Shirkey Golf Club
My Review
Shirkey Golf Club in Richmond, MO is a wonderful community course, not too far from Kansas City. The course was founded in 1969 and is therefore mature. The course has its fair share of hazards, including sand, lakes, creeks, out-of-bounds, etc. and provides a total golfing experience. The round, medium-size greens are low complexity and fairly slow, so 3-putts should be minimal. All in all, Shirkey Golf Club is a great course, not too far from Kansas City. If you live in KC and want a new golfing experience, you should give drive to Richmond and play Shirkey.
Richland Golf and Country Club
My Review
Richland Golf and Country Club is 76 miles NE of Springfield, just a few miles north of 44. It is a 9 hole course adjacent to the Richland Municipal Airport. You actually have to cut across the runway to get from the 5th green to the 6th tee box. Pretty cool. The course is wide open for the most part and the greens are mostly flat and slow . . . but pretty darn nice for a rural course. The fairways are a bit rough in spots and it is somewhat tricky to navigate around the course. All in all, Richland Golf and Country Club is better than I expected in this rural community, particularly since the owner had no interest in being a part of this site. This is only one of a couple of courses throughout the state that was not accommodating. So, I paid my green fees and enjoyed playing this nine hole course. BTW, the green fees were only $20 and that included a cart. If I lived in the area, I would play this course as often as possible.
Island Green Golf Club
My Review
Island Green Golf Club is in Republic, MO, which is a western suburb of Springfield. The course started as 9-holes but, when Dale Boatright purchased the course in 2000, he added a back nine which included a true Island Green (#15). His daughter, Beverly, still owns the course and runs a first class operation. The GM, Regina Sarber, has been with the family for 30 years. As opposed to the Great Life course GM in Springfield, Regina is the one of the nicest and most hospitable General Managers in the state.
Overall, the course is in good condition, is very playable and offers a good test of your golfing skills. The greens are mostly small with some significant breaks/tiers . . . and fairly fast. The greens have a few trouble spots but the course is on top of it. And, they are in the process of renovating all of the numerous sand traps on the course.
If you are going to IGGC for the first time, be careful of your GPS system. Mine directed me to the neighboring farm.
If I lived in the southwest portion of Springfield, Island Green would be my “go to” course. It is a great community course and offers an outstanding value.
The Golf Club at Creekmoor
My Review
The Golf Club at Creekmoor in Kansas City / Raymore, MO is so perfect and there are sooooo many houses surrounding the course, it almost feels like “The Stepford Golf Course” or a golf cult of some sort. If so, sign me up! Seriously, this course is beautiful. It is immaculate. No weeds. No bare spots. Not a blade of grass out of place. The plethora of sand traps are fluffy white and raked to perfection. It is maybe the best groomed and maintained courses in the state. But . . . there are no trees. I saved Creekmoor for the fall so that I could showcase this beautiful course with the changing leaves. Yeah, not so much. The first few holes of the back nine are still virgin and the trees have not been replaced by houses so play it while you can. We have to assume that Creekmoor is the ultimate in planned golf communities. Shoot, they even have their own schools. To maximize the number of houses adjacent to the course, you weave in and out of streets, making the distance between green and tees inordinately long in many cases and, therefore, discouraging most players from walking. All of the grasses are perfect, almost fake looking (I wish the carpet in my living room was as nice as the tee boxes). The greens are large with some significant undulation on a few holes. The green fees are fairly expensive, but since this is one of the nicest courses you have the opportunity to play, without being a member, it is actually reasonable.
Princeton Country Club
My Review
Princeton Country Club in Princeton, MO is a 9-hole, par 36 sand green course. It is not a great course but it is the only game in town and for over 30 miles. There is nothing very special about the course, except the one non-sand green. I saw it from a distance and thought it was a mirage. It wasn’t until I was almost standing on it that I realized that it was green astro-turf. That was a first for me. If you do want to play the course be very careful about the address. My GPS took me to about 10 miles away down a dead-end gravel road.
Fourche Valley Golf Club
My Review
Fourche Valley Golf Club in Potosi, MO has a beautiful layout and is a lot of fun to play, typical of a Gary Kern-designed course. The first 2 holes are seemingly flat and uninspired until you walk up to the first tee and see a medium size, but very wide, walnut tree smack dab in the middle of the fairway, about 250 yards away. There are about 10 courses in the state with large trees in the middle of the fairway. On one hand, I just don’t get it; it goes against the unwritten morals of golf. On the other hand, I LOVE IT. This tree puts a different spin on the hole every time you play it, because very few golfers hit a drive the same distance, trajectory and direction every time. So, you will have to re-strategize every time you play the first hole, deciding if you should go over, under, around, or through it.
