Municipal golf courses in the Rio Grande Valley, compared on price and access

The municipal golf courses in the Rio Grande Valley are seven city-run courses, from Shary in Mission to Brownsville Golf Center. Posted 18-hole rates run from $21 walking at Shary to $47 with a cart at McAllen's Champion Lakes (seen October 2026), and several sell season passes or punch cards that suit Winter Texans.

City courses are the backbone of Valley golf. They are cheap, central and busy from November to March, and they host most of the Winter Texan leagues. This guide compares them on price, access, booking and drive time, so you can pick a home course and a few extras.

Quick facts

• City courses open to the public: 7 (5 in the McAllen area, 1 in Harlingen, 1 in Brownsville).
• Lowest posted 18: $21 walking at Shary (undated city sheet, seen October 2026).
• Best season pass: Tierra del Sol, $800 for three months of daily golf with a cart.
• Toughest: Los Lagos, 7,188 yards, 132 slope.
• Night golf: Shary, last tee time 11 PM.
• Busiest in winter: Champion Lakes, home to about thirty Winter Texan leagues.
• Closed: Fort Brown Memorial in Brownsville (about 2015).

Municipal golf courses in the Rio Grande Valley side by side

Rates were read on October 26, 2026. Champion Lakes' card took effect February 1, 2026; Tierra del Sol's says "subject to change"; Shary's sheet is undated; the Tony Butler figure comes from a news report whose year is not shown. Drive times are routed estimates from downtown McAllen. Shary's cart price is $25 for 18 ($12.50 each when two share), added to the walking fee in the table.

The McAllen-area city courses

Champion Lakes (McAllen)

McAllen's city course was called Palm View until its rename, and many players still use the old name. It is a flat 18 with lakes, rebuilt in 1999, with a lit range open to 10 PM. Rates from February 2026: $33 to walk 18, $21.50 for 9, cart $14 per person for 18. Twilight is $37 with cart from 2 PM (3 PM in daylight saving time), and the afternoon couples rate is $30 for two with a cart from 4 PM standard time. A 20-round Smart Card is $561.

It is home to about thirty Winter Texan leagues, so winter mornings are busy. Tee times are on the city's Club Prophet system. Our Champion Lakes golf course in McAllen post has the full rundown, and the Champion Lakes course guide has the layout.

Shary Municipal (Mission)

Mission's course has 27 flat holes and is lit for night golf until an 11 PM last tee time. It is the cheapest posted 18 in the Valley at $21 walking. Reservations are by phone or walk-in; there is no online booking link on the city page. The city sells an annual green-fee membership at $900, and a rate sheet we saw showed a 20-round 18-hole card at $400, about $20 a round. See Shary golf course in Mission.

Tierra del Sol (Pharr)

Pharr's 1982 course is a flat 18 at 6,827 yards from the back, with online tee times and the clearest rate card in the Valley. Beyond the daily rates in the table, it sells:

• 3 months, single $800 or couple $1,200, one round a day with cart (extra months $350 or $500).
• 1 month single with cart, $350, April to December only.
• Annual: single $1,100, couple $1,700.
• Punch cards with cart: 10 rounds $340, 25 rounds $850.

The 10-round card works out at $34 a round against the $41 daily cart rate. The Tierra del Sol course guide has the details.

Los Lagos and Ebony Hills (Edinburg)

Edinburg runs two courses. Los Lagos is the big one: a 2001 Robert von Hagge layout at 7,188 yards, 74.2 rating and 132 slope, with 11 acres of lakes and a signature par-3 14th over water. Reviews on GolfPass are poor on conditions and pace (1.9 out of 5 from 72) but kinder to the layout. Ebony Hills is a 1927 John Bredemus nine, popular with Winter Texans, with a new clubhouse under construction until summer 2027.

Both book on Teesnap and neither had a current rate card online. Troon was selected in September 2026 to take over operations from late 2026, so check recent reviews and rates. Our Los Lagos golf in Edinburg post covers it in more depth.

The east-Valley city courses

Tony Butler (Harlingen)

Harlingen's 27-hole city course is a flat parkland 18 of about 6,400 yards plus a 2,600-yard nine. A Valley Morning Star report said the city raised the green fee with cart from $28 to $36 effective November 7 for the Winter Texan return, but the year is not shown, so confirm the current rate. It gets about 40,000 rounds a year. The Tony Butler course guide and our Tony Butler golf course in Harlingen post have more.

Brownsville Golf Center

Brownsville's city course is a flat 6,144-yard par 70 with ponds and bermuda greens, opened in 1971. A phased renovation in 2026 resurfaced tees, rebuilt greens, treated fairways and fixed pond drainage; KRGV put the cost at $42,000. It has a putting green but no driving range. No rates are published, though the city says its rates are often the lowest in every season. Tee times are on TeeOff.

Not open

Fort Brown Memorial in Brownsville, once a public course beside the river levee, closed around 2015 after the border fence cut it off. Raymondville Municipal, north of Harlingen, is status unclear, call first.

How to choose a home city course

• Lowest cost per round over a winter: Tierra del Sol's 3-month package if you will play most days; Shary's 20-round card if you play two or three times a week.
• Most central: Champion Lakes, 7 minutes from downtown McAllen, with twilight and couples rates for afternoon golf.
• Best test: Los Lagos, once you have checked current conditions.
• Late golf: Shary, lit until 11 PM tee times.
• East Valley base: Tony Butler, then add Brownsville Golf Center or the Rancho Viejo courses.

Most city courses list no senior or Winter Texan discount, so the passes and cards are where the savings are. Compare them in Rio Grande Valley golf passes and see the lowest fees across all courses in cheap golf in the Rio Grande Valley. For the full list including resort and semi-private courses, start with Rio Grande Valley golf courses.

Booking city courses in winter

From January to mid-March, morning tee times are the hardest thing to get in the Valley. Booking windows are not published for any of the city courses. Book as soon as your dates are set, use twilight rates when mornings are full, and remember Shary's lights. Our Rio Grande Valley tee times guide covers the booking systems course by course.

Plan it on the map

Open the Rio Grande Valley golf map to see every city course with drive times from your base. The $30 plan can build a whole winter around one home municipal course, with a weekly rotation through the others.