Brackenridge deeded a large tract of land, now known as Brackenridge Park, to the City of San Antonio. The land was donated to the city with the condition that it should be used as a public recreation space accessible to all San Antonians for all time. At the turn of the century, golf began gaining popularity throughout America. By 1915 there was an increasing demand for a public golf course in Sa
n Antonio. At the encouragement of Brackenridge, the City of San Antonio contracted renowned golf architect A. Tillinghast to transform the southern end of the park into the first municipal golf course in Texas. The Municipal Golf Course, as it was known then, opened September 17, 1916 – the same year the Professional Golfers Association of America formed. By late 1921, Jack O’Brien, sports editor of the San Antonio Evening News, decided that with San Antonio’s moderate winter weather and a golf course designed by A. Tillinghast, the city needed to host a professional tournament. Less than a year later – the Texas Open was born. The Texas Open is the longest running PGA Tour event and Brackenridge Park Golf Course was its home from 1922 until 1959. Golf legends like Hogan, Nelson, Snead, and Palmer all played in the Texas Open at Brackenridge Park. In 2007, the City of San Antonio entered into a public/private partnership with a non-profit management group (Alamo City Golf Trail) to manage the City’s eight golf facilities. Their first capital project was to renovate the Brackenridge Park Course restoring 15 of 18 holes to their original Tillinghast design. Many of Tillinghast’s signature touches were restored including square-cornered greens and his well-known “reef bunkers.”
Under the leadership of the Alamo City Golf Trail Team, Brackenridge Park Golf Course has been recognized by Golf Week as the 13th Best Municipal Golf Course in the United States; a true gem to all San Antonians for all time.