After the second hole you make a turn up the hill into Potosi’s Shangri-La of golf, the 3rd through the 7th holes. There should be an alter, with candles, at the base of each of the tee boxes so that you can sacrifice a brand new ProV1 to the golf Gods before hitting your drive. These holes are some of the best in Missouri. The 4th hole, in particular is worthy of a trip to Potosi by itself. It is a 171 yard par three over a deep ravine with a babbling brook running across the base.
As soon as the course figures out their grass issues, particularly the greens which needs some significant TLC, they will have one of the best 9 hole courses in the state.
The really cool thing about Fourche Valley Golf Club is that it is a community passion point. They take pride in this course and, in fact, you will be able to find members on the course throughout the day, every day, not playing but mowing, fixing the sprinkler system, painting the club house, shooting copperheads in one the many streams running throughout the course, etc.
If you get the chance, make the drive to Potosi and play Fourche Valley. While you are there, say hello to the Men’s League President, Steve McFarland, who is a great representative of the club.
The Rock at Country Creek Golf Club
My Review
The Rock at Country Creek Golf Club in Pleasant Hill, MO is the first of the Country Creek affiliated courses to open and, consequently, it is the most mature. However, for whatever reason, it is not as well manicured or maintained as its sister course (Hoot’s Hollow) across the street or even The Quarry, which is right in between its 2 nines. Also interestingly, the fairway grass on The Rock is mostly spotty blue grass, compared to the zoysia fairways at the other two courses. Even though The Rock is more mature (larger trees) the course is still fairly wide open. The large greens are relatively slow and there are some sand and water hazards strategically placed. All in all, The Rock is a good course but not quite as nice as its sister courses. It is surprising that there is a need for 3 courses in this rural community. I would imagine that, at some point, the owners will combine The Rock and The Quarry into one 18 hole course, taking the best of the 27 holes. This would reduce their time and expenses and headaches by 33% on this side of the road.
The Quarry at Country Creek Golf Club
My Review
The Quarry at Country Creek Golf Club in Pleasant Hill, MO is a nice 9 hole course, interestingly, smack dab in the middle of another Country Creek course, The Rock. The Quarry used to be an 18 hole course but the owner sold off the front nine for non-golf . On the day we played, this nine hole course hosted a female high school golf tournament so we have to assume that the owner is keeping this nine open for civic-minded reasons. The Rock is one of the nicer rural 9 hole courses in the state. The fairways are lush zoysia and the tees are in fairly nice condition.
Pleasant Hill Golf and Country Club
My Review
We have not had the opportunity to play Pleasant Hill Golf and Country Club in Pleasant Hill, MO. As soon as we have, we will add it to all of the other reviews of Missouri Golf Courses. Our goal is to provide useful information to golfers around the world about the 500 golf courses in Missouri. We will also take several photographs of the course and replace those posted here so that you will have a good understanding of the course and everything it has to offer. Please visit other sections of this website, which includes a list of the Best Golf Courses in the state of Missouri. Feel free to leave any comments about Pleasant Hill Golf and Country Club at the bottom of this page.
Hoot’s Hollow at Country Creek Golf Club
My Review
The largest green in Missouri?
Hoot’s Hollow at Country Creek Golf Club in Pleasant Hill, MO is one of three courses in very close proximity under the Country Creek umbrella. Based on the quality of course and the amount of play it receives, Hoot’s Hollow is the signature course. It is the newest course and has very few mature trees. Most of the holes are sporadically separated by young trees, which will not pose a lot of problems. Consequently, the course is very open with few opportunities to get in serious trouble, particularly if you do not spray your ball significantly off track. The large greens are fairly flat with some tiering. The course designer placed 15′ high mounds around the course to provide some visual interest. Some holes have small bunkers strategically placed. The course’s design, the grasses, the clubhouse, the unique architectural features, etc. all work together to yield a wonderful golfing experience, hence the 3.5 rating. Of particular noteworthiness is the HUUUUGE green that hosts the 9th and 18th flags. This has got to be the largest green in Missouri; it is literally (because I stepped it off) the length of a football field. You can spend an entire day playing the three courses under the Country Creek banner. If you live in KC, and are looking for a new golfing experience take the 30 mile drive south to Pleasant Hill and play these courses.