Cedar Crest

[mike_beene]

The City of Dallas has hired D.A. Weibring to redo-restore Cedar Crest.Cedar Crest was built by Tillinghast in the 1920s and hosted a PGA before going bankrupt and being taken over by the city during the depression.There are currently very few bunkers but the city has built a new clubhouse and the course is five minutes from downtown.I dont know if original plans exist or how much of this is a renovation vs a restoration.Weibring has done a great job at Royal Oaks,with great variety around the greens.He was at Royal Oaks the day I looked at it and said he wanted greenside shots to have options and he used chipping areas to flow from tee to green and encourage walking.He seems good for Cedar Crest.

[rpurd]

I think this course has some real potential.....the only negative I see is the location (have to go through a real bad neighborhood to get there).  I really like the par-3's, and that #1 hole is a testy par-5 (reachable, but if you go right you are dead).  I hope DA does the course justice, there is great history. It will be nice to see a sister to Tennison in the restoration game!

[mike_beene]

As one who has spent a lot of time in central Dallas,it feels a lot safer than Brookhollow.Plus,the redevelopment in Dallas is exciting.

[Lou Duran]

Mike,

When are they going to start?  If it is open, want to walk a quick round before the end of the year?  I played a couple tournaments out there years ago and was not terribly impressed.  Certainly, you wouldn't compare it to Brook Hollow, would you?

[SteveC]

Lou,

Cedar Crest is a long way from Brook Hollow, literally and figuratively. It'll take some serious money to get the place in shape to make it a place worth going out of your way for - its desirability may ultimately lie in the fact that it is a Tillinghast design - assuming D. A. doesn't reinvent the wheel over there.

Mike,

Trust me, on the safety scale, Brook Hollow is a very safe place. Cedar Crest's location is quite a bit dicier.

Steve

[rpurd]

The neighborhood to get to Cedar Crest is a war zone.  You are afraid to stop at the red lights.  I never had any problem getting to Brook Hollow........

[mike_beene]

Lou,I wouldn't come close to comparing Cedar Crest to Brook Hollow,which I think is underrated and probably Texas best course.I don't think the land at Cedar Crest is nearly as good as Tenison.I don't see how it could come close to Brook Hollow,Lakewood or Royal Oaks,but the history is interesting.I'm not saying the Cedar Crest neighborhood is stellar,but driving down Harry Hines keeps me wide awake(there have been several driveway robberies on my street this year,even though we have an off-duty officer,so no place is safe)I'm not sure if they've started on the work.

[Coral_Ridge]

Kudos to any group and or persons who support and contribute to "revamping" these older public, and many times historical golf courses.  Cedar Crest is in a rundown section of town.  Many of the sand traps were removed in order to make it easier to maintain and to speed up public play.  As a single I went over to play this golf course, while living in Dallas, but changed my mind when I found out that it did not resemble the golf course of old.

[Mike_Cirba]

Cedar Crest would certainly benefit from some type of restoration....other than most of the routing and the green contours, most of the other Tillie features have been removed over the years....particularly bunkering, and it seems the greens have shrunk, as well.

The land itself is pretty darn good for the Dallas area, with some really good countour.  There are also any number of interesting holes and some elevated greens that can play havoc if you're behind the hole.

However, I have to ask what qualifies D.A. Weibring as a "Tillinghast restoration expert"?  I must say I've never seen his work, but I'm always a bit skeptical at the "pro turned archie" scenario.  

I have a strong sense that what will be done here is not a restoration at all, but a modernization.  I suspect the final result will look as much like Tillinghast as the current course does, which is not much at all.  

I guess that a new, modernized, improved Cedar Crest will probably be a benefit to the citizens of Dallas, but I'm not sure that the historical interest (the Tillie course was a PGA Championship site, won by Hagen, I believe) will remain if the last tidbits of Tillie are removed in the process.

[Derek Holland]

Interested if anyone has thoughts since the Reno/Resto? I am going to be in the area for work and was thinking about visiting but wondering if any here have insight to if it is worthwhile and if it was more of a renovation or a restoration that took place. Thanks!

[mike_beene]

I played it once a couple of years ago and did not care for it. They moved some holes around to make a range. I can't believe my younger self put Brook Hollow in the came sentence as Cedar Crest. I also can't believe I thought much of Royal Oaks back in 2003.

[Conley Hurst]

Coincidentally, I just played this course yesterday for the first time while I was in Dallas visiting friends. It is a solid course for a municipal operation in a rough neighborhood. The property has some nice movement, and the course was playing beautifully firm.


I have no knowledge of what the course looked like before the D.A. Weibring treatment or what it originally looked like for the '27 PGA, but, to my eye, it was surely more of a renovation than a restoration. Other than a few nicely routed holes, there was sadly no trace of Tillinghast. Don't expect much in terms of golden age architecture, but it is an enjoyable course for the money.

[Greg Clark]

Cedar Crest saw another recent renovation since the one mentioned in this old thread.  I believe it was completed in late 2016.  The greens were pretty much lost.  The cost was around $1M and included a new irrigation system, MiniVerde greens, and reshaping of many bunkers.  Definitely not a restoration, and I doubt much Tillinghast remains.


As mentioned, the course sits on interesting land, has a walkable routing, and an affordable price ($28 to walk on weekends).  It is worth playing.  While the area is a bit dodgy, there are worse in South Dallas, and the neighborhood directly by the course, while older, is kind of lower middle class with fairly well kept houses.  The reputation of the area surely drives away customers, but I think it is a bit over-stated.


The head pro there, Ira McGraw Jr, received some acclaim a few years back.  He had noticed a young area kid sneaking on to the golf course.  He became a mentor, coach and ultimately a legal guardian for the young man.  He went on to play golf at Texas Southern I belive.