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The Chevron Championship is taking place at Memorial Park Golf Course, featuring a temporary pool for the winner's celebration. A notable creek near the 15th green adds intrigue to the course, particularly for players navigating the short par 3 hole.
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HOUSTON â There will be much attention paid during this weekâs Chevron Championship to the temporary pool constructed near No. 18 at Memorial Park Golf Course. Itâs worth a look, intended to continue the tradition of the winner celebrating with a leap into water at the LPGAâs first major of the year. More on the story behind that splash zone in a bit.
More interesting might be a narrow creek nearer the far side of the property. It slithers to the left of No. 15 green, adding intrigue â if not normally an outright threat â to the shortest hole on the property. In an era in which driving length has earned much adulation and importance, itâs this tiny par 3 created by architect Tom Doak that likely will live rent-free in so many playersâ heads during the Chevron Championship.
The creek that meanders near the 15th green at Memorial Park Golf Course (here at the 2026 Texas Children's Houston Open 2026 on the PGA Tour) in Houston.
Such short par 3s have long attracted outsized admiration from golf architecture fans. Most famous historically among them would be the Postage Stamp, the 123-yarder at Royal Troon in Scotland. Among the best in the U.S., the 107-yard seventh hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California is a social media darling and a terror in the wind, sitting as it does above the Pacific Ocean. Doak himself has experience designing superlative examples: His 148-yard 11th hole on the Pacific Dunes course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon, also nestled into cliffs above the ocean, is among a handful of the prettiest holes in the world.
The shared commonalities of these holes is a requirement of precision over strength. Interesting and sometimes unforgiving greens and surrounds give great players pause, even as they reach into their bags for a wedge. The same is true of Doakâs 15th at the municipal Memorial Park, especially when the hole is cut into the narrow front tongue of the green with run-offs in all directions, including down and left toward the creek.
The temporary pool at Memorial Park Golf Course is designed for the winner to celebrate with a leap into the water, continuing a cherished tradition.
The creek near the 15th green adds an element of intrigue to the shortest hole on the course, influencing players' strategies during the tournament.
The par 3 hole at Memorial Park Golf Course was designed by architect Tom Doak, known for creating memorable golf holes.
Famous short par 3 holes include the Postage Stamp at Royal Troon in Scotland and the 107-yard seventh hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California.

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Located in the key stretch of closing holes when challengers for the title are likely to be running on adrenaline, the 15th will ask for calm calculations, sure-handed distance-control and a mastery of spin.
"Yeah, 15 is a really dangerous hole,â Doak told Golfweek in 2020, shortly after he renovated the course in 2019 and during the first rendition of the PGA Tourâs Texas Childrenâs Houston Open at Memorial Park. âThat's one of the ones. Brooks (Koepka, who helped Doak renovate the course) said when we started we'd be heroes if we just make par 3s short and not make them all 210 yards, because that's what they usually do for Tour courses these days. Especially that one, it's the shortest one and it's the nastiest one."
Thatâs saying something on a course full of difficult par 3s. Despite is demure length, No. 15 ranked as the sixth hardest hole in the recently completed Texas Childrenâs Houston Open at Memorial Park, won by Gary Woodland on March 29. The best male players in the world racked up only 49 birdies against 300 pars, 64 bogeys and five double-bogeys. The men often opted for a safe shot away from the flag, particularly in the third round when the pin was up front and players kept sending their shots deep on purpose, toward the wider section of the green at the back. Expect much the same approach in the Chevron Championship.
The second hole at Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston.
Doak is among golfâs most-sought-after course designers, and his strategic demands â especially on and around his greens â sets him apart. That was a huge part of his 2019 renovation of Memorial Park, which sits on mostly flat land and where much of the interest had to be created by the architect.
Beyond the terrain, Doak had an unusual challenge at Memorial Park: How to challenge the best men and women players in the world, all while allowing the paying public to enjoy the course to the tune of some 60,000 rounds a year. Doakâs approach was to forget about defending par for the tour players, instead providing plenty of opportunities for dramatic lead changes. No. 15 fits that bill perfectly.
The work came about as a partnership between the City of Houston, Chevron and the Astros Golf Foundation. The Foundation was led by Houston Astros owner Jim Crane with two goals: Save the Houston Open, which had lost its previous sponsor, and to provide access to educational and golf programs for young Houstonians. The $18.5 million project put Memorial Park back on golfâs map.
This will be the first year for the Chevron Championship to be played at Memorial Park. The move follows three years of the event being played at the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at the Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, north of Houston. Prior to that, the major championship had spent 51 years at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, California. Chevron took over as title sponsor in 2023.
Famous as the first major championship for men or women each year, the event was perhaps even better known for its winners leaping into Poppieâs Pond â a tradition started by Amy Alcott in 1988 and picked up again in 1994 by Donna Andrews. The tradition moved with the tournament to The Woodlands, but the pond wasnât the same. Netting was installed to protect against alligators, and the water wasnât as clear as it had been in the desert out west.
The winnerâs leap presented a problem with the eventâs move to Memorial Park, where Doakâs 18th hole featured no water. That will be solved for this yearâs tournament and beyond. This yearâs championship will feature a concrete-lined pool for the winnerâs leap, and Doak has agreed to build a pond along the right side of the 18th hole shortly after the tournament ends that can be used for future victory laps.
Glenn Weckerlin, executive director of the Chevron Championship and Chevron's global director of brand and partner line management, said event organizers didn't want to skip a year of the winnerâs plunge, hence the pool this year. It will be 15 feet by 10 feet across, with a depth of about 4œ feet.
The 17th hole at Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston.
"Augusta (National) has a green jacket, and we have a bathrobe," Weckerlin said. "What were we going to do for the champion if we didn't give her a bathrobe? It's just the thing."
Construction of the new pond will begin in May, changing the character of the 18th hole as well as presenting an option for the tradition to continue. The 18th green also will be modified, easing the steepness of the putting surfaceâs front edge.
Itâs all part of the evolution of a course that began as a nine-holer in 1912, its sand greens to be used by convalescent soldiers at what was then Camp Logan. John Bredemus redesigned it as 18 holes that opened in 1936, and plenty of work was done to Memorial Park over the decades, including a 1995 renovation. Even with a history of hosting dozens of PGA Tour events and other championships, Doak and Koepkaâs remake has taken things up a notch. Memorial Park should provide a thrilling scene for the best womenâs players in the world this week.
âChevronâs partnership continues to set a standard for what it means to invest in womenâs golf â not just as a championship, but as a platform to inspire and grow the game,â LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler said when the move to Memorial Park was announced. âMoving the Chevron Championship to Memorial Park Golf Course strengthens that vision. It brings the event closer to the heart of Houston, connecting more fans and communities to our athletes, and helping ensure this major â a tradition that began in 1972 â continues to shine as one of the gameâs most meaningful stages.â
Crane, who has provided so much support for Memorial Park, was thrilled to have the Chevron Championship move into the heart of Houston.
âThe Astros Golf Foundation is proud to work alongside Chevron and the LPGA to amplify this major tournament and help more Houstonians experience world-class events in the heart of the city,â Crane said. âThis event will highlight the incredible talent of the LPGA, and advance the growth and reach of womenâs golf â a mission we are proud to support.â
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Chevron Championship moves to Houston's Memorial Park