GolfPass Icon
Rating Index Rating
Tooltip Information Icon
4.5
565 Reviews (565)
5 Stars
317
4 Stars
192
3 Stars
41
2 Stars
7
1 Stars
8
Conditions
4.4
Value
4.6
Layout
4.8
Friendliness
4.5
Pace
3.7
Amenities
4.1
96.9%
Recommend this course
542 out of 565 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.5
33 Reviews (33)
5 Stars
20
4 Stars
9
3 Stars
4
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.4
Value
4.7
Layout
4.8
Pace
3.8
Amenities
4.2
StaffFriendliness
4.6
100.0%
Recommend this course
33 out of 33 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.4
60 Reviews (60)
5 Stars
32
4 Stars
21
3 Stars
7
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.4
Value
4.7
Layout
4.8
Pace
3.7
Amenities
4.0
StaffFriendliness
4.5
100.0%
Recommend this course
60 out of 60 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Public
Par 72
Length 6963 yards
Slope 135
Rating 73.5
Book a Tee Time at
Spencer T. Olin Community Golf Course
Powered by GolfNow.com
Hot Deals at Spencer T. Olin Community Golf Course

Course Details

Year Built 1989
Fairways Zoysia Grass
Greens Penncross bentgrass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Arnold Palmer (1989) Ed Seay (1989)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fees
GPS No
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Bunker Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover
Metal Spikes Allowed No

Food & Beverage

Bar, Grill

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Showers, Lockers

Accolades

  • Golf Advisor: Top Courses in Illinois (2023 #19)
The Best Way To Book Is With GolfPass+
waivedfees
10 rounds of waived fees
golf ball.svg
$120 in tee time credits
teetime protection.svg
Tee Time Protection
redeemtrophy
Redeem GolfPass points

Reviews

4.5
565 Reviews (565)
Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 322
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Missouri Advisor
Top 25 Contributor
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Good Shape

The course was in good shape. The greens were smooth and fast. Some greens do have some small brown sections but it does not affect your play on the greens. The fairways were fine with only some bad spots where the excessive runoff of the rainfall (that every course is experiencing) has occurred.

My only criticism was the pace of play. Waited on every hole with an early 7:00 tee time. Also, with the recent flooding, the gnats are really bad. Bring some bug spray.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 22
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played

Post Tournament Play

No marshall on course after a tournament made for a long round.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 15
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Wet weather
Used cart

Nice course

The greens are always nice here, even though the crazy amount of rain has made it harder to keep some of the fairways to their usual good condition. Still, pretty good overall. Good amenities like driving range with real grass, good selection in the snack bar, and cart girl was around several times. The bugs/gnats are HORRIBLE but there isn't much they can do about that I suppose. My only real complaint is the pace of play. Never saw a marshall once, which is probably why it took almost 5 hours to play. Please have the marshalls move slow pokes along! Or have them skip a hole. Really need to enforce this!!! It's fine to be bad, but be bad quickly.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 168
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Challenging layout yet fun! Awesome staff and value.

I live about an hour and change away from this course and will be making the trip many times in the future to enjoy this course. The staff is incredibly friendly, and the course was in great condition. The greens were punched on the Monday of the week I played. I called ahead and the person on the phone told me so and that the greens were rolling very well. He wasn’t lying! I appreciate that because of the distance I drove. If you are in the St. Louis area this is a must play.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Money grab

Made reservation on golf now, however no mention of scramble tournament was mentioned prior to our 8:16am tee time. Upon seeing line of carts when we arrived, I questioned staff about our concerns of slow play and was assured that there would be no hold ups....wow!! Nothing like a 6 hour round to make your golfing experience memorable!

Conditions Good
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 17
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great Course

Awesome course. Very pretty and challenging. Had a great time playing with friends.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 66
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 1000 Contributor
Previously Played

Great Value

I love this course and wish it was more convenient in driving distance for me. This is a very playable course for all levels of golfers, great design by Arnold Palmer and excellent maintaince by the Spencer T. Olin grounds crew and golf management team. This is a definite play if in the area!

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 322
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Missouri Advisor
Top 25 Contributor
Previously Played
Wet weather
Used cart

Outstanding Conditions

Spencer T. Olin is one of the best conditioned courses in the St. Louis Metro area in late August.

