This review will not be in my normally formatted version. The first time I played Mason back in 2011 the course was mowed, and well kept. Now days since returning to this course i have found a different story. Most of the holes have over grown tree, shrubs, and grass making it difficult to play/enjoy a round. My thoughts back then were that Mason was one of the best nine holes offering alt. tees to make an 18 hole. The fact that there is terrain and woods makes for challenging fun and play. Today I would say that with some volunteer work and help from the parks dept. the course could get back on track to that previous luster. Mason park being only a few miles away from MacGregor makes this course a great warm up. Especially today since MacGregor went through a "thinning of the tress". There is plenty of parking at Mason. Restrooms nearby are always nice. the alt tees at Mason offer very different look at the fairways. A good mix and usage of the pines and trees makes for some pretty nice lines. I think the signature hole at Mason is long tee for hole 1. You have to throw over the creek through tall trees to get a look at the basket. Another thing that I like about Mason is the fact the with the alt. tees, you get a mix of LHBH/RHBH. Hole 1 is a great example of this. the long tee is a RHBH, but the short tee is LHBH fairway.

As stated before in the pros, the course is just over grown with shrubs and grass. The lines have taken away by over hanging branches. The only hole that I couldn't see be helped is 3! Hole 3 is basically a luck hole. there is no saying you got skill and prove it. I have been lucky to birdie hole 3, but that was once. the hole is pretty much protected by a wall of pines. Unless some of the pines are trimmed I dont see hole 3 becoming very playable anytime soon. Holes 4-5 are pretty much a safari of tall grass now. I was even worried to lose a disc to the tall grass on 5. One of the best holes ( hole 8) is now becoming increasingly hard withe the overgrowth. the fairway plays over a small creek with some species of flora that has humongous leaves. These are closing the gap on the fairway. Other than the overgrowth, Natural tee boxes are almost always a con in the Houston area. Due to high play and ware natural tees get routed easily and hold water after rain along with mud. The grass does help, but with the grass being overgrown it creates a problem. The other Con to Mason is just the simple fact that the baskets are showing age and have been tagged with graffiti.

I really enjoyed Mason back in 2011. Now days (Fall 2013) the course needs some TLC. The course when groomed is pretty fun and challenging. I would say that Mason would still hold its high rank among other nine holes in the Houston area. The terrain definitely puts Mason up there. I would give the course at least a 3 out of 5 if it were groomed and well kept. But seeings how the park has been left to fend for itself, I doubt one grooming would really make a difference seeings how the course would be left to overgrow again in the future.

Many Challanging holes
Elevation change
daunting hole #1
nice park by the bayou
has a pool!

Completely overgrown
mosquito hell
hard to navigate without a map

This could be nice with a little maintance

Mason Park is a really fun, technical 9 hole course. There are many reasons to check this course out.
-Alternate tees that give you not only more length, but in most cases changes the shot shape that you will need in order to reach the basket.
-Woods. The designer used the wooded area of this course to it's fullest potential to give a us a great course that will be hard to completely master.
-Elevation. Elevation is something most Houston area courses don't have. So for me, elevation gives courses a slight advantage in comparison to other courses in the area.
-Scenic Park. This course is in a very nice park that is well used (more about that in the cons section). This is one of the nicer parks that I've seen in Houston as far as scenery goes.
-Great lines on some holes. There were some very nice lines that were required on several holes that rival some of the top courses in this area. The green tee at #1. Both tees at #8. #4 and #5 are both very technical and require some needle threading as well.
-There seemed to be ample parking. I went on a Tuesday morning and there were plenty of parking spaces then. This may not be the case on the weekends and afternoons.
-The baskets were all in decent shape. You could tell they had seen their share of discs, but all were intact with no chains missing. They were all standing up straight and none of the baskets were bent or crooked.

Even though this course has a lot of great things about it, there are some that aren't so great as well.

-Trash. There was a good bit of trash on the course. Especially on hole #5.
-Crowded. I went on a tuesday morning and there were people all over the place. I'm sure it's insane on the weekends. There were several times when I had to wait for a break in the runners/walkers in order to throw. Holes #3, #6 and #8 (if you take the outside hyzer route around the trees).
-Hole #3. This hole was not a well thoughtout hole at all. There's really no way to get to the basket. You just kinda throw and hope that your disc makes it through.
-Hole #6. The walking path is basically the fairway for hole #6. I had to wait a few minutes to throw on this hole because the path of your shot flys over the walking path for almost the entire hole.
--Crossing the creek/ditch on hole #1. There is really no easy way to get across it. As someone else mentioned there is a log to walk across but it's still not pleasant.
-No benches on the course. There are some in the surrounding park but they are well off the course.
-No course map or yardage on tee posts.
-I think it would be difficult to find the next tee without a map on some of these. There should be signs or something that at least point to the next basket.

On several holes I would suggest a spotter. Holes #6 and #8 are two that you should probably use one on.

I tend to stay away from most 9 hole courses. But I figured I would check this one out because of the reviews. I may not play this course as much as some of the nicer 18 and 21 hole courses, but I'll probably try to make it out there about once a month. If you live close this might be your new favorite course. It's got the potential to be a really fun round.

This course is laid out on a diverse piece of land. It has a little elevation, wooded areas, wide-open spots, and the sparse tree like areas as well. The pin placements were mostly in clever locations (except for a couple). I actually think the baskets locations were really the only bragging portion of this course. There is decent parking. This place does have potential with the way the park is set up and the variety of terrain.

The baskets were of a single chain type and not in the best shape, the tee pads were rough, and the wooden tee-sign posts (the ones still there) have just the number on them (mostly). Navigation was a bit of a nightmare. Where is Pocahontas when you need her? The logic of the holes layout was bit odd as very few holes flowed like you would expect. I doubt this really getting maintained that often. The grass was shaggy in many locations, but this is a big park. There did seem to be the occasional pedestrians walking around and through the course. So keep safety in mind.

The Fun Factor is above average. Now that I said that, it was a tough decision. Once you figure the place out, the holes can seem quite fun, but the conditions just wear you back down (single chain baskets, and poor tee areas). This could really be something if more time was taken and some adjustments were made. If you had a guide, I would play it anyway.

The best features of this course are the rolling hills that set it apart from most Houston courses. Plenty of up and down shots, blind basket placements, good balance of left and right turns. I also like the fact that the rough areas are not that rough. Hole #5 used to be a messy grassland but now the parks department seems to have really cleaned all the holes up. The rows of trees create some nice tunnel shots that arent too ridiculous for the most part.

Hole #3: basket needs to be moved, the shot makes no sense

Hole #5: the tees should be moved to create a reasonable line to the basket

A foot bridge or some kind of clearing in the middle of hole 1 would also help as people mentioned before, after you throw your drive you must cross a nasty ditch area.

This course posesses some of the strongest holes and some of the weakest. But that can be easily corrected with some simple adjustments to tees or baskets.