such as Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth have strong, affordable public courses. Travelling in the mild winter and the summer shoulder, and booking early weekday tee times, brings the cost down further. Resort packages cost more but bundle rooms, carts and access to marquee courses. Always confirm current fees before booking.
Related
The Tee Sheet
Tee time windows, course access changes and the trips worth taking. Every other week.
Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Access, booking windows and indicative fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.