Honors Golf Club Dallas offers “unfettered golf” — for a price

by Alex Bentley

The newly-rebranded Honors Golf Club Dallas touts itself as “a hidden gem in Dallas’ teeming golf scene,” and it’s not hard to see why, especially since it’s not actually in Dallas. Tucked away amongst industrial areas and railroad tracks in Carrollton, Honors is definitely off the beaten path.

The club invited members of the press out to play the course for so-called “Media Day,” although it was only “media” in the loosest sense of the word: FC Dallas Media Relations Director German Sferra was supposed to be a member of my group (he didn’t show, perhaps realizing he wasn’t an actual media member), and Burton Gilliam, the annoying pitchman for Rodeo Ford, was part of another group.

Each group was paired with at least one club member, although I ended up with two: Harv Weisblat, a member of the club for the past six years, and Anthony Broussard, a UNT scholarship player who’s been given playing privileges at the club thanks to a combination of connections (his girlfriend’s father is a member) and skills (having just used up his college eligibility, Broussard will now try to make his way as a professional golfer).

Both Weisblat and Broussard proceeded to put on a full-court press, both in terms of their golfing abilities (Weisblat shot an 88, while Broussard shot a 2-under 70, both – ahem – much better than I did) and in pitching the virtues of the course. Nearly every hole was greeted with some variation of “This is a beautiful hole” or “Isn’t it great not having anyone around?” In both respects, they’re absolutely correct. The course is in immaculate condition (save for the greens, which had been recently fertilized) and the fact that seeing other players on the course was a rarity made me feel as if we were playing the course by ourselves.

Of course, as my colleague Minnie Payne noted, the membership fee is $30,000, with $595 monthly dues, so there’s a good reason the course was sparsely populated (even if, as Weisblat repeated every few holes, those fees are paltry compared to the $200,000 one might pay at Dallas National or Preston Trails). The club, which currently sits in the 170 member range, will be capped at around 325 members, so as to ensure the “unfettered golf” atmosphere.

That “unfettered golf” might become fettered soon, though, as Weisblat also detailed ambitious plans to improve the club, which includes putting in a new entrance (which will also necessitate carving a road through part of the course), building a brand-new multi-million dollar clubhouse, and moving various tee boxes and greens. All of those changes are somewhat dependent on an influx of new members and the membership fees they would bring with them.

The Honors Golf Club Dallas can rightly be called a hidden gem – but as with all precious gems, it comes with a hefty cost. If you can afford the price, unfettered golf can be yours for years to come.