Brackenridge Park Golf Course

George Washington Brackenridge donated 100-plus acres of land to the city to create Brackenridge Park, the park in which the present day Brackenridge Park Golf Course is located.[3]

Ray Lambert's appointment as City Parks Commissioner in 1915 began a new era for Brackenridge Park. Lambert inherited a parks system that was underfunded and growing quickly. He immediately asked for almost a threefold increase in budget (to $60,000), and earmarked much of this increase for the further development of Brackenridge Park. One of Lambert's major projects was the construction of a public golf course. A public course had been advocated by golf enthusiasts for many years as a tourist attraction for the City. There were three other courses in San Antonio at that time, all private. In October 1915, it was reported that the 18-hole Brackenridge Park golf course was under construction. Noted course designer A.W. Tillinghast was hired to design and build the golf course. A clubhouse was also proposed, as well as a swimming hole "so that after the game the players may enjoy a plunge in the delightful waters of the San Antonio River."[4]

Currently the historic golf course remains in operation near downtown, and in close proximity to the San Antonio Zoo and Aquarium. San Antonio landmarks, the Witte Museum and San Antonio Japanese Tea Gardens, are also located nearby.

The original clubhouse was a small one-story building that burned down in 1920. In 1922, the City hired Ralph H. Cameron to design and build a new clubhouse for the golf course and the Texas Open. $8,000 was raised by the City for clubhouse construction. Cameron designed other notable San Antonio buildings, including the Scottish Rite Cathedral (1923), Neo-Gothic Medical Arts Building (1925), the Frost Brothers Store (1930), and the U.S. Post Office and Court House (1937).[5]

The Borglum Studio (Oct. 2012)

An adjacent building to the Brackenridge Park Golf Clubhouse once served as the working studio for artist Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor who created the heads of the U.S. Presidents on Mount Rushmore. The structure was built in 1885 from local limestone and timbers to serve as a water pumping station. In 1905, the pump house became obsolete with the drilling of artisan wells into the Edwards Aquifer. Around the abandoned pump house, the untamed land was sculpted into a golf course. In Reid Meyers' self-published book, "The Ghosts of Old Brack," he spotlights Gutzon Borglum's arrival in San Antonio in 1924 and his rental of the old pump house. Through the windows, he likely would have seen golfers warming up. "That was what made it nice as an artist studio, the setting and light, the large space," says San Antonio historian Maria Watson Pfeiffer.

After Borglum's use of the studio passed, it served as the creative space of other noted regional artists, and art students of the Wiite and Fort Sam Houston.[6]

Today, the Borglum Studio looks out on the 17th hole of the golf course.

U.S. Air Force General Bernard Adolph Schriever grew up in a small house near the 12th green of the historic layout of Brackenridge Park. He and his younger brother, Gerhardt, were best friends with Tod Menefee and the Schriever's mother (Elizabeth) operated a small but popular sandwich stand for the golfers in the back yard. Bernard won the State Junior and the San Antonio City Golf Championship twice. He captained the Texas A&M golf team for two years before entering the army. He is mostly known for his role in the air force's space and missile program, and managing the nuclear arsenal during the Cold War. In 2011, Bernard was inducted into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame posthumously (died in 2005). His 97-year-old brother Gerhardt Schriever was there to accept the honor.[7]

In 1939, Harold "Jug" McSpaden posted the course record of 59 during an exhibition match played with Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, and Paul Runyan.[8]

Mike Souchak set a PGA Tour 72-hole record of 257 at the 1955 Texas Open. The record held until 2001.[8]

Three of the first six 60s shot in PGA Tour history came at Brackenridge Park. Al Brosch was the first to do it, with an 11-under during the third round of the 1951 Texas Open. In 1954, Ted Kroll matched Brosch, with a 60 of his own, also during the third round of the Texas Open. The following year, Souchak opened the Texas Open with a 60 (27-33) on his way to the 257 that gave him the title that season.

The Texas Open was held at Brackenridge Park in: 1922-1926, 1929-1932, 1934, 1939-1940, 1950-1955, and 1957-1959. No tournament was played in 1933 and 1935-1938. The Texas Open was the first professional golf tournament in Texas and one of the first events to be played during the winter. The first Open held in 1922 had a $5,000 purse, the largest purse of any golf tournament at the time. In 1960, the San Antonio Golf Association moved the Texas Open to Oak Hills Country Club, another Tillinghast designed course.[9]

Texas Open winners at Brackenridge Park Golf Course

Year	Player	Country	Score	To par	1st Prize ($)	Purse ($)	Ref
1959	Wes Ellis	United States	276	-8	2,800	20,000	[10]
1958	Bill Johnston	United States	274	-10	2,000	15,000	[11]
1957	Jay Hebert	United States	271	-13	2,800	20,000	[12]
1955	Mike Souchak	United States	257	-27	2,200	12,500	[13]
1954	Chandler Harper	United States	259	-25	2,200	12,500	[14]
1953	Tony Holguin	United States	264	-20	2,000	10,000	[15]
1952	Jack Burke, Jr.	United States	260	-24	2,000	10,000	[16][17]
1951	Dutch Harrison	United States	265*	-19	2,000	10,000	[18][19]
1950	Sam Snead	United States	265	-19	2,000	10,000	[20]
1940	Byron Nelson	United States	271*	-13	1,500	5,000	[21][22][23]
1939	Dutch Harrison	United States	271	-13	1,250	5,000	[24][25]
1935–38	No tournament
1934	Wiffy Cox	United States	283	-5	750	2,500	[26][27]
1932	Clarence Clark	United States	287	+3	600	2,500	[28][29]
1931	Abe Espinosa	United States	281	-3	1,500	6,000	[30][31]
1930	Denny Shute	United States	277	-7	1,500	7,500	[32][33]
1929	Bill Mehlhorn	United States	277	-7	1,500	6,500	[34][35]
1926	Macdonald Smith	Scotland	288	+4	1,500	8,000	[36][37][38]
1925	Joe Turnesa	United States	284	E	1,500	6,000	[39]
1924	Joe Kirkwood, Sr.	Australia	279		1,500	6,000	[40]
1923	Walter Hagen	United States	279*		1,500	6,000	[41][42]
1922	Robert MacDonald		281		1,500	5,000	[43]

* Indicates a win in a playoff
^ Indicates weather-shortened to 54 holes
Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.
Main sources[44][45][46]

Fairways Grass: TifSport Bermuda.

Greens: Miniverde Ultradwarf Bermuda

Water hazards: Moderate

Sand Bunkers: Heavy

1968

Brackenridge was completely renovated and remodeled in 1968 due to the construction project on 281 and I-35. The controversial decision to construct U.S. 281 right through the back nine caused the course to lose 10 acres, and a few of the long par 4s on the back nine were shortened. The architecture firm Johnson and Dempsey and Associates, along with George A. Hoffman and Murray Brooks, redesigned the back nine holes to fit on smaller property. Ponds were added to the course but the river was filled in throughout certain parts of the golf course.[49]

2008

The golf course experienced a revival in 2008 after a $4.5 million renovation. Architect John Colligan restored fifteen of the original 18 holes; the course now measures 6,243 yards from the back tees (par-71) and occupies only 113 acres of urban green space.[50]

In 2012, Brackenridge Park Golf Course was ranked the 29th Best Municipal Golf Course in the United States by Golf Week.[51] The course was also ranked the 16th Best Course in Texas.[52]