Cedar Crest Golf Course

About
The revered A.W. Tillinghast didn’t do many Texas courses, but old 1919 Cedar Crest was one of them, a course that hosted the 1927 PGA Championship won by Walter Hagen. Tillie’s design takes advantage of this unusually hilly area of Dallas, with generous tree-lined fairways that often leave you with uneven lies. The trick here is in dealing with the small, fast greens, which are hard to hold–especially on the long par 3s. Four of the five par 3s play over 200 yards from the tips.
The city of Dallas bought the course in 1947 for $130,000 and has owned it ever since. The clubhouse was renovated recently.
Getting there : From Hwy. 45 south, take the Martin Luther King Jr exit and turn right. This road turns into Cedar Crest, which dead- ends at the course.
Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
---|---|---|---|---|
Black | 70 | 6532 yards | 71.7 | 133 |
Gold | 71 | 6130 yards | 69.3 | 128 |
Silver | 71 | 5651 yards | 67.6 | 123 |
Ruby | 71 | 4969 yards | 65.3 | 118 |
Family | 72 | 3175 yards |
Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tournament M: 73.8/134 | 611 | 362 | 206 | 467 | 402 | 185 | 552 | 315 | 180 | 3280 | 482 | 226 | 358 | 408 | 551 | 211 | 561 | 221 | 428 | 3446 | 6726 |
Black M: 73.2/132 W: 79.7/141 | 602 | 350 | 200 | 462 | 385 | 182 | 538 | 303 | 177 | 3199 | 474 | 220 | 340 | 390 | 559 | 208 | 556 | 218 | 418 | 3383 | 6582 |
Gold M: 70.8/134 W: 77.1/136 | 586 | 342 | 175 | 445 | 360 | 169 | 485 | 290 | 161 | 3013 | 456 | 187 | 322 | 365 | 520 | 187 | 495 | 175 | 394 | 3101 | 6114 |
Silver M: 69.1/125 W: 74.6/131 | 562 | 327 | 157 | 428 | 335 | 153 | 465 | 276 | 138 | 2841 | 447 | 167 | 298 | 338 | 485 | 161 | 466 | 147 | 325 | 2834 | 5675 |
Ruby M: 65.2/112 W: 70.3/126 | 485 | 273 | 134 | 328 | 282 | 136 | 410 | 247 | 127 | 2422 | 443 | 137 | 274 | 286 | 423 | 138 | 400 | 128 | 251 | 2480 | 4902 |
Handicap | 2 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 16 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 18 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 5 | 14 | |||
Par | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 35 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 70 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
Bar, Snacks, Grill, RestaurantAvailable Facilities
Clubhouse, Conference Facilities, Banquet Facilities, Locker RoomsReviews
Reviewer Photos
Social Distancing
Course was in good shape. However you can't social distance because riding single in a cart is not an option unless each person in your party pays a double cart fee.
Favorite Dallas Muni
I have played here about 5 times since moving to downtown Dallas and it has become my favorite course in the city. Now, when i look at all factors it is the clear winner. First, its about $40 to ride on the weekends and about $20 to walk weekday. the layout is perfect with some long holes and some really short fun holes. Great elevation change for a Dallas course. Greens always rolling pretty well. its a breeze to walk and the number 1 tee has a pretty awesome view of east Dallas. only renovation needed might be the practice green area near the range. Amazing Course i would definitely recommend and one that some of the greatest players in history have played(the old layout).
Fast and Firm!
The course is playing extremely fast and firm with the dormant grass, be mindful of your line off the tee to avoid trouble. Greens are still quite firm, but roll true. Hopefully the weather stays warm and I'll keep playing here!
Still great!
This course is still in great shape. Greens are rolling pure, but are still very firm on approach shots - keep that in mind. The wind picked up on a few holes, down-wind, which made for some longer that normal drives. I'd play this course every week if I could.
First Time Playing
The course was recently renovated by DA Weibring, hosted a PGA Championship won by Walter Hagen back in the day. i've never played it before and while it's not in the best neighborhood I'll find my way back down. Fun course with a good mix of challenging holes and go for it holes. The conditions were pretty good and the greens rolled quick but could stand a rolling to take out some bumps. They did a good job on the renovation, hopefully they can keep the course in good shape.
Great!
The course is in amazing shape right now. Lots of recent rain has soften the conditions, but still allows for decent amount of roll on tee shots. Greens are really nice! See pic, that's #17.
Terrible
Absolutely the worst conditions I have ever seen this course. Ive played here for 15 plus years and I've never seeen such lack of care for a course anywhere in this state. I wouldn't recommend this course to anyone even for free in the condition it's in. That's pretty sad when this used to be one of my favorites. I doubt I will ever play here again and I will ABSOLUTELY refer everyone I know anywhere else but here. Sad to see such s great course go to such a sad condition. The staff is great. $50 to play in the uncared for course is robbery. Hope things get changed.
Greens still recovering
Teed off late Saturday afternoon with another single who had played the course before, which was helpful because this was my first time. The greens are still recovering from a recent punch, and there are some bare (sanded) areas on the edges from a lot of foot traffic. Lots of undulation change and roll out on this course.
Walking/carrying my bag was a little challenging given that I had already walked 18 earlier in the day elsewhere.
I'm excited to play this course again once the greens have healed.
Cedar Crest
The course has recently re-opened after undergoing a renovation. Its in great winter shape! The greens are small and roll true. Bunkers are in terrific shape. The course is not overly long, so driver is not needed on every hole. Cedar Crest was designed by A. W. Tillinghast and was the site of the PGA Championship in 1927, won by Walter Hagen. Overall this is a fun track and I will play here again.
Dallas Gem
One of the best if not the best public course in the Dallas metro area. Fantastic layout featuring creative and different holes that let you use every club in the bag. Course is in great shape for February. Greens in excellent shape. For the price maybe the best bang for your buck on weekends.
Brown Greens
I was looking forward to playing this course since it had been more than a year, and I enjoyed it then.
This time the tee boxes and fairways were in good shape, but the "greens" were appalling. They were nearly black with many dried mud areas. No approaches would hold, and putts would roll completely off. The practice putting area should have warned us, but we decided to play anyway. I doubt that these greens will be playable for many months.

