Spencer T. Olin Learning Center 9-hole Course

Spencer T. Olin is one of my top 3 courses in the St. Louis metro area. A great design by Arnold Palmer.

There are only 3 holes of the 15, I don’t really like. Holes 7,8 & 18. The hardest part about Spencer T. Olin are the greens – plenty of slope and fast if you’re above the hole. It is a bit of a drive from the St. Louis area to Alton, IL (45-60 minutes), however, it is the best value around. $52 for a senior on a Saturday morning. The course did not seem as busy as it usually is and the pace of play was excellent.

What is GOOD about the course…

The price. $52/$58 on a weekend morning. Senior and non-senior rates. The best value in the St. Louis metro area.

The staff. Extremely friendly. The starter and the lady handling the duties at the snack bar could not have been nicer.

The greens. Always in decent shape. Not as good as last year but still very good. There were 2 greens where the aeration holes seem to be slow in repairing (holes 3 and 6).

Pace of play. Hardly waited on any shot.

What NEEEDS IMPROVEMENT on the course…

The fairways. I think this part of the course is slipping a bit and there doesn’t seem they are doing anything to correct this. Numerous holes where the water sits or drains off – are bare! Overall, I thought the zoysia grass was thin throughout all the fairways. The worst holes were: 1, 6, 10, 13 & 15.

Beverage cart. On a warm, near 90-degree day, the beverage cart needs to be sent out earlier than noon.

Great course for the above average golfer. Don’t feel bad about moving up a tee box because this course will challenge you. Always love playing here.

We had a great time playing this course today. It’s in a lot better shape than it has been in the past. The greens are in really good condition as well as the fairways. The rough isn’t too thick and was manageable. We are overall very pleased with the course.

Good course overall. Challenging from middle tees. But back tees should be reserved for very low handicappers.

As always spencer t did not disappoint me and my fellow golfers in any way. Great place to play a round of golf , if i had to say one thing negative , it would be the pin placement was rather challenging considering the well maintained and fast greens!!!

Course in better condition than I expected for January. Having a mild winter helps. But I love this course for the challenge that it is.

Course in pretty good shape for this time of year. Not a fan of their Covid single cart policy, why do they get to charge extra money when we’re supposed to maintain 6 feet? On a day that didn’t get over 45°, it’s not like they were going to run out of them! Just seems like another chance to gouge us the player.