Cedar Crest Park Golf Course

Detailed description of Cedar Crest Park Golf Course

Cedar Crest Park Golf Course, is a Public, 18 hole golf course located in Dallas, Texas.

All of this area that is known as Cedar Crest Golf Course was part of the original survey of 640 acres granted by the State of Texas to Lorenzo Van Cleve as a Peters Colony land grant. Alabama native William Brown Miller came to Texas in 1846 and purchased this land and additional acres for $1.00 an acre. Miller with his family and slaves built first a log house and second a large home known as Millermore, now at Old City Park.

Cedar Crest was first developed as a private country club in 1916. The 18-hole golf course was designed by A. W. Tillinghast.

Dallas business man, Sol Dreyfuss offered $12,000.00 to host the 1927 PGA Championship at Cedar Crest. During the semi-final match, Walter Hagen crossed paths with a future great of the game. While his competitor, Al Espinosa, held as much as a four-hole lead, a fifteen year old boy was following Hagen. As the match approached the 13th hole of the second round (matches were 36 holes back then) Hagen was on the brink of elimination. The sun was shining directly into Hagen's eyes as he was about to hit his second shot on the par four. The boy offered his baseball cap to Hagen to shield his eyes. Hagen was extremely proud of his slicked-back, jet black hair and never wore a hat; however, he accepted the cap. As he swung, the cap fell to the ground, but the ball landed on the green and he won the hole. Hagen went on to win the match in extra holes over Jim Turnesa in the final championship the next day. Who was the lad that gave Hagen the cap? Byron Nelson!

The Club operated a few more years, but the stock market crash and subsequent depression had badly hurt the members of Cedar Crest. The club closed down and was ultimately purchased by the Schoellkopf family in 1930 Gus Schoellkopf had come to Dallas County in 1869 to buy buffalo hides and establish a small saddle shop on the Courthouse Square. His business flourished and Dallas became world renowned for its leather products.

The Schoellkopfs put the property under a caretaker's supervision until after World War II. In April 1946 the Park Department purchased the facility for $135,551.46 from Fred and Hugo Schoellkopf, trustees for the G.H. Schoellkopf estate.

The club enjoyed little popularity initially. Much of the championship character was lost when the traps were filled in and the fairways widened to accommodate the anticipated increased play. The old clubhouse was torn down and replaced by an efficient, smaller structure.

In 2001, a $2 million, 2-story pro shop and reservation facility was completed and opened. The new facility pays homage to the original clubhouse built in 1919 by capturing the spirit of the original design.

In 2004, Cedar Crest Golf Course completed a $3 million renovation project that included the addition of a practice range and a lake. Enhancements to the 84-year-old grand dame of the City of Dallas courses also included a state-of-the-art teaching center, a computerized pumping and irrigation system, new tees and greens, and sand bunkers. D.A. Weibring, D.A. Weibring/Golf Resources Group, Inc., were the project designers.

With the lake's construction, Cedar Crest has become Dallas Water Utilities' first customer of treated wastewater. In its effort to conserve potable water, a major strategy for Dallas Water Utilities is to use treated wastewater for irrigation. The golf course's proximity to the South Dallas Wastewater Treatment Plant and its high water usage are ideal for this type of irrigation.