Course around St. Louis

Another cross-country golf trip this summer, from Pittsburgh to Vancouver and back. Playing every morning, then driving 8-10 hours. Last year, the first leg took me to Blue Top Ridge GC at Riverside Casino in Iowa. I’d do it again this year but they have an event the morning I need, so nope.

Looking at the map, St. Louis is smack halfway between home and Wild Horse in Nebraska where I’m playing my second day out. Now, I don’t necessarily want to play immediately around St. Louis; the perfect course is a bit out of the way, both for lodging cost and for lack of competition for the first tee time. A bit further west on I-70 would be fine.

Maybe Eagle Knoll? Any suggestions?

I would recommend Tanglewood in Fulton, MO over Eagle Knoll. It’s always in good shape and not too expensive. Eagle Knoll isn’t what it used to be, IMO.

Can you be closer to KC? If not I'd say Missouri Bluffs in St. Charles Mo, which is 30 or so minutes past ST. Louis. One of the better courses in the St Louis area, probably top 3 public in my opinion. Gateway is the best public course in St. Louis but it is on the Illinois side, so just east (you can see downtown st louis from the course). But it seems like you want to be further west.

If you can do the KC area you can play Swope, Stone Canyon, or Shoal Creek. All good courses.

Are you set on going south, and not through Illinois-Iowa? That route to wildhorse has a ton of good courses.

> @mci711 said:

> Are you set on going south, and not through Illinois-Iowa? That route to wildhorse has a ton of good courses.

No, not set at all, happy to have suggestions. I usually start off on I-70 to avoid Chicago anyway so I just looked for the halfway point. Riverside worked out well because the casino meant cheap lodging. It’s completely open how I get to Wild Horse, though, so long as it’s not too long a day from wherever I play the first morning out. KC is doable, it just makes the first day a little too hard and the second day too easy.

I am from St Louis, but live in Chicago now, so I have some decent idea about what you could do in this area.

If you come west from Pitt, you'd be south of the city on 90/294. This will bring you to the vicinity of some top courses - Cantigny and Cog Hill stand out in the west and Ravisloe in the South, but there are a lot of good courses (check out the Chicago thread if interested). Or stay on 80 and take this to TPC Deer Run on the border of Illinois and Iowa. This is a really fun course, and a pga tour stop. When you get back on the road you'll basically take 80 from Deer Run all the way to Wild Horse. I think it is much more direct than going to St Louis route as well.

I think Deer Run works with your timing better than Chicago Suburbs. As it is between 8-9 hours from both Pitt and Wild Horse.

Only course I've played in STL is Gateway National. No idea how it compares with the others in the area but I enjoyed it, nice variety of holes, but likely not an elite course. If you're looking simply for a pretty good course to play I'd say it fits, if you want something special you might want to consider looking elsewhere. One downside was some sort of farm or processing facility in the area produced some stenches on a few holes in one corner of the property.

> @VNutz said:

> Only course I've played in STL is Gateway National. No idea how it compares with the others in the area but I enjoyed it, nice variety of holes, but likely not an elite course. If you're looking simply for a pretty good course to play I'd say it fits, if you want something special you might want to consider looking elsewhere. One downside was some sort of farm or processing facility in the area produced some stenches on a few holes in one corner of the property.

That's actually a landfill. Surprised you were able to notice it. Played there probably 50 times and have never smelled it. Not to get off topic, but if Gateway were in the Chicago area it would be ranked in the top 10 public of Illinois every year. In my opinion, it would fall in line with Bowes, HoE, Stonewall, Ravisloe etc.

> @mci711 said:

> I am from St Louis, but live in Chicago now, so I have some decent idea about what you could do in this area.

> If you come west from Pitt, you'd be south of the city on 90/294. This will bring you to the vicinity of some top courses - Cantigny and Cog Hill stand out in the west and Ravisloe in the South, but there are a lot of good courses (check out the Chicago thread if interested). Or stay on 80 and take this to TPC Deer Run on the border of Illinois and Iowa. This is a really fun course, and a pga tour stop. When you get back on the road you'll basically take 80 from Deer Run all the way to Wild Horse. I think it is much more direct than going to St Louis route as well.