Once the course re-opens give it another chance. All the greens are being completely renovated and not expected to re-open until Sept. 2016. I'm hoping once it re-opens, these repairs will return it to it's glory days.
Great old course, but.....
I grew up on this course and it's where I learned to play. I went to play there on 5-2-2016 and the course was closed for renovations. They aren't scheduled to re-open until Sept. 2016. All of the greens and tee boxes are being completely renovated. I'll update once it's re-opened.
Good Value Muni
Cedar Crest is a fun muni and a great value, especially compared to the other Dallas munis.
Tee boxes and fairways are in very good condition. Green conditions are spotty but they do a good job in placing the pins away from the rough spots on the greens.
At $18 (walking), it's a great value. Challenging course (short) that makes you use the whole bag. I'd leave the 3W at home and replace it with a driving iron or additional low hybrid.
Staff is nice and helpful, atmosphere is great.
Cedar Crest gets a bad rap on being in a bad neighborhood. I've played it several times and always felt comfortable and safe, usually playing as a single early in the morning..
Be on your game
This course is old and can really fool you. Shot making is key on more that half of these holds. They had the PGA Championship here in the 50s and I can see why. You have a lot of left to right shots, long shots and plenty of trees to deal with. most of the hole have elevated greens with some sand traps. this is not a place for beginners, you will just hold up play for everyone. Let time i was there is the fairways and greens were in very good shape. but as always Dallas summers can be hard on any golf course. This course is not in the best part of Dallas, but it is well worth going there is you really like a challenge. i really like this course and it plays fast most of the time.
Late afternoon round
Myself ,a friend and my gf ran out on a late afternoon to catch a round at Cedar Crest. Found the course rather easily and staff was doing a good job. Fairways , tee boxes in good shape but greens we terrible!! Sandy , bumpy , dry and in poor shape. Late twilight rate made it ok but that was all. # 16 and 18 are good holes. This course was the site of a PGA major many years ago so it was once a great place to play but the years have taken its toll. Clubhouse newer and looks great.
Great Value
I play this course often. The course is fairly forgiving - not much water and pretty wide fairways. Greens are in good shape. Pace can be very slow on occassion. A little bit out of the way, but the course is really well laid out and for the money is definitely worth trying.
JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa Stay & Play Package
Horseshoe Bay Resort Stay & Play Package
The La Cantera Resort & Spa Package
Mystic Creek Experience Stay & Play Package

We almost did not play due to the previous review and are very glad that we decided to take our chances.
The lay out is good and the lies can be challenging. Yes a few bald spots here and there but overall it is in good shape. Our two groups had a good day, we played after the rain and it drained very well. We will go back