EHRA Engineering played a key role in the redevelopment of one of Houston’s treasures, the Memorial Park Golf Course. EHRA engineered, designed and supported the enhancements that elevated the facility just ahead of the 2020 PGA Open while strengthening its long-term functionality for the entire Houston community.
Working alongside the Houston Astros Foundation, EHRA’s Site Development and Hydrology & Hydraulics teams collaborated to deliver improvements across the entire course, including an expanded detention capacity, a dual-purpose detention and retention basin and a water reuse system designed to support the course’s irrigation operations. The project also included a new driving range, parking lots, maintenance facilities, cart paths, trails and proper grading coordination with the golf course designer.
A defining challenge of the project was immovable deadline tied directly to the 2020 PGA Open. For the course to qualify as tournament-ready, all construction needed to be completed months in advance to allow grass to be seeded and established by the tournament’s open. This meant every design decision carried construction implications. Grass establishment, contractor coordination and the added challenge of a particularly dry year placed additional pressures on irrigation performance and schedule certainty.
To maintain momentum, EHRA maintained an active field presence, visiting the site weekly and often multiple times per week throughout construction. This allowed the engineering team to evaluate conditions in real time, implement adjustments and approve solutions without costly delays.
EHRA translated hydraulic analysis into practical, buildable solutions, implementing grading, drainage and irrigation infrastructure that now supports sustainable course operations. The Memorial Park Golf Course draws regional attention each year during PGA Open. For the project team, seeing the course featured annually and enjoyed daily by the community continues to be one of the most rewarding outcomes.
The project also marked a defining professional experience, providing invaluable insight into constructability and reinforcing the importance of aligning engineering design with real-world construction practices.
While the goal of successful infrastructure design is often to remain unnoticed once complete, EHRA looks forward to any future opportunities to support continued enhancements within Memorial Park and build upon a project that has become a cornerstone achievement for both the firm and the community it serves.
