Cedar Crest Golf Course
The history of Cedar Crest began in 1916. Cedar Crest was first developed as a private country club in 1916. In 1919 when the club was chartered, the trustees were Robert Shelton, Raymond Thomas, and George Reynolds. 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.
Sol Dreyfuss laid out the club. The 18-hole golf course was designed by A. W. Tillinghast. Always interested in sports, Dreyfuss once owned the Dallas Baseball Team during the 1930s. He was the Secretary-Treasurer of Dreyfuss and Son, one of the first men's clothing stores in downtown Dallas. Sol's sister, Hortense, married Lawrence Pollock. Sol was the Vice President of the Pollock Paper Company. The Dreyfuss family lived on S. Ervay in an addition in the southern sector of the city called the Cedars. In the next few years as their businesses flourished, many of the terminal merchants who had followed the Houston and Texas Central Railroad in 1872 were eventually able to build mansions in this upscale suburb of Dallas.
Back in the 20’s all it took to stage a pro golf tournament was to put up the money. In an effort to put Dallas on the map in the pro golf world, Dreyfuss offered a purse and the first Dallas Open was held at Cedar Crest in 1926. MacDonald Smith, a Scottish pro, won the first Dallas Open. It was held in the spring, but a "blue norther" had blown in on the eve of the tournament, freezing greens and fairways. Still they played with Smith shooting 301 to win.
Despite the cold, Cedar Crest made such an impression on the pros that when Dreyfuss offered $12,000.00 to host the 1927 PGA Championship, a decision was made to come south for the first time. 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 young lad of fifteen 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 lad 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. Within months, 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. It 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. To expand the golf course in 1949, an additional 6.57 acres was purchased from T.B. and Minnie Miller for about $1,000.00 an acre. In 1954, Charles Sifford led the United Golf Association pro tournament at Cedar Crest. He won the tourney and $500.00. In 1954, the United States Golf Association held its first Public Links Tournament of the Southwest at Cedar Crest.
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. Hybrid Bermuda turf has been planted on the fairways, greens and tees.
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.
Golf Professional D.A. Weibring, D.A. Weibring/Golf Resources Group, Inc., were the project designers. The renowned A. W. Tillinghast designed Cedar Crest Country Club, which opened in 1919 and was later purchased by the City in the 1940's.