Tenison Park has Dallas’ first municipally owned golf course.
Amateurs and professionals alike have been using it since it opened in 1924.
The Tenison Glen course was designed by architect Ralph Plummer and in 1968 was the site of the USGA Public Links Championships. The course was named for E. O. Tenison and his wife, who donated the land the course sits on to the Dallas Park and Recreation Board in honor of their son, who died in 1920.
This area of our neighborhood is still changing, especially with the Samuell Grand master plan redesign, which called for a reduction of the 18-hole Tenison Glen course to a nine-hole course, among other modifications.
Take a look back at this silent video from the early 1970s, which shows people enjoying the course and the natural area, including White Rock Creek, which runs through it. The video comes from the G. William Jones Film and Video Collection at SMU.
The first scene in the video shows the Memorial Gates, which are at the intersection of Samuell Boulevard and Tenison Parkway. These are just a couple significant features of the park. There’s also the stone clubhouse, which was built in 1940 and paid for in part by Works Progress Administration funds. Though the clubhouse’s interior was redone in 1995, the exterior stone remains.
In addition to the golf course, neighbors can also use the tennis courts and baseball fields, two amenities also shown in the video.
