Midland approves a second major course rebuild
On 14 October 2026, the City of Midland, Texas, announced council approval for an extensive renovation of the Roadrunner Course, one of the two 18-hole public layouts at The Courses at Hogan Park. Work is scheduled to begin during the first week of November 2026. This is a distinct project from the renovation of the adjoining Quail Course; the two courses share a municipal golf complex but have different construction phases.
A different routing and five practice holes
Roadrunner's first six holes are slated for complete renovation. The city intends to reroute holes 7–18, creating enough room for five new practice holes. The plan therefore changes how the property is organized, not simply the condition of existing playing surfaces. Dedicated practice holes can broaden the options for instruction and skills development, although details of their future use have yet to be published.
The project calls for all-new greens, tees and bunkers. The bunkers will feature revetted faces, a construction style using built-up turf-faced walls to create defined hazards. Holes 7–18 will also receive new cart paths and additional topsoil to improve growing conditions. The city has not published an updated course map or confirmed how particular individual holes will play after reconstruction.
Irrigation, drainage and turf
A new irrigation system and new drainage infrastructure form a major part of the undertaking. Reverse-osmosis-treated water is planned for the green surrounds. The entire course is to be regrassed, with TifTuf Bermudagrass specified for fairways, tees and rough, and bentgrass for the putting greens. Those are project specifications; no verified percentage reduction in water use or maintenance costs has been announced.
The drainage works also incorporate material reuse. Concrete from the existing cart paths will be repurposed to form walls for a new drainage channel, which a new cart bridge will cross. More than 50 trees are to be planted. These choices put water management and site resilience alongside traditional course architecture.
Public access: what has and has not been confirmed
The venue is located at 3600 N Fairgrounds Road, Midland, TX 79705, United States. Roadrunner is a municipal course. While the city has given an early-November construction start, it has not specified a completion date or an exact closure and reopening timetable. Golfers should not interpret the approval as confirmation that Roadrunner will be playable on a particular date next year.
The neighboring Quail Course is expected to return to public play on 30 October 2026, just before Roadrunner's next construction phase begins. That is the city's announced target, not a guarantee of available tee times. Players should consult The Courses at Hogan Park directly for current playing options and reservations.
Why the project matters
The scope is unusually broad for a city-operated facility: all greens and bunkers are being reconstructed, the main routing is altered, five practice holes are added, and both turf and water systems are replaced. Together these changes may affect how beginners learn, how regular players approach holes and how the city maintains public golf in West Texas. Their results and any access restrictions will need to be judged against future official updates.
Primary source: City of Midland news release dated 14 October 2026: https://www.midlandtexas.gov/m/NewsFlash/Home/Detail/1998. Venue address: https://www.midlandtexas.gov/1425/The-Courses-at-Hogan-Park.
Image note: Archival photograph of the 16th hole at Lions Municipal Golf Course, Austin, Texas — not Roadrunner and not the renovation. Creator Magnushopium, Wikimedia Commons, 28 August 2025; CC0 1.0, commercial use allowed: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lions_Municipal_Golf_Course_-_16th_hole.jpg.
