Historic Fort Worth golf course is gone; talking needed

The historic Glen Garden Country Club, whose links were played by legendary golfers Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson in their youth, is no more.

Located in what is also a historic predominantly black neighborhood on Fort Worth’s southeast side, the 102-year-old, financially troubled club officially changed hands this week to its new owner, a whiskey distillery, over the objection of its longtime neighbors.

Despite residents of the Rolling Hills community collecting around 3,000 signatures opposing the zoning change for a distillery, the Fort Worth City Council last July voted 7-2 to approve it, giving the go-ahead for Firestone & Robertson Distillery Co. to proceed with development of the 106-acre property.

The distillery, a Fort Worth company that has been making whiskey since 2011, has proved very popular and successful, and it needed room to expand. It plans to turn the Glen Garden acreage into a tourist destination similar to Kentucky Bourbon Trails or California vineyards.

Mayor Betsy Price and the majority of the council decided it was in the best interest of the neighborhood and the overall city for the project to go forward, as it would increase economic development in the area, add to the city’s tax base and keep a growing corporate brand in Fort Worth.

Rolling Hills residents, who felt the council treated them with disrespect in a way it would not have done for a predominantly white community, argued that the presence of a distillery would contribute to more traffic, noise, drunken driving incidents and offensive smells in their neighborhood. And, they said, the history of the country club would be lost.

Although owners of the company promised to keep the club’s heritage alive with a museum on site and some golf holes on the property, some neighbors said they would not stop fighting. This week one community leader told Star-Telegram reporter Sandra Baker that they plan to “protest every event there.”

That is their right. But that is not necessarily the prudent thing to do.

Rather than stage protests, community leaders should make every effort to work with owners to ensure neighborhood concerns are continuously addressed, mitigating any potential problems that might arise in the future.

The owners have expressed a desire to keep communications open between them and their neighbors. The community should take advantage of that offer.