Spencer T. Olin Learning Center 9-hole Course

Spencer is a gem and worth the drive to play. They've flipped the nines so that was a surprise since playing last year. A course that allows you to hit every club in your bag, which is nice. Forces one to think their way around the course so it remains a test. A fair test of golf for all handicaps. Staff is straightforward and no nonsense. People in the cafe are always pleasant. Love it and I like that pricing is reasonable and fair.

This course was unavailable much of last summer due to the sink hole issue; since reopening, it is painfully obvious they are struggling to tend to the bunkers. It's not the course's fault, but the greens are battered and so many ball marks / divots make some of the metro east's most challenging greens almost impossible to navigate. The cost and availability is inviting, and the clubhouse staff are great; however, there are NO marshals to encourage pace of play.

Original Nicholas layout of course was too challenging for most players liking. They have removed a number of strategic bunkers making the course much easier. Overall course in descent shape other than the remaining bunkers which need lots of tlc. Ownership needs to step up the care taking of such a great layout course. Other than that I would play Stonewolf again.

Quit playing after 15 holes and over 5 hours. It was tedious. No marshals, just slow...... Play. Over 5 1)2 to play a round of golf on a Friday afternoon after 2 pm is ridiculous!

Ok this is my first time coming to this course and i had high expectations since my friends hyped it up. As fair as the course it did not disappoint. Early May and this course was excellent with conditions and the weather was perfect. Fun and challenging course i really enjoyed it. Butttt that being said the pace of play was horrible. We played the first 9 holes in 4 1/2 hours. There was a massive league in front of us and that was not ideal. The group was fine even said to go ask the club house if our group could start an another hole becuase they knew they were gonna be slow and there was about 30 of them. We asked the clubhouse guy and he said we would just have to wait. We booked on Golfnow hot deal time and i think that’s what made him upset becuase he did not seem to fond of us from the start. After the group finally got done with the first nine all 4 of us playing own ball finished the back in 1.2 hours so the back nine was a blast. Keep in mind we easily could’ve went to another hole the course was dead but the clubhouse guy said no. The real kicker was the clubhouse guy who said we couldn’t start on another hole or go in front of the league went out the play as well and JUMPED IN FRONT OF THE GROUP! Comical. At the end of the day i actually enjoyed my time here and will come back but i just had to comment on the day because i found it a bit hypocritical.

Spencer T. Olin is one of my favorite courses in the St. Louis metro area. Let's highlight the good points of the course and what needs improvement.

The course has excellent flow/design and the greens are what makes this course difficult. The $40 weekday senior rate can't be beat. The pace of play was tremendous also.

Given this, there are plenty of areas they need to improve on. The greens looked outstanding, however, they were so slow. Numerous fairways in rough shape. Holes 6, 10, 11 and a little bit on 16. The rough was way too high. It was difficult to find balls and this can slow down play.

If you book a tee time on-line, they charge a $9.96 convenience fee. Why? You can call them up and get the same rate and not pay this fee. This makes no sense. You should encourge golfers to use the website so this allows the person in the pro shop to check golfers in.