Mission
To provide a quality facility and consistent service that exceeds the expectations of our diverse membership and their guests while honoring the traditions of ridglea country club.
History
The property on which Ridglea Country Club now stands was once owned by Bernie L. Anderson and his partner Morris E. Berney.
They operated it as a public golf course, but had dreams of seeing it expanded someday into a recreation center for the Ridglea area. The Luther Group bought the course and Clayton Luther vowed that he would build, in Ridglea, the finest country club that could be built, befitting the fine location it bears to the city of Fort Worth. He wanted Ridglea Country Club to be a place of distinction, a club typified by constant adherence to quality and dignity, which remain the hallmarks of Ridglea.
Originally to be called Western Hills Country Club of Ridglea, before opening in 1954 the name was changed to Ridglea Country Club.
The Luther Group contacted Hank Green and the Western Hills Group to help promote the country club and sell memberships. It took the Western Hills Group about a year to sell enough memberships to the point where they could get a mortgage. They took the membership money, the mortgage money, and the initiating fee, and built the clubhouse.
There were many partners and they all had ideas which they felt should be incorporated. A teenage room was added, then a nursery, then they wanted many private dining rooms, a mixed foursome room, and a men’s grill, ad infinitum. They took each of their ideas to Burton Schutt an architect from California and said, “spread it out for us”. He did, and produced plans for a gorgeous sprawling one-story country club. The layout was not only lovely, but well arranged and very practical.
Next, the golf course was completely refurbished and improved. A committee, headed by Attorney J. A. Gooch, supervised the revamping of the course with new bent grass greens, newly planted trees, an underground fairway watering system and many other improvements. Raymond Gafford, who for 14 years was the golf professional at Ridglea before taking a similar position at Dallas’ Northwood Club in 1950, returned to Fort Worth as the first golf professional of the new club.
The course opened officially on September 1, 1954. It measured 6,138 yards from the back tees and played to a par of 71. The first foursome off the tee at 8 a.m. consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Clifton H. Morris, John St. John and A. B. Canning.
In 1967, both the South golf course, designed by Ralph Plummer, and clubhouse were opened and designated “For Men Only”. The course played 7,200 yards from the championship tees and 6,300 yards from the executive tees, with a 72 par.
Then in October of 1974, Ridglea Country Club was acquired by the members. An Equity Committee worked for several years to get the project together. Until that time, the grounds and the mortgage were still owned by the Western Hills Group and the Luther Group, with the Western Hills Group managing the operation.
Ridglea Country Club has now celebrated over 60 years of history and tradition and generations have come to know and love the charm of Ridglea, an elegant club for the past, present and future!
Taken from “The History of Ridglea Country Club”
By Elinor Hubbard