Stevens Park

Stevens Park Golf Course has played a key role in the history of Texas golf.   It's the oldest of Dallas' five city owned course.  Stevens Park is nestled in the rolling hills of one of the prettiest neighborhoods of Dallas.  Located in Kessler Park just SW of downtown Dallas Stevens Park was a favorite course for some of golf's greats including Don January, Lee Trevino and Lloyd Mangrum.

Stevens Park was a quirky little course squeezed in a rather small piece of land straddling Coombs Creek.  But in 2011 the course went through a full reconstruction directed by John Colligan and Trey Kemp.  And they did a wonderful job on rebuilding the course.  Stevens Park now carries the nickname "Little Augusta" due to its hills, variety of trees and beautiful flowers.  It's loaded with bright red roses which stay in full color long after Augusta's azaleas are gone.

My son and his friends have enjoyed playing Stevens Park due to its uniqueness, location and value.  So I was there at 7;00 this morning.    I was greeted by their upbeat Assistant Pro, Mike Sarap, and sent out for a fun round.  Last year I'd played the white tees and found the course to be a little too short for my game.  Today I played the blue tees and scored much better than last year.  However I'd forgotten some keys from last year.  On the blind dogleg left par 5 6th hole I hit a good drive down the middle but played my 2nd shot at some tall trees that I thought were at the far corner of the dogleg.  You need to choose to play conservatively to the right of those trees or take a risky short cut left of the trees.

And on the 16th hole I forgot to try to fade a shot off the tee around the trees on the right.  I laid up in the middle of the fairway but too short for a safe shot over the creek and up the steep bank to a long left green.  Next time I'll remember!

 My memories of the course will certainly be the hills and the views of the downtown Dallas skyline.  Head pro, Jim Henderson, (27 years on the job!) told me Stevens Park GC was used as the venue for some key scenes in the TV show "Dallas" for those skyline shots.

I'll also remember some special holes that rank high in the "fun factor".   I hit a long-iron off the 3rd tee based on advice from my last year's playing partners as the hole is a 90 degree right turn to a steep uphill shot to the green.  The 9th hole is a long, straight beauty finishing with an uphill shot toward the clubhouse.  The hole measures a big 602 yards from the black tees.

I enjoyed the back nine even more than the front largely due to the scenery.  The 10th hole is a nice risk/reward birdie opportunity if you can nail two nice shots first downhill off the tee then uphill to a pretty green with a colorful floral backdrop of nandinas and roses.   Then the 11th tee box provides the first great view of the Dallas skyline.  The view is even better on the 15th hole.  The 18th hole is a rather tight and challenging uphill finish toward the scenic stone patio of the remodeled old clubhouse.

Some other points of Stevens Park uniqueness are:  1) greens with odd geometric shapes including square corners, 2) very soft and dry sand in all the fairway and greenside bunkers and 3) two small driving cages in lieu of a driving range in this charming,  limited space neighborhood and some shots that definitely made easier with some local knowledge help.

The course was in nice condition especially considering this was late April and North Texas has received some tremendous rainstorms and flash floods in recent weeks.  I'm anxious to play it again this summer and fall.. off the blue tees.

Sam Sherstad

Writer, Recreation Travel Reviews  TexasOutside.com