The Woodlands is getting its first public golf facility.
The Township Board of Directors voted 5-0 on Thursday, July 23, to approve a ground lease agreement with Forest Capital Partners, LP, clearing the way for a lighted nine-hole short-course golf complex, driving range, restaurant and bar, pickleball courts, and social game areas on roughly 50 acres in the South Gosling area of Creekside Park.
The deal commits at least $14.5 million to the project: $12 million from Forest Capital Partners to design, build, operate, and maintain the facility, and $2.5 million from the Township for supporting infrastructure, according to the Township's press release. The Township retains ownership of all improvements when the lease ends.
Chief Operating Officer Chris Nunes presented the agreement to the board. Nunes, who has served with the Township since 2006, told directors at the December 4, 2025, meeting that the complex would function like existing public-private amenities Texas TreeVentures and Riva Row Boat House, generating sales and hotel tax revenue for the community.
Chairman Brad Bailey said the partnership lets the Township add a "first of its kind golf facility" without raising taxes, noting the board has expanded parks, turf fields, and pickleball courts over the past four years. Director Craig Eissler said at the December 2025 meeting that the project could benefit the whole community "from a tax standpoint. Sales tax, food and beverage."
Construction is slated to finish within 30 months, with the facility opening in early 2029, according to the Township. Planned amenities include a 200-plus-yard driving range, dedicated putting and practice greens, a pitching area, and spaces for cornhole, washers, and ladder ball.
How the project got here
The planning process dates to May 2025, when the Township's Strategic Planning Initiative identified publicly accessible golf as an unmet need. While The Woodlands has several private courses, no public option existed. The board authorized a Request for Proposals on December 4, 2025, advertised in the Houston Chronicle. Three firms responded: Early Bird Management, Park Golf, and American Golf. The board selected Early Bird Management's proposal in February 2026, leading to the negotiated lease with Forest Capital Partners, an Early Bird subsidiary.
The 50-acre site occupies the northern portion of the 208-acre South Gosling tract, bordered by South Gosling Road to the west and Spring Creek to the north and east. Much of the larger parcel lies within the floodplain, making only about 50 acres on each end suitable for recreation, according to Nunes. The Township received the land from The Woodlands Development Company, a Howard Hughes subsidiary, in 2023 for recreational use. The Township says the complex will integrate with the future Spring Creek Greenway.
Community Impact News reported the lease term at 15 years with two 10-year renewal options, though that detail does not appear in the Township's release.
No groundbreaking date has been announced. The board authorized CEO Monique Sharp to execute the agreement.
