St. Louis Trip

St. Louis is a place I visited briefly about fifteen years ago.  I was on a driving trip, and stopped in town to play St. Louis Country Club before I continued my trip in other states.  Bellerive Country Club has been on my to-do list for a very long time because of its presence in the various magazine rankings over the years, as well as its major championship history.  In 2024 I was finally able to dedicate an entire trip to the St. Louis area.  Bellerive was the obvious target of the trip, but I also enjoyed many great classic designs as well as a few modern marvels.  

Bellerive Country Club

Day one of the trip was the only one that took place outside the St. Louis area.  I traveled about two hours south of St. Louis to the Cape Giradeau area for a round at the Gary Nicklaus designed Dalhousie Golf Club.  This is not your typical Nicklaus design and that is a very good thing.  The bunkering is very flowing and creative, and the routing does not feature an abundance of dogleg rights that require an aerial approach as is seen in most Nicklaus designs.

Dalhousie Golf Club, Par three 8th hole

While I was in the area I checked out Bent Creek Golf Club in Jackson, Missouri.  The course was designed by local Missouri architect Gary Kern, and works surprisingly well on the undulating property just north of Cape Giradeau.

Bent Creek Golf Club, Par four 1st hole

I stayed in Jackson for my final round on day one.  Kimbeland Country Club opened in the 1960's and was redesigned by Art Schaupeter in 2000.  

Kimbeland Country Club, Par three 18th hole

Day two of the trip began just over the Mississippi River from St. Louis in Illinois. Gateway National Golf Links in Madison, Illinois is a mere three miles from downtown St. Louis as the crow flies and enjoys wonderful views of the city and the famous arch.  The course was designed by Keith Foster and opened in 1998.

Gateway National Golf Links, Par four 3rd Hole

I stayed in Illinois for my second round on day two. Sunset Hills Country Club in Edwardsville has an interesting architectural history.  The course was originally designed by Larry Packard in 1924 on a wild piece of property that results in some major elevation changes on the front nine.  Because of road construction, and property being bought and sold, holes were added and taken away in 1990 and 1997.  I was fortunate to play with two members who told me all about the various changes over the years.  The back nine definitely feels a little disjointed as it features many of the "new" holes.

Sunset Hills Country Club, Par five 4th Hole, with Par three 7th in the background

I headed back into Missouri for my third round.  Meadowbrook Country Club in Ballwin was designed in 1960 by Robert B. Harris and renovated in 2000 by Keith Foster.  This was the 4th course named Meadowbrook I have played, a very popular name in golf.  

Meadowbrook Country Club, Par five 2nd hole

My pace of play was pretty good at Meadowbrook, so I had plenty of daylight for a little bonus golf.  I headed two miles west to Forest Hills Country Club for a quick trip around their Valley course.  Designed by Chick Adams in 1960, the Valley is a par 30 nine hole course with some very fun par threes and fours.

Forest Hills Country Club(Valley), Par four 9th hole

I began day three of the trip about thirty miles west of St. Louis in the town of Augusta, Missouri for an early morning round at the Pete Dye designed Boone Valley Golf Club.  This course was everything that people love and hate about Dye designs.  Sharp edges, bold bunkering, and lots of visual intimidation off the tee.

Boone Valley Golf Club, Par three 12th hole

As the crow flies, the next course on day three was only seven miles from Boone Valley but it was a twenty-eight mile drive across the Missouri river.  The Country Club of St. Albans has two courses and I was playing the Lewis & Clark course designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish in 1992.  I played the other course, Tavern Creek, five years ago on my way to the Ozarks, so I was excited to get back and see this course.  L&C was definitely the more playable of the two courses, with the front nine down in the valley on relatively flat ground.

CC of St. Albans(Lewis & Clark), Par three 15th hole

I headed back into St. Louis for the next course on day three.  Algonquin Golf Club is one of the oldest courses in Missouri, originally designed by Tom Bendelow in 1903.  The course has been modified by several architects over the years, most recently by Keith Foster in 2010.  It retains its classic feel and has a very unique stoplight system for the blind tee shot on the par five 4th hole.

Algonquin Golf Club, Par four 1st hole

Once again I had some extra daylight left on day three so I headed to nearby Ballwin Golf Course for a brisk late afternoon round on this delightful nine hole course.

Ballwin Golf Course, Par four 1st hole

Day four began very early in the morning at the city owned Forest Park Golf Course.  I met a friend from St. Louis for the round and we had a wonderful walk around one of the best municipal courses I have played.  The course has been renovated over the years, but the bones of the original design make for an extremely fun experience.

Forest Park Golf Course, Par four 8th hole

One of the best courses in Missouri was up next on day four.  Old Warson Country Club was designed by Robert Trent Jones and has hosted several USGA Championships since it opened in the 1950's.  The course works its way up and down the hills just west of the city with the back nine being the more interesting side.

Old Warson Country Club, Par four 14th hole

A course that wasn't in the original itinerary was next on day four.  I had heard good things about Annbriar Golf Course over the river in Waterloo, Illinois, and a last minute reshuffling allowed me the time to experience a very solid Michael Hurdzan design that is one of the best public courses in the St. Louis area.

Annbriar Golf Course, Par four 2nd hole

Rain was starting to fall when I finished at Annbriar, so as I headed back towards St. Louis I decided to check out Waterloo Country Club, a quirky nine hole course that has been around for almost a hundred years.  The rain cleared the golf course and allowed me to get around very quickly.  

Waterloo Country Club, Par four 6th hole

The last day of the trip began in Illinois again.  This time I had the pleasure of experiencing St. Clair Country Club, the biggest surprise of the trip.  The course was designed by Langford and Moreau, most known for their work at Lawsonia in Wisconsin and Skokie in Illinois.  The pair were influenced by Seth Raynor and you can see that influence in their designs.  Their courses tend to be a bit hillier and more undulating than Raynor's, and that is one of the things that makes St. Clair so much fun.  The property is very small, but the holes never feel tight or restricted.  I really need to set aside some time in the future to get to some Langford/Moreau courses in the Midwest.

St. Clair Country Club, Par four 5th hole

I headed back into Missouri and west of the city for my next round on the last day of the trip.  Lake Forest Country Club in Lake St. Louis is a very difficult course that was designed by Gary Kern and opened in the 1970's.

Lake Forest Country Club, Par three 8th hole

I was playing the last round of the trip in the late afternoon, so on the drive back to St. Louis I had time to check out the par three Pheasant Run Golf Course in O'Fallon, Missouri.

Pheasant Run Golf Course, Par three 2nd hole

Normally the final round of my trips is not the reason why I took the trip in the first place, but that is how it turned out on this trip.  I finished my wonderful trip to St. Louis with the multiple major championship hosting Bellerive Country Club designed by Robert Trent Jones.  

Bellerive Country Club, Par three 13th hole

I will say I was pleasantly surprised by the course.  My desire to play it had a lot to do with its constant presence on various top 100 lists and it's major championship prowess.  But I found I really liked the big, nuanced greens and the bunkering was very creative.  I am generally not the biggest fan of RTJ designs, but there was just something I really liked about this course.  

Bellerive Country Club, Par five 4th hole

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