Before I dive into the upcoming tournament at Moody Gardens, I want to share some thoughts on my favorite subject—mathematics, or as I like to call it, the fascinating world of statistics. We’re at the halfway point of the season, and while the player count has dipped from 23.6 to 21.1, I see this as a stepping stone rather than a setback. With roughly two players less participating in each tournament, the total purse was about $3,000 less than last year. Several factors contribute to this: four or five of our players are sidelined with injuries, expected to be out for a few more months. Additionally, the current economic climate has people facing tougher financial decisions—prices are up, greens fees included are up . Lastly, the 2025 schedule had courses that kept some players away due to past condition issues, which affected turnout. But despite all these challenges, I remain incredibly optimistic about the league’s future. I believe participation will rebound in the second half of the season as our players recover and as courses improve and become more inviting. And if history is any guide, players always find a way to prioritize their golf—money and passion tend to find a way.
Now, let me share some intriguing numbers. When comparing scores from the first seven tournaments
to the last two, the average gross score jumped from 83.4 to 86.2—a three-shot swing. Is this worth exploring further? Absolutely. The total yards played in the earlier tournaments averaged about 700
yards less than in the last two. So it is the the distance of the course. The course index remained fairly consistent across all nine events, so course difficulty wasn’t a major factor. The one
red flag? Wind. The average wind speed during the first seven tournaments was about 17 miles per hour, rising to 20 miles per hour in the final two. Excluding the season opener at Pasadena, where
winds averaged 25 mph, the difference becomes even more pronounced. This naturally leads us to Moody Gardens—the site of our last HGL event. Known for its high winds and challenging design, it truly
tests players’ resilience. The course was in excellent shape, but it definitely “ate our players’ lunch,” revealing just how formidable conditions can be when the wind is howling.
Remarkably, no player finished better than two over par. However, one player came very close: Juan Rocha was one under par with a three-shot lead heading into the 18th hole. Golf can be
incredibly cruel, especially when a playing partner reminds you that you’re winning just before you tee off on 18. Unfortunately for Juan, that comment turned out to be the "kiss of death." After
finishing with a nine on his scorecard, he realized he had fallen for one of golf's oldest tricks. When Juan walked into the clubhouse, Haja, Joe, and Gabe felt sympathetic for him, but their sadness
lasted only about 15 seconds before it turned to joy. This resulted in Haja taking first place over Joe in a scorecard playoff, while Gabe secured third place. Congratulations to Haja on
your second career victory!
PLAYERS | SCORE | NET | GROSS | PURSE | |
1 | 77 | 2 | 74 | $460.00 | |
2 | 79 | 2 | 74 | $295.00 | |
3 | 83 | 3 | 75 | $195.00 | |
4 | 88 | 4 | 76 | $0.00 | |
T5 | 85 | 5 | 77 | $0.00 | |
T5 | 86 | 5 | 77 | $0.00 | |
T7 | 80 | 6 | 78 | $0.00 | |
T7 | 81 | 6 | 78 | $0.00 | |
T7 | 88 | 6 | 78 | $0.00 | |
T10 | 85 | 7 | 79 | $0.00 | |
T10 | 87 | 7 | 79 | $0.00 | |
T10 | 80 | 7 | 79 | $0.00 | |
13 | 88 | 8 | 80 | $0.00 | |
14 | 87 | 9 | 81 | $0.00 | |
15 | 86 | 10 | 82 | $0.00 | |
16 | 85 | 12 | 84 | $0.00 | |
17 | 99 | 16 | 88 | $0.00 | |
18 | 100 | 17 | 89 | $0.00 |
PLAYERS | PURSE | |
1 | HAJA RABE | $612.00 |
2 | JOE HART | $390.00 |
3 | GABE RAMOS | $195.00 |
4 | JAIME ALVARADO | $191.00 |
5 | CHUCK TOLLIVER | $191.00 |
6 | TY TAYLOR | $152.00 |
7 | JEREMY WILLIAMS | $152.00 |
8 | CARL HOLZAPFEL | $78.00 |
9 | ETHAN BULTHOUSE | $39.00 |
Total Purse | $2,000.00 |
1 | JOSE | SANCHEZ | $2,829.00 |
2 | TY | TAYLOR | $2,080.00 |
3 | ETHAN | BULTHOUSE | $1,400.00 |
4 | JEREMY | WILLIAMS | $987.00 |
5 | HAJA | RABE | $954.00 |
6 | KEDRICK | MASSENGILL | $790.00 |
7 | JAIME | ALVARADO | $771.00 |
8 | ROLAND | TURNER | $763.00 |
9 | JOE | HART | $607.00 |
10 | CARL | HOLZAPFEL | $495.00 |
11 | KYLE | NEITZEY | $444.00 |
12 | JEREMY | GUERRANT | $419.00 |
13 | BENNY | GOMEZ | $368.00 |
14 | MARC | NAPIER | $300.00 |
15 | GREG | LOPEZ | $295.00 |
16 | ALLEN | LEE | $190.00 |
17 | ERNEST | STANDLEY | $140.00 |
18 | JOSE | SOLORZANO | $95.00 |
19 | JIMMY | HAYES | $90.00 |
20 | MYLES | HENSON | $85.00 |
$14,102.00 |
POS | PLAYERS | PURSE | |
1 | CHUCK | TOLLIVER | $1,680.00 |
2 | GABE | RAMOS | $1,231.00 |
3 | NATHAN | SIMCOX | $1,040.00 |
4 | LONNIE | KNOWLES | $798.00 |
5 | SEANA | HINTON | $480.00 |
6 | VICTOR | RANGEL | $360.00 |
7 | SHADRICK | WALL | $290.00 |
8 | JARROD | BALLOU | $280.00 |
9 | CASEY | GRIMME | $260.00 |
10 | JAIME | VILLARREAL | $225.00 |
11 | CARLOS | GARCIA | $182.00 |
12 | RODERICK | WOODWORTH | $160.00 |
13 | HAL | GREGORY | $159.00 |
14 | CHRIS | ALLEN | $148.00 |
15 | BILL | CHENEL | $60.00 |
16 | TONY | BARNETT | $47.00 |
TOTAL | $7,400.00 |
Established in 2012, the purpose of the League is to provide amateurs of all ages, sexes and handicaps the opportunity to compete in stroke-play golf tournaments on a regular basis. The League concludes with a Player’s Championship in which the winner from each tournament. Through this competition, the Houston Golf League promotes the sport of golf by providing an atmosphere of friendly, fair, and well-managed competition for amateur golfers in the pursuit of excellence.
