Spencer T. Olin Learning Center 9-hole Course

Played in early February. Given the time of year and the snow that had just melted that week, the course was in good shape

I am a member of their Players Club and it is a great deal for me. I live in Alton. This is THE best course in the area I would even put it in the Top Ten for public tracks. Arnold designed a course that is user friendly and can be extremely challenging.

My Top Ten Public Courses:

1. Annbriar

2 Missouri Bluffs

3 Gateway National

4 Far Oaks

5 Stonewolf

6 Spencer

7 Golf Club of Wentzville

8 Tapawingo

9 Falls of Turtle Creek

10 Old Florissant/Paddock

It’s a course that likes to test you, and we were definitely tested! Lots of walking because it was so wet we had to stay on the cart path!!! We loved it!

For November golf, there is very little to complain about at Spencer T. Olin. One of the better upscale courses in the St. Louis metro area. They always have the best pricing in the area for the quality of the course you are playing. The weekday senior rate was $32.

The conditions of the course for November were terrific.

Place of play was outstanding too.

Overall, I love playing this course. While closed most of the summer, I found the conditions to be really good. A few greens need some work, but fairways and tee boxes were really good. I was able to say clear of the sand on this day, so I didn't get a good look at the traps.

Finally got the chance to play Spencer T. It is an exacting course with large but challenging greens and a 135 slope rating. Overall, the course was in solid shape and was fun to play an Arnold Palmer layout.

There were a lot of repaired ball marks but many were not fixed “properly” so the greens were a bit uneven with many tiny dead spots. The fairways were in excellent shape and great to hit off. A lot of strong holes but none that are truly memorable.

A bummer was that the pace of play was pretty slow. In addition, a group of five formed and were painfully slow. That backed up a bunch of groups and caused a five-hour round.

Terrible, charged me and wouldn’t let me go out at my tee time.

Very nice course. Great condition. Forgiving fairways and greens. Play was a little slow but it was a beautiful day so it was okay.