The zoysia tee boxes were perfect. The fairways were good also. With most courses afraid to cut the greens short in these hot conditions in St. Louis, their greens are the fastest around this summer.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 16
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Great Round at Spencer T

Spencer T is really a nice course. It's not terribly difficult but has some nice challenges and rewards you for keeping the ball on the fairway. Many sloping fairways and greens demand some placement with irons which I really like and many places where if you miss, the ball is running down a deep, dark hill that you don't want to mess with. The pace of play was excellent, I was thrilled with that. We finished 18 right at 4 hours and we didn't rush at all. My complaint is with the greens. There were some that were pretty beat up, people not fixing their ball marks, which over time becomes a big problem. Also some spots where the greens were lost, and crab grass invaded. I'm not picky but it's the only reason I'm not rating the course as excellent. Excellent is hard to be, but the greens need to be true. I didn't think the greens rolled consistently around the course which had us guessing throughout the round. Overall, it's an excellent course. To me it's a $30-$35 course, I got a hot deal for $21 so that made it solid. I wouldn't pay $50-$60 to play here, to me it's not to the level of other courses in the metro that are charging those rates. It's worth playing but if I'm spending $50 I'm heading to Annbriar.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 20-24
Skill Beginner
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great Course for the Money

Very nice course with well kept greens and fairways. Most fairways were open and forgiving. Course is not hard but some challenging.

Water hazards came into play a few times. Sand bunkers well kept.

All in all a nice course.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 322
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Missouri Advisor
Top 25 Contributor
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Spencer T. Olin In The Best Shape I've Seen

Spencer T. Olin is one of the Top 5 courses in the St. Louis metro area. When I played it on 7/28/18, you could tell they have made a special commitment to improve the conditioning of the course. Plus, the $50 green fee on a weekend, makes it an incredible value.

First thing I noticed was two fans on the practice putting green. Never seen this on a course. If they are that concerned about the practice putting green, then you know the course is going to be in great shape. The putting green was in the best shape I've seen it.

The tee boxes and fairways were in great shape.

They have always had trouble with the 14th green due to the hot summer heat. They had two fans on this green and this green was in the best shape I've ever seen it. Also, on that hole is the Arnold Palmer logo on the other side of the pond. It has always been in disarray. They have replaced the colored rock in the logo and it looks great now. A small thing but you can tell there is an emphasis to improve the course.

The only concerns I had about the course. There were sections of rough around the greens that were brown/dead. Also, a few greens had crabgrass creeping on the putting surfaces.

Get out and play Spencer T. Olin. Great course, great conditioning and a great value.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Needed more water stations on a very hot day, otherwise great trac.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 33
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Always a pleasure...

The course is always in good shape and the staff is friendly. Worth the drive. For some reason, this course tends to back up on holes 14, 15, and 16. But hey, there's always Fast Eddies!

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 33
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Spencer T Golf Course

We had a great time except there was a group of two who slowed the pace down for everyone on the back 9 of the golf course.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Nearby Courses
Alton, Illinois
Public
4.4500492968
565
Alton, Illinois
Public
3.5
2
Alton, Illinois
Public
3.8391334795
286
Alton, Illinois
Public
4.3386626445
56
Wood River, Illinois
Public
4.2337574374
443
Godfrey, Illinois
Public
3.9287485582
101
Edwardsville, Illinois
Semi-Private
3.3574354056
372
Edwardsville, Illinois
Public
0.0
0
Edwardsville, Illinois
Private
4.0
4
Godfrey, Illinois
Semi-Private
4.1736111111
144
Saint Louis, Missouri
Public
3.8488512736
441
Golf Packages

Ozarks Golf Around Package

FROM $137 (USD)
LAKE OZARK, MO | Enjoy 3 nights' accommodations at The Lodge of Four Seasons and 2 rounds of golf at The Lodge of Four Seasons - Cove & Ridge Courses.

Best of Big Cedar Lodge Package

FROM $337 (USD)
RIDGEDALE, MO | Enjoy 5 nights’ accommodations at Big Cedar Lodge and 5 rounds of golf at Big Cedar Lodge – Mountain Top, Top of the Rock, Ozarks National, Buffalo Ridge Springs, and Payne’s Valley Courses.
Now Reading
  • Home

  • Memberships

  • Library

  • Account