Rockwood Golf Course
The original Rockwood Golf Course, designed by golf course architect John Bredemus, opened in 1938. It was later upgraded by golf course architect Ralph Plummer. It was closed in November 2015 to make way for the $5.1 million renovation.
1851 Jacksboro Highway
Fort Worth 76114
www.fortworthgolf.org
A legendary Fort Worth golf course has a new look.
Rockwood Golf Course, on the Jacksboro Highway, has undergone renovations and is ready to unveil its new look to the public. It is the first renovation for the course, which opened to the public in 1938.
The total renovation included greens, tees, fairways, roughs, bunkering system, irrigation system and water features.
“The course was old and tired, greens were not to USGA [United States Golf Association] specification, the irrigation system was worn out and a newer style golf course was warranted to bring the course back to what it should be to attract not only our current players but potentially new customers,” said Nancy Bunton, PGA member and assistant director of golf and athletics for the City of Fort Worth.
The course will hold a soft opening on June 16 and a grand opening ceremony at 10 a.m. on June 30 that will feature a golf outing with special guests.
Colligan Golf Design redesigned the course while paying respects to the original John Bredemus course.
“John [Colligan] and his associate, Trey Kemp, researched and found an aerial of the original design and with that incorporated the original shape of the greens into some their design,” Bunton said.
The renovations also made the course longer. The new course plays 7,053 yards from the back tees and 5,157 yards from the forward tees. Each hole has four sets of tees.
“In the future we would like to host qualifiers for either state or national events,” Bunton said.
“Trey and I worked with the city staff and golf committee to establish goals, objectives and budgets for the course,” Colligan said. “Rockwood should now be able to compete in a market that has been dominated by the daily fee courses costing much more to build and much more to play, offering a Texas friendly design with fairways and greens which are Texas big and Texas generous.”
The project began in 2008 when the city selected the team of Colligan Golf Design, Irrigation Planning and Design, James Nader of the American Institute of Architects, USGA and MultaTech Engineers for a comprehensive master plan. Once the plan was presented to the residents of Fort Worth it was accepted by the committee in 2009. CGD began construction in November of 2015.