Glen Garden Golf & Country Club, CLOSED 2014

Detailed description of Glen Garden Golf & Country Club, CLOSED 2014

Glen Garden Golf & Country Club is a Semi-Private, 18 hole golf course located in Fort Worth, Texas.

Glen Garden Golf & Country Club first opened for play in 1912 as Glen Garden Golf and Country Club, with land acquired from Mr. H.H. Cobb of the O.K. Cattle Company. Cobb was denied entry into River Crest Country Club and decided that he would take his land and build his own course. A nine-hole golf course with sand greens was constructed, and opened before River Crest could finish their 18 hole course. Another nine holes added some year or two later.

As 1 of the 2 country clubs in Fort Worth, the facility was frequently used for family outings. Golf was very popular which gave rise to the need for a caddy. In the early 1920's a caddy could earn $1.00 for a round of golf. This attracted Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson who learned to play the game on sand greens. At age 15 Hogan and Nelson played their first head to head tournament. The annual caddy championship was won by Nelson over Hogan on the final hole of a nine-hole play off. Nelson who was famous for his chip shot stymied Hogan preventing him from making his par putt.

Sandra Palmer of LPGA fame lived by the number four tee box and the club allowed "little" Sandra to skinny under the fence and hone her game in the evenings.

Byron Nelson was quoted many times as stating the Glen Garden's back nine was the most unique golf layout in the world. It has pars of 4,4,5,5,3,3,4,3,3.

Par for the course is 71. From the back tees, the course plays to 6,166 yards. From the forward tees, the course measures 5,592 yards. The longest hole on the course is # 12, a par-5 that plays to 533 yards. The shortest hole on the course is # 4, a par-3 that plays to 147 yards from the back tees.

Watch out for # 8, a 432-yard par-4 challenge and the #1 handicap hole on the course. The easiest hole at Glen Garden Golf & Country Club is # 9, a 313 yard par-4.

Glen Garden retains the original layout designed by John Bredemus, the architect who later designed the course at Colonial Country Club. But thanks to anonymous donations in 2001, the course was able to make $1.5 million in renovations. A grand re-opening was held on September 15, 2001, with Byron Nelson on hand for the ribbon cutting. The clubhouse, pool, pro shop, cart storage area and more were given cosmetic changes to update the look and feel of the Club without sacrificing its history and no changes were made to the course so that it still plays the same as when Byron Nelson, Sandra Palmer, and Ben Hogan played there.

Unfortunately, the course that hosted kid caddies Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan battle in a nine-hole caddie championship in 1926 and  was the site of Nelson's 18th PGA Tour win at the in his 1945 record-setting season is no more. Glen Gardens closed in 2014.

In 2016, two years after winning a contentious zoning approval for the project, Firestone & Robertson Distillery has received approval for vacating rights of way and a permit to start grading the property. The company plans to spend $17 million on the development.

According to a city-approved site plan, plans call for repurposing the existing clubhouse as an event venue and offices, creating an outdoor event space with night lighting and scenic views, adding five buildings for such things as a visitors center for public tours, and tasting rooms, production and bottling areas, and cottages for overnight guests.

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