>

> I think Deer Run works with your timing better than Chicago Suburbs. As it is between 8-9 hours from both Pitt and Wild Horse.

Not knowing when he's travelling but be careful with Deere Run, it's closed for the John Deere Classic.

> @mci711 said:

> > @VNutz said:

> > Only course I've played in STL is Gateway National. No idea how it compares with the others in the area but I enjoyed it, nice variety of holes, but likely not an elite course. If you're looking simply for a pretty good course to play I'd say it fits, if you want something special you might want to consider looking elsewhere. One downside was some sort of farm or processing facility in the area produced some stenches on a few holes in one corner of the property.

>

> That's actually a landfill. Surprised you were able to notice it. Played there probably 50 times and have never smelled it. Not to get off topic, but if Gateway were in the Chicago area it would be ranked in the top 10 public of Illinois every year. In my opinion, it would fall in line with Bowes, HoE, Stonewall, Ravisloe etc.

Like I said, I enjoyed it, but the guy I played with wasn't a fan so I'm not going to throw out full recommendations not knowing what others prefer. And the landfill may have just been the wrong wind on the wrong day. High 90s temps and high humidity with the wrong wind can make for issues, entire outing noticed it.

I like the TPC Deere Run idea. Traveling early August so should be clear of the JDC, and I’ve never played a TPC. I might still take the southern route and angle up on I-74. It’s an hour longer but leaving Pgh. in the morning puts me through (or slightly south of) Chicago at rush hour which can add at least an hour. Before my golf/travel idea, I used to leave here at 5 or 6pm to get through Chicago at 1 or 2am, then would pull into a rest area somewhere in Iowa for a nap, then drive on to Greeley, CO. Taking two days and playing golf is much better. I wrote up last year’s trip in this thread: https://forums.golfwrx.com/discussion/1600642/suggestions-for-cross-country-golf-trip#latest

Back to the drawing board, Deere Run will only book a single 24 hours in advance, and I can’t risk booking lodging and not being able to play early, or being stuck with a 5 hour round. Next best?

I live in STL and second mci711 comments about gateway national. It is the only course out here with bentgrass fairways. So if you enjoy taking massive beaver pelt divots it's your best bet! Flat and windy... Thin to win.

He is also spot on with with Missouri bluffs. I play there a few times a week as it is a reciprocal course to my club and it is in really great shape this year. Awesome layout (Tom Fazio design) Lots of elevation changes all wooded no houses deer running around everywhere. Shouldn't be too hard to get a tee time as it is $78 to play on weekends. Which is more than most out here.

Innsbrook isn't bad either it's a little farther west and a very good value. Innsbrook also has little air bnb spots for pretty cheap if you have a large group.

Annbriar in Waterloo, IL is my favorite public course around the St Louis area. It's a bit south of downtown/Gateway national, so maybe adds around 45 mins driving but imho is well worth it. Really excellent track imo with excellent service, secluded. Tons of wildlife, families of deer etc. Check it out!

> @howellhandmade said:

> Back to the drawing board, Deere Run will only book a single 24 hours in advance, and I can’t risk booking lodging and not being able to play early, or being stuck with a 5 hour round. Next best?

That's odd. I played it as a single on the Friday before memorial Day, and I got my tee time several days in advance.

Well, Missouri Bluffs is out. Will only book a week in advance. Period. Not in the least interested in the cross-country trip angle. It seems that in life I encounter two kinds of people: those who encounter an idea or a request and say, “Let’s see if we can find a way to make this work,” and those who say, “That won’t work because . . .” Unfortunately, the person who answered my call was one of the latter.

> @howellhandmade said:

> Well, Missouri Bluffs is out. Will only book a week in advance. Period. Not in the least interested in the cross-country trip angle. It seems that in life I encounter two kinds of people: those who encounter an idea or a request and say, “Let’s see if we can find a way to make this work,” and those who say, “That won’t work because . . .” Unfortunately, the person who answered my call was one of the latter.

I'd play Gateway or something on the Chicago route. Nothing else is really worth it in the St Louis area. Aberdeen in Eureka (20 min west of St Louis) is the next best option. Someone mentioned Annbriar, which I've always liked. But it is a pain in the a** to get to and if you are going to play on that side of the river I would never choose it over Gateway.