The Houston Golf League has an annual membership of $150.00
The cost of each regular tournament is 120.00 the majors are $200.00 The entry fee for each tournament includes green fees, cart, and range balls in most cases. A portion of the entry fee establishes the purse. Tournaments can be prepaid online or the day of the tournament.
Cash Money and Trophies are awarded to the first place winner of each flight. A purse is established from the entry fees, and depending on the size of the flight, money is awarded to the top finishers in each flight. Additionally, there are voluntary skins games, deuce game, and closest to the pin. Membership dues must be paid before any prize money awarded.
The players are flighted by handicap, then play a gross stoke-play format within their flight.
Base on the number of players
0-6……. A Flight 0-10……..A Flight
7-13……. B Flight 11-20 ……B Flight
14-20…… C Flight
The League uses the Callaway system if a player does not have to establish a verifiable handicap, and the league trumps all other handicaps of other leagues handicap. Callaway system 10 strokes max for A flight and 20 shot max for the B flight. The League will access your level of play based on your most recent scores, which courses you have played and the tees you used. Once you’re placed on a flight, your tournament scores and handicap index are posted on the web page
The League will establish your handicap index based solely on your scores posted in the tournaments. If your handicap index improves during the season, you will be promoted to the next higher flight if your index falls within the parameters of higher flight. If your index falls within the parameters of a lower flight, you will only be moved to the lower flight if you request it.
All the tournaments are played on the weekends, with most being played on Sundays. Tee times vary but are posted on the website. The tournaments are played at local courses listed on our website.
Play in as many or as few as you would like. Of course, the more you play, the more points you can accumulate toward qualifying for the Players Championship and Culture Cup.
No. You can join the League anytime during the season. The sooner you join, the more points you start accumulating towards the points race.
If you enjoy weekend golf at some of the finest local courses, if you enjoy competitive stroke-play golf, if you want to improve your game by playing under tournament conditions like the pros, and if you like the feeling of winning, collecting prizes and trophies, join the tour and enjoy all of these benefits. All tournaments are played by USGA rules and handicaps are tracked on each player to ensure the integrity of each flight.
The Houston Golf League format mirrors that of the PGA Tour. The tournaments will be held on the finest golf courses around the greater Houston area. The HGL will consist of four major tournaments and a “Players Championship”, Ryder Cup-type Event called the Culture Cup. Stats will be kept on putts, fairways, and greens hit. There will also be a money list leader from each flight. These leaders will be eligible for awards that will be given at the Tournament’s Awards Banquet
HOUSTON GOLF LEAGUE HAS STUDIO 18 WHERE YOU CAN CATCH HIGHLIGHTS, REPLAYS AND
INTERVIEWS FROM OUR LEAGUE PLAYERS, JUST LIKE ESPN AND THE GOLF CHANNEL THE
HOUSTON GOLF LEAGUE HAS IT ALL!
EVERY LEAGUE MEMBER WILL RECEIVE 10% TO 85% ON ALL PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
TWILIGHT RATES, DISCOUNTED RATES IN SOME PROSHOPS AND FREE ROUNDS OF GOLF WITH THE LEAGUE MEMBER CARD.
<< New text box >>
53 MONROE AVENUE
MEMPHIS TN 38103
901-235-9315
FAX : 901-672-8068
HENRYHUDSON@ALLSTATE.COM
hudsonagencyinsurance.com
1231 SPACE PARK DR
HOUSTON,TX 77058
334-478-8002
FABSERVE LLC
144 CR 2122 LIBERTY, TX 77575
832-429-8704
WWW.FABSERVETX.COM
koalakare-llc.com
koalakare.info@yahoo.com
713-205-6294
<< New text box >>
936-443-2938
HOUSTON GOLF LEAGUE
2250 HOLLY HALL 278
HOUSTON TX 77054
HOME:
832-231-7177
E-MAIL:PLAY@
HOUSTONGOLF
LEAGUE.ORG
OR HOUSTONGOLFLEAGUE@
HOTMAIL.COM