Missouri Bluffs Golf Club

Let’s first start with the major issues with the Missouri Bluffs. There is no course ranger and the pace of play needs to addressed. On hole 8, there were 2 groups on the tee. Then on hole 10, there were 3 groups on the tee. Totally unacceptable.

They also had 4 unfair pin placements today. Holes 3, 13, 14 & 15. On hole 3, the pin was placed on tier of the two-tiered green. Hole 13 the pin was placed back left on a severe slope. Hole 14, the pin was placed too close to the tier. Hole 15, the pin was too close to the false front. You must hit the pass the hole to keep the ball from rolling down the false front, 30 yards down the fairway. Once you are above the hole, the closest you can get to the hole is 6 feet. If it goes another yard, it will go 30-40 yards down the fairway. The greens are good sized and there is no reason for these pin placements.

Many of the white tees were beat up. Holes 1, 3 and 8 were the worst. The tees were so hard, you had a hard time putting the tee in the ground.

Other minor issues were the fairways had a brownish tint to them. They resodded the right side of the 15th fairway and that grass is brown and not growing. The trees on hole 11 need to be trimmed. They are an issue on the tee shot. The staff is not welcoming or overly friendly. For one of the higher weekend green fees ($81), you should expect better.

The only reason this course does not get a 1-star rating is because the greens are exceptional, the location of the course and the design of the course. I would look elsewhere to play your golf in the St. Louis metro area.

Let me first say I really like the Missouri Bluffs, it is in my Top 5 courses in the St. Louis metro area for its design and location. However, it does so many things wrong, you really don’t want to play here. Everyone in my foursome has the same feeling.

Missouri Bluffs generally has one of the highest weekend greens fee in the St. Louis metro area. With the front nine had been aerated 1-2 weeks earlier, we are playing in early October and they were still paying $82. You can play three upscale golf courses in the St. Louis Metro area (not aerated) for $52 (Spencer T. Olin), $70 (Annbriar) and $83 (Gateway National). It was a beautiful, sunny day and the course was not very crowed.

The course is obsessed with no golf carts in the parking lot. You see a sign when you drive in, one when you check in and many other signs. What is interesting, one of the other courses who manages the Missouri Bluffs, they allow carts in the parking lot. Makes no sense.

They have installed 3 signs in front of the putting green – no chipping allowed. I bit overkill. Maybe the course should instruct the golfers who want to chip, to the other green to the east of the clubhouse. Just a thought.

Pace of play was awful. Waited on every tee. Saw a ranger on the course but nothing was done to improve this.

They need to find a starter with a friendly personality. The current one is only a rule enforcer. Not the tone you want fellow golfers to experience.

Much of the rough was not in good shape. On the right side of hole 15, the rough looked like dirt.

Finally, some of the pin locations they used were ridiculous. They were placed on hillsides or near tiers. If you were above the hole, there was no chance to lag putt to the hole. Generally, you were putting from a longer distance. Hole 15, if you went by the pin, your ball was 40-60 yards down the fairway. The holes with unfair pin placements were 4, 8, 11, 14 & 15.

With several upscale St. Louis metro courses struggling with excessive rainfall and heat, the greenskeeper at the Missouri Bluffs knows something. I was so impressed with the conditions of the entire course at the Missouri Bluffs on August 20. There were no burnt fringes or greenside rough and zero greens had any stress. The last two courses I’ve played (Spencer T. Olin & Far Oaks) were struggling with their conditions but not the Missouri Bluffs. It was a pleasure to play this course in late August.

The last time I reviewed the course the tees were not in good shape. They have really worked hard to repair these tee boxes with new sod. One of the best conditioned courses you can play in the St. Louis metro area right now.

There are some good attributes about the course and many not so good. The key problem with the Missouri Bluffs is with a $93 greens fee on the weekend (the highest in the St. Louis metro area). You should expect perfection at this rate and they are not even close. So many other better options in the St. Louis metro area at a much better price.

Let’s start with the not so good.

The tee boxes are awful. They have done some work in this area with new sod on hole 15 and workers taking away the bad grass on the blue tee on hole 8. However, there are 16 other tees that need the same attention.

On hole 8, while we were teeing off on the par 3, a mower entered onto the green. They circled the green and mowed the edges of the green. This is totally unacceptable. This was about 10:00am in the morning. They need to have all the greens mowed prior to any players playing the holes.