What about Metamora Fields near Peoria, or Stone Creek near Urbana? Neither is world class, but both are fun courses. Also, French Lick (Dye) would be worth the detour.

> @Argonne69 said:

> What about Metamora Fields near Peoria, or Stone Creek near Urbana? Neither is world class, but both are fun courses. Also, French Lick (Dye) would be worth the detour.

>

I was going to suggest Metamora but thought it may be too far east of his target area. I loved that course when I played it a few weeks ago, thought it was well above average.

> @noahwein said:

> Annbriar in Waterloo, IL is my favorite public course around the St Louis area. It's a bit south of downtown/Gateway national, so maybe adds around 45 mins driving but imho is well worth it. Really excellent track imo with excellent service, secluded. Tons of wildlife, families of deer etc. Check it out!

I'll be travelling to St. Louis at the end of the month and plan to play Annbriar while I'm there. I was initially planning to play Gateway National but I read quite a few reviews about the pace of play being slow, overbooked tee times, etc.

> @howellhandmade said:

> Well, Missouri Bluffs is out. Will only book a week in advance. Period. Not in the least interested in the cross-country trip angle. It seems that in life I encounter two kinds of people: those who encounter an idea or a request and say, “Let’s see if we can find a way to make this work,” and those who say, “That won’t work because . . .” Unfortunately, the person who answered my call was one of the latter.

This doesn't shock me in the least. They've never been known for being customer-friendly, at least in my opinion.

> @mci711 said:

> > @Argonne69 said:

> > What about Metamora Fields near Peoria, or Stone Creek near Urbana? Neither is world class, but both are fun courses. Also, French Lick (Dye) would be worth the detour.

> >

>

> I was going to suggest Metamora but thought it may be too far east of his target area. I loved that course when I played it a few weeks ago, thought it was well above average.

The Metamora Fields ownership group just bought Weaver Ridge also. They just hired DA Weibring to come in and do some renovations. Will be nice to have someone pumping money back into Weaver and they also lowered the price to try and bring more people in. They already have more of a social media presence in the 3 weeks that they’ve owned it than the Weavers had for as long as they owned the place.

If coming through St. Louis there’s not much between St. Louis and KC. I live in Columbia and Tanglewood in Fulton is probably the best of the bunch in the area but nothing to really write home about.

> @jli2636 said:

> > @mci711 said:

> > > @Argonne69 said:

> > > What about Metamora Fields near Peoria, or Stone Creek near Urbana? Neither is world class, but both are fun courses. Also, French Lick (Dye) would be worth the detour.

> > >

> >

> > I was going to suggest Metamora but thought it may be too far east of his target area. I loved that course when I played it a few weeks ago, thought it was well above average.

>

> The Metamora Fields ownership group just bought Weaver Ridge also. They just hired DA Weibring to come in and do some renovations. Will be nice to have someone pumping money back into Weaver and they also lowered the price to try and bring more people in. They already have more of a social media presence in the 3 weeks that they’ve owned it than the Weavers had for as long as they owned the place.

>

> If coming through St. Louis there’s not much between St. Louis and KC. I live in Columbia and Tanglewood in Fulton is probably the best of the bunch in the area but nothing to really write home about.

Yes I saw that. Great news. Weaver ridges layout is one of a kind. The condition has been awful. Happy to see new ownership. I hope it gets back to where it was because it was one of my favorites.

> @tenny352 said:

> > @noahwein said:

> > Annbriar in Waterloo, IL is my favorite public course around the St Louis area. It's a bit south of downtown/Gateway national, so maybe adds around 45 mins driving but imho is well worth it. Really excellent track imo with excellent service, secluded. Tons of wildlife, families of deer etc. Check it out!

>

> I'll be travelling to St. Louis at the end of the month and plan to play Annbriar while I'm there. I was initially planning to play Gateway National but I read quite a few reviews about the pace of play being slow, overbooked tee times, etc.

been roughly 15 years since i've lived in the area, but i remember preferring annbriar over gateway whenever given the choice. not that i didn't like gateway, i just liked the layout at annbriar more and, at least at the time, i remember the conditions being slightly better at annbriar probably due to having less traffic than gateway.