Swope Memorial Golf Course
Course Name
Swope Memorial Golf Course
Location
Kansas City
Address
6900 Swope Memorial Dr, Kansas City, MO 64132
Phone
Course Type
Public
Holes
18
Par
72
Quality/Cost Ratio (1 to 10)
7.5
Course Condition
7.5
Difficulty
7.5
Fairway Grass
Zoysia
Green Type
Bentgrass
Rough
Mix
Stimpmeter
8.5
Clubhouse
Equipment and full restaurant
Walkability
6 but 60% of players walk
Slope
124 to 128
Yardage
5,770 to 6,274
Overall Rating (1 to 5):
Comments
Swope Memorial Golf Course in Kansas City, MO is a very playable and fun course located just a Par 5 or so from the KC Zoo and Starlight Theatre. Maybe it is because I played Swope on a day that they were having a special tournament but they had the course looking really good. The course is fairly well groomed with a few pesky turf issues that all courses face at one time or another. There are many sand traps, of various sizes and depths, located in strategic locations throughout the course and the large greens had some big breaks. The roughs are fairly short so lost balls should be kept to a minimum. This course is no push over and there are many ways to get yourself into trouble. All in all, Swope Memorial is a wonderful public course and should be on any golfer’s list of courses to play consistently or periodically.
Swope is an A. W. Tillinghast design which, while short in length, has challenging greens (both speed and contours), many uneven lies and requires precisely placed tee shots (#14). Number’s 5 and 17 are par 5’s with terrifying tee shots (for us hackers anyway), both requiring clearing broad gorges. There are also grand views of the Kansas City skyline. It has hosted many local, regional and statewide tournaments. You may see deer, wild turkeys and an occasion bald eagle. Being close to the KC Zoo, you may also hear lions roaring at feeding time. For the history, challenge and opportunity to commune with nature, it is a bargain to play.
Nicely written. You need to write some of the reviews . . .