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COLONIAL COUNTRY CLUB

Fort Worth, Texas

1934

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Late                        Marvin Leonard acquires roughly 157 acres in Fort Worth, Texas and immediately begins designing Colonial Country Club with bent grass greens.  Leonard engaged the services of Maxwell and noted architect John Bredemus to assist in the layout.  Leonard asked Maxwell and Bredemus each to submit 5 alternative plans for the course.  Leonard reviewed the recommendations and then asked for 5 more.  Leonard picked elements from each for his overall plan, borrowing from both designers.  [“The Legacy Continues – A 50-Year History of Colonial Country Club Fort Worth, Texas 1936-1986”, by Russ Pate (1986), Pg. 14]  Editorial Note:  Subsequent reports indicate that the course was designed by Maxwell and built by Bredemus. [Shreveport Times, May 11, 1940]

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1935

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January                 Construction of Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas begins.  [Fort Worth Press, January 24, 1936]

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May 3                    Work “already has started” on Colonial Country Club course in Fort Worth with John Bredemus in charge of construction and Ralph Plummer assisting.  [Fort Worth Star Telegram, May 3, 1935]

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1936

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January 29            Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas officially opens for play.  [Fort Worth Press, January 24, 1936]

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1940

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May 9                    Colonial Golf Club in Fort Worth is awarded the 1941 U.S. Open.  [Amarillo Daily News, May 10, 1940]

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June 27                  Maxwell and Dean Woods “have settled down in Fort Worth to spent [sic] the next year readying the Colonial Golf Club for the 1941 National Open.  No radical changes are planned, but the entire 18 holes will be retrapped to make one of the South’s toughest courses a wee bit harder for the field.”  [Paris (TX) News, June 27, 1940]

 

July 7                     Dean Woods is in Fort Worth, Texas, where he will be working on the Colonial Country Club course for “several months.”  [Daily Ardmoreite, July 7, 1940]

 

August 7                Colonial Country Club “is undergoing an extensive and expensive face-lifting process.  New greens are being constructed and many sand traps installed for the national golf event next year.”  [Paris (TX) News, June 27, 1940]

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November 16       Maxwell “stretching” Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth to well over 7,000 yards in advance of 1941 U.S. Open.  [Globe-Gazette (Mason City, IA), November 16, 1940]

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1941

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January 3              Changes to Colonial Country Club “blueprinted” by Maxwell expected to be complete in “a few months”.  Maxwell “sprinkling traps liberally over the layout and several greens have been cut down to postage stamp size.  The third green has been pulled back some fifty-odd yards.”  Ground broken on new 4th and 5th holes.  “Many other greens have been pulled back and remodeled.” [Dallas Morning News, January 3, 1941]

 

March 16              Maxwell and Dean Woods have given every hole at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth “a thorough going-over,” including new holes 3-5.  [Montana Standard, March 16, 1941]

 

March 30              Dean Woods is remodeling Colonial Country Club course using Maxwell’s plans.  [The Daily Oklahoman, March 30, 1941]

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April 4                    Maxwell “blueprinted some new hardships” at Colonial Country Club and sent Dean Woods “to put them into effect.”  [Dallas Morning News, April 4, 1941]

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May 21                  Dean Woods has completed a year-long remodeling job at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, including the addition of 35 new bunkers.  The redesigned 5th hole is “ailing” due to heavy rains that have affected the growth of the new Bermuda grass fairway and there is only a 50/50 chance it will be ready for the U.S. Open.  If the new hole is not ready for play, the old hole, which was also remodeled, will be used.  [Dallas Morning News, May 25, 1941]

 

May 30                  Maxwell leaves Greensboro, where he was presumably supervising seeding of the Gillespie Park Golf Course, to attend the U.S. Open at Colonial.  [Greensboro Daily News, May 31, 1941]

 

June 5-7                 U.S. Open held at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas on course recently redesigned by Maxwell.  [Greensboro Daily News, May 31, 1941]

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AERIALS

Aoril 1, 1952, USGS

MAPS AND DRAWINGS

January 24, 1936, Fort Worth Press

PHOTOS

5th Hole, Unknown Date and Source

8th Hole in 1941, Unknown Source

Medal Given to Dean Woods in 1941, Unknown Source

DOCUMENTS

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