Getting To Know: Houston Oaks Golf Course By Brian Weis

Getting To Know: Houston Oaks Golf Course

An Insightful Interview With Whitney Miller, Operations Manager

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Whitney Miller who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
Houston Oaks Golf Course is centered in the heart of horse country. Located on over 200 acres of beautiful farm land, the course was built in 1996 by Jack Ridge and has been family owned since. It's design is links style with an emphasis on unique qualities. From driving through a horse barn to over 9 holes qualifying as signature holes, you will not run out of fun opportunities to score well. The 18-hole golf facility prides itself on customer service, quality golf and a unique Kentucky experience.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
Our course is unique for the Kentucky scenery and outstanding customer service. We are proud of our Kentucky history and try to share it with our golfers as much as possible. We are ranked highly, priced affordably and love the game we share with so many travelers. Some of the same golfing groups have been visiting us from Canada, Michigan and Florida for years!

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
We are a bent grass golf course that is straight forward from the tee box. We have Uplink GPS monitors on every golf cart, which provides golfers with accurate yardages to the pin on every hole. We suggest every golfer spend a few minutes on our practice green prior to playing because our greens tend to roll a little quicker than average for our area.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
The golf course opened being ranked a top 10 Kentucky course in Golf Digest. It has maintained that quality and golfer experience for nearly 20 years now. As technology develops in the golf world making online tee-times and rankings popular, the course has stayed up to date. It is the highest ranked golf course on GolfNow.com for the Central Kentucky area making it a popular and worthwhile destination.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Houston Oaks' signature hole is saved for the back 9! Number 14 will provide every golfer the challenge and scenery they crave. You must carry Houston Creek from the tee box and are challenged by fairway bunkers and beautiful oak trees in the target landing area. The green is set a little off center forcing the golfer to be strategic in their approach placement. The walk down to the green is lined with gorgeous flower beds giving every golfer a breath of fresh air to finish the hole. Following number 14 is a drive through our restored horse barn, which always leaves golfers talking.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
My personal favorite hole is number 1. It's a friendly, yet challenging, par 5 that starts everyone's round at our course. It gives a great impression, photographs beautifully and is always the start to every golfer's experience at Houston Oaks. Tips: favor left center on the drive, and then right center on both approach shots as the fairway kicks left on your first bounce. When you get on the green take the time to read your putt. We keep them rolling quick and true.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
It might be cliche but our homemade chicken salad is simple yet fantastic! If we have our 12 hour smoked BBQ, it is a no brainer. We sell out quick on BBQ days so order early! If you want a signature drink, we start early with bloody marys. Thirsty?

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
Our course record is 64. You beat it and drinks on us!

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 6898
Slope: 137
Rating: 73.8

More Information
Houston Oaks Golf Course
555 Houston Oaks Dr.
Paris, Kentucky, 40361
859-987-5600
www.houstonoaksgc.com

Revised: 10/28/2015 - Article Viewed 32,015 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.