Jefferson City Country Club
My Review
Pristine, pure and perfect. Not a blade of grass out of place. Now I understand why so many people speak so highly of Jefferson City Country Club in Jefferson City, Missouri. For those that are prone to play your ball up, there is absolutely no need to ever move your ball, without penalty, at JCCC. All of the grasses are in perfect condition. I’m not saying that the rough isn’t problematic because it is thick and difficult to hit out of, as it should be. But, it isn’t punative as it is on many private courses. There are many white sand traps in strategic locations throughout the course and the large greens are of medium complexity and fast. I three putted at least half of them. I do, however, have a strong respect for the greens and believe that I would come to love them if I played here more often. All in all, Jefferson City Country Club is one of the finest courses in Missouri, bar none.
Kimbeland Country Club
My Review
*First of all, let me address the par for the course. Kimbeland Country Club has a total of 20 holes. So, they have to decide which 18 makes the starting lineup every day. Depending on which holes are riding the bench, the par will change. Ever heard of anything like that? Not me. But, it certainly mixes it up for the members. Kimbeland Country Club in Jackson, Missouri is an older club with a newer, big city country-club vibe. The layout and holes are very interesting and challeges every part of your game. The greens are reasonably fast and difficult to putt consistently. Overall, the course is worth the drive from other areas of the state. Come down for the weekend and play Dalhousie (if you can get in), Bent Creek and Kimbeland. 3 very different courses.
Bent Creek Golf Course
My Review
Bent Creek Golf Course in Jackson, Missouri could be a great “resort-like” course if they paid attention to the details. There were simply too many little things that were neglected. Individually, these little things do not amount to much, however, in total it may mean trouble for the course. For example, almost all of the sand traps needed significant grooming, the wooden steps leading up to the pro shop needed painting, the retaining wall around the lake needed rebuilding, the flower beds needed weeding, etc. Another thing that really bugged me was that the practice green was very fast and it cost me a stroke on the first hole because I assumed the actual greens would be just as fast. The greens were lush and large, with medium complexity. The course is well designed, by Gary Kern, and fun to play.
Oakwood Golf Club
My Review
The epitome of “out in the middle of nowhere.” Tough course to find, even with GPS. But, for being well “off the beaten path” Oakwood Golf Club is a nice little 9 hole course in Houston, Missouri. It has had some issues of late, but the owner brought back long-time superindendent, Edgar Scantlin, to bring this 30-year old course back to its former glory.
Railwood Golf Club
My Review
Railwood Golf Club changed owership in May, 2016 and the new ownership group has some significant long term plans for the course, including replacing the current Bermuda fairway grass with a Blue/Rye mix. Since this course is just over the river from Jefferson City, Missouri in Holts Summit, I play here occasionally while my wife represents the good people of west St. Louis county in the Missouri legislature. As Charles Dickens might say (if he were still alive and playing golf), Railwood Golf Club is a Tale of Two Nines. The front nine is flat and fairly ordinary. The second nine is very hilly and has several very unique holes. Much of the back nine takes advantage of the hills and a few of the greens sit on top of vistas overlooking the Missouri River valley and abundant farm land. The views are absolutely breathtaking. Overall though, while Railwood Golf Course needs a little sprucing up it is definitely worth playing.
Redneck Country Club
My Review
If you only want to play pristine and perfect golf courses, you probably shouldn’t travel to west central Missouri to play Redneck Country Club. It is located about 15 miles southwest of Warrensburg in Holden, Missouri. But, this course definitely knows its brand, starting with its name. Frankly, Redneck Country Club is now one of my favorite courses in the state. It is all about providing a product to a great rural community (Holden, MO). And, its just not golf. The inside of the clubhouse looks more like a a rural dance hall (or at least my perception of what a farming community dance hall would look like). It has a very rustic look, smell and vibe. Apparently many types of local events and activities happen here. There was even a box of poker chips on one of the tables. Outside, there is a horse shoe pit, a stage for live entertainment and other non-golf activities. The golf course itself is a very short layout with sand greens. Not ideal golfing conditions but at least it is a nice sand green course, as far as sand green courses go. If you want a very different golfing experience, I think it is worth the drive, if you are in the general area. I mean, it is worth playing there just so you can say you played Redneck Country Club. Only in Missouri folks.
Raintree Country Club
My Review
Overall, Raintree Country Club was a good small city course located in Hillsboro, Missouri. I played with the owner, Dave Tucker, who was a great representative of the course and fun to play with. He purchased the course in 2012 and had to do a lot of work to it just to make it playable. He is slowly improving the quality of the course and has very high expectations and big plans in the future. The quality of the course is not where he wants it yet but it has great bones and I am confident that, if the community supports Dave and his vision, the course will be an excellent course. It is a typical Ozark-type course with lots of hills, blind shots to the greens (even on a par 3) and mature trees lining the fairways. The sand is soft and the greens were mostly slow and held as well as any course I have played this year. The fairways were very narrow on many holes. The USGA recently lowered the slope rating from the tips to a 119, which is too low in my mind. The course is actually fairly difficult and I would have rated the slope at 125 to 130. I guess the relatively short total yardage pulls the slope down. If you live in the area or south St. Louis I would recommend that you make the trek down to Hillsboro to experience Raintree Country Club.
Higginsville Country Club
My Review
The rolling hills and tree-lined fairways make for a perfect setting for Higginsville Country Club on the large Higginsville Reservoir in Higginsville, Missouri. Many of the holes are adjacent to water is some fashion. The medium-sized greens are in excellent condition and generally slope from back to front. Overall, the course is fairly well manicured and it is a great course for this community but probably doesn’t differentiate itself enough from other courses in mid-Missouri to make a special trip to play it, but if you are in the neighborhood, it is definitely worth playing.
Loutre Shores Country Club
My Review
I played Loutre Shores Country Club during the last week of July. Hermann, Missouri is a quaint, idyllic town on the Missouri river. Very picturesque. There are several wineries, bed and breakfasts, shops, antique stores and restaurants located within, or very close, to the city. This would be a great one or two day golf trip; you could even bring your wives/girlfriends (I know that sounds sexist, but I don’t know any women who take golf trips) along and let them shop and visit the wineries while you play golf. And, speaking of golf, the course is about 3 miles north of downtown Hermann. It is a well laid out, fairly long 9 hole course from the tips that they have creatively set up as an 18 hole course. Since the course was founded in the mid 1960’s it is very mature, with most fairways lined with large, unforgiving trees. I played with the general manager, Bob Borcherding, and the greens keeper, Tim Niebruegge, and they were very nice gentlemen who were proud of their course. I think the course plays more difficult than its 116 slope rating because the fairways are somewhat narrow and the greens are small. But, there is no sand to drive up the scores. The greens do not have a lot of undulation to them but they definitely slope to one side, making for difficult putts. As Bob said: “It is a fair but challenging course.” My wife and I are already talking about coming back for a weekend this fall so I can shop and visit the wineries and she can play golf . . .
Joachim Golf Course
My Review
After playing three other outlying (from STL) courses immediately preceding Joachim, we felt like we were playing Augusta National. Joachim Golf Course, located in Herculaneum, Missouri is a small town course but is very well laid out and manicured. As opposed to the previous 3 courses, we rarely had to move our ball to put it on grass. The staff at Joachim was very nice, knowledgeable and hospitable. The staff was also very proud of the fact that Joachim members were the winners of the St. Louis Metro Cup. I hope to play Joachim again.