Fox Haven Country Club
My Review
Fox Haven Country Club in Sikeston, Missouri is a beautiful course, particularly from tee to green, if you are able to keep your ball on the fairway. Most of the tee boxes are as good as you will find on any small city country club in the state. The greens are fairly large and roll very true, with some breaks. We were told that the Bentgrass greens were the oldest in SE Missouri. We played after a long period of rain and Fox Haven’s traps were in excellent condition, better maintained than any of the other 11 courses we played throughout the week. The roughs were rough and represented the most difficult part of the course. At times they were punitive, considering the length in certain spots, the patchiness, and the plethora of natural and man-made obstacles. There was definitely a premium for keeping your ball in the short bermuda fairways. All in all, Fox Haven was one of the better courses in the area.
Shelbina Lakeside Golf Course
My Review
Shelbina Lakeside Golf Course is about 40 miles west of Hannibal just off of Highway 36 in Shelbina, Missouri. Shelbina Lakeside Golf Course is a nice little 9 hole course in rural Missouri, with not a lot of bells and whistles or the trappings of a big-city country club. The course is actually not as easy as it looks: the fairways are wide open with very few hazards with which to be concerned BUT, the sloped greens are small with nary a straight putt; the greens are actually more difficult than many big-city country clubs. I will say, however, that the elevated greens do hold well if you are able to sharp shoot an approach shot to land on these postage-size dance floors. Since Shelbina Lakeside Golf Course is literally “the only game in town” I would definitely be a regular if I lived in the area but would certainly not make the trek from St. Louis just to play this course.
Sedalia Country Club
My Review
Great small city country club located in the far western portion of the State Fair city. Jaron Lucchesi, the club pro, was as nice and accommodating as you will find; a real asset to the club. Sedalia Country Club in Sedalia, Missouri is a very playable course with large, beautiful greens. There is some break to the greens but nothing too extreme. While most of the holes are lined with mature trees, it doesn’t play extraordinarily tight. The fairways and tee boxes are very nice and the course will test all aspects of your game. Many types of hazards: fairways bunkers, traps on many of the greens, creek, lakes, etc. Sedalia Country Club provides a great golfing and country club experience. If the food is good, which I did not try, they will have hit the trifecta.
Elm Hills Public Golf Course
My Review
Elm Hills Public Golf Course in Sedalia, Missouri is the course I played for the first time when I was 10. The trees are much taller but, other than that, little has changed. I would only play this course again if I lived next door, in a trailor, and played for free. The course is not well maintained and the sand greens, which are tough enough to start with, are in terrible condition. The only cool thing was that my cart went about 30 mph. Since no one else was on the course, I played in 30 minutes. If I were them, I think I would bury the entire course in sand and market it as the world’s largest sand trap practice course.
Duncan Hills Golf Course
My Review
I really enjoyed playing Duncan Hills Golf Course, an 18 hole course located in Savannah, Missouri, which is about 14 miles north of St. Joseph. The course has a few very funky holes, which I always love playing. This course has lots of personality. There are several blind shots to greens and even two holes with large trees right in front of the green. Since I was a neophyte on this course, I had no idea on how to most effectively play these holes. My preferred total yardage for an 18/72 course is 6,000 and Duncan Hills’ blue tees were 6,028 yards. The problem was that there were two holes where I could not carry the hazard in front of the tee box so I had to move up to the whites. Also, unless you are familiar with the course layout the odds are you will get lost, particularly on the back 9. Overall, though, I would recommend playing Duncan Hills Golf Course if you are in the area. Very fun course.
Salisbury Municipal Golf Course
My Review
I enjoyed Salisbury Municipal Golf Course in Salisbury, Missouri. It is well run and is fairly well maintained. Kudos to Neil Duncan, the course’s manager, for his professionalism, passion and hospitality. The small greens, which are steeply sloped, are almost perfect with a couple of exceptions. The par 4 fifth hole is a funkly little hole with a nasty dogleg to the left. There is a group of large trees on the left side of the fairway about 100 yards from the tips, so you have two choices: 1) tee it up high and try to go over or 2) hit to the right of the trees with your 150 yard club. I went with option #1; next time I will definitely go with option #2.
Spring Creek Golf Club
My Review
The first thing I noticed about Spring Creek Golf Club, a nine hole course in Salem, Missouri, was the hospitality. Everyone I met was super friendly and took a lot of pride in their course. The Superintendent, Brad Blackwell, picked me up on the first tee and gave me an overview of the course and drove me around the course. The course is beautiful, is in great shape and was a lot of fun to play. The course wasn’t even officially open when I arrived at 10 am but there were many golfers on the course. The winter hours, as posted on the door, are 3 to 8 pm. I can’t figure out why it is open after 5 pm, when it turns dark. I can imagine (restaurant, gin, poker, etc.) but I need to go back to: 1) play the course again and 2) see what happens after 5 pm. If you are ever 20 miles south of Rolla make sure you leave a couple of hours to play Spring Creek.
St. Louis Country Club
My Review
Over the years I have played St. Louis Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri several times. Besides its storied history, this course is one of my favorites in Missouri. It has a couple of funky holes that puts it over the top for me. For instance, a couple of holes have a blind approach shot to the green so there are 15 foot (maybe a little shorter) flag sticks so that you can see the pins’ location. Plus, the course is just a couple miles away from my house, right down Ladue Road. It is the only top tier club that I would like to join. And, my chances of getting in are the same as August A. Busch’s (the story goes that AAB was voted down so he got pissed off and built his own club . . . Sunset Country Club. The same thing happened in the modern era when the president of Southwestern Bell, Edward Earl “Ed” Whitacre, Jr., couldn’t get in so he moved the company, which became ATT, to Texas.) In fact, I will probably “disappear” just for writing this review . . .
St. Ann International Golf Course
My Review
(Guest Reviewer: Peter Barg)
St. Ann International Golf Course in St. Louis, Missouri is a mature, tree-lined, fairly-priced and reasonably well-maintained, easy-walking 9 hole muni. The fairways are fairly wide and green, but trees do come into play on every hole. The greens are fairly big, and flat, except for #8, the #1 handicap par 3. The bunkers are well maintained with sand, not dirt. The rough is not punitive. The pro shop personnel are friendly and helpful. Some used clubs for sale, balls etc. Serving sodas and snacks. If you want to get in a fast, relatively stress free 9, its worth a visit.
St. Albans Country Club
My Review
St. Albans Country Club located in far western St. Louis, Missouri, boasts of 2 world class 18 hole courses. Lewis and Clark was designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish. The Tavern Creek course was designed by Dana Fry and Dr. Michael Hurdzan. Both courses are beautiful, majestic and fairly difficult. The club hosts many tournaments so many St. Louisans have had the opportunity to play at least one of the courses. If you haven’t and are presented with the opportunity, take it.