Gopher Hills Golf Course - Executive Nine

Very hilly track. Mostly open with tall prairie grass between the holes, so wide open doesn't mean easy. Stray shots will keep you from making the green in regulation or send you back to the tee box. Fathers Day crowd was pretty thick with children so I made a detour to the exec 9 to let the front nine clear out a bit.

I like this course because the front nine is more like a links course and the back nine has more trees and water. It's fairly short so a variety of golfers can enjoy the experience. The rolling hills and out of the city feel certainly help to make it a more relaxing round.

I played Gopher Hills for the first time in 9 years and I was surprised to see how much it has changed. The back nine didn't even exist the last time I played out here and now it's like two different courses from front to back. All in all it provided a very challenging setup.

Unfortunately the course was also not in the greatest shape. The fairways really took a beating this winter. In many spots there is nothing more than a few blades of grass and a lot of exposed soil. Obviously this is not the easiest surface to play from and it's really disheartening to hit a nice drive right down the center only to find yourself on bare soil. On the positive side it does appear they are trying to address this but I'm not sure they can really do this and still use the course at the same time. After all, how do you rope off major sections of the fairway in order to let them recover? I don't know that it's practical.

On the plus side, the greens were in EXCELLENT shape. There didn't seem to be any winter kill on them and they rolled true, albeit a bit slow. Regardless it is worthing noting that once you are on the green you will have a true test.

Will I come back? Yes. I believe this course will be much more enjoyable once the weather allows it to dry out some and the fairways have a chance to recover. Even with all these problems it was a great value round for the price I paid.

Good shape for early in golf season. Usually has great greens later. New cement cart paths are a welcome addition. Great value on Golf Now!

My dad and I really enjoyed this course, nice variety of terrain. Course ranged from open fields to rolling hills. Well maintained and staffed. Looking forward to playing there again.

I played Gopher Hills 11/1/12, when it was 45 with a humming NW wind. From the tips this course is everything you could ask for as a test through the bag. I've played here before, walking, & have finished physically drained, ascribing my poor score to being out of shape. Riding, I wasn't close to being tired & could fully appreciate the challenges the course gives you. Originally a 9-holer (now the back 9), it has been expanded to 18, plus a stand-alone 3rd 9. On this day the low sun REALLY accentuated the many moguls. Gopher Hills is a striking golf course (very pretty vistas) that makes great use of its terrain. The last 5 holes make a clockwise tour of the property's perimeter with woods on the left. Otherwise it is mostly open ground with dramatic ups & downs. Its only drawback is that the greens are usually kept at (shall we say) senior speed, & in the fall the aerated greens are that much tougher. I have toured but not played the final 9 & it looks to offer somewhat shorter versions of the other 18...raised-up, exposed, domed greens on wildly rolling ground. The turnoff on H61 in Miesville is tricky (it's like pulling into a grain elevator) so be sure to googlemap it. It's well-worth the trip, but I advise using balls with a little click to 'em for your chipping & putting sanity.