In the right fairway bunker on hole 11, there were large rocks (larger than a golf ball) in the bunker. The entire bunker was filled with smaller stones throughout the bunker. In the 2 right fairways bunkers on your 2nd shot on hole 18 – they were filled with smaller stones also. I’m sure this is a problem throughout the course.

I did not notice any water coolers on the course either. We did not see the beverage cart until after 11:00pm on hole 15.

One of the most unfair pin placements I’ve ever seen was on hole 8. It was on the far back, right of the higher left tier. Several feet from the back of the green and 3 feet above the lower right tier.

The course really needs to get a starter with a pleasant, welcoming personality. The current starter does not have a welcoming personality and is only concerned about barking out what you can’t do.

Here are the good attributes of the course.

The greens were in the best chape I’ve ever seen at the Bluffs. The fairways were very good also. The bunkers were raked. It is a Tom Fazio design that is very scenic and is a beautiful golf course.

In summary, there are 4 other upscale courses in the St. Louis metro area in better shape, more welcoming and offer a more attractive price. Here were recent weekend prices I paid at these courses:

Spencer T. Olin - $53 (senior rate)

Far Oaks - $69

Annbriar - $70

Gateway National - $79

The Missouri Bluffs Golf Club is one of the best courses in the St. Louis area but I never look forward to playing here. I never feel welcomed, never feel appreciated. Once you walk on the property, you feel like there are so many rules that must be followed. There is a 1970 song called “Signs” and the lyrics go like this, “Sign, sign, everywhere a sign” – well, this is the Missouri Bluffs Golf Club. Let me give you some specifics:

When you pay for your green fees, there are 2 signs on the counter. No carts are allowed in the parking lot. I play 20 courses on a regular basis in the St. Louis area and only 3 courses don’t allow this (Missouri Bluffs, Gateway National & Pevely Farms). If 85% of the courses allow it – maybe, they should consider allowing it too. The other sign said today will be Cart Path Only but in parentheses it says – “(This Means You)”. Really? Is this needed? Does this feel welcoming?

When you’re ready to tee off, the starter tells you “When we say cart path only, we need all 4 tires must stay on the cart path”. One of our carts had 2 wheels on the grass by the 1st tee. The starter actually got in the cart and moved all 4 wheels on the cart path! The Missouri Bluffs is not so manicured where the grass is perfect throughout the golf course, up to the cart paths. This is so unwelcoming.

When you first walk into the pro shop, you see numerous signs of golf course lots for sale. More concerned about selling lots than welcoming the golfers playing their course. This project is moving at a snail’s pace for over 2 years. They only have one street paved, no houses started and the roads are so narrow. The people who buy these lots, will not be able to park their cars on the street.

There is a place near the west side of the parking lot, that is sectioned off with orange cones. The sign says, “No Carts Can Be Parked Here”. Not sure why. There was no tournament where this area could be used as a bag drop.

On hole 1, there is a permanent sign that says enter and exit the fairways at the posts. Above it is a changeable sign – Carts On Path Today. They might want to consider making the “post sign” as movable too, so it is not confusing to the players.

Other issues…

It was March 20th and the green fees were $59. The highest I’ve paid all winter season. The best course in the St. Louis metro area is Annbriar and their weekend green fees are currently $48. An extremely welcoming and well-run golf course too.

When you pay, they hand out cart keys. I can’t think of another course that does this. Why do they still do this?

The starter uses a tablet to monitor the tee times. However, it is tough for him to read it with the glare from the sun. They might want to go back to the reliable paper tee sheet.

Pace of play was awful. When our original tee time arrived, there were 2 groups yet to tee off. We teed off 20 minutes late. It was over a 5-hour round. No course ranger out on the course to monitor pace of play and to ensure all 4 wheels of every cart was on the cart path.

Numerous bunkers did not have rakes. Fairway bunkers on 7 & 13.

The pin location on hole 15 was unfair. Just 3 feet above the ridge. I saw my ball get within 3 feet of the ball and nearly roll off the green. The group behind us did the same thing and his ball rolled into the bunker. If you were above the hole, you were scared to putt the ball because if it was just 3 feet too long, it was off the green.

On Hole 17, the pin was back and it had a white flag.

On the bright side, the course has an excellent design and conditions were outstanding for March 20. The greens were in great shape and on the fast side.

I cannot believe they are charging $60+ when it is cart path only for the entire season on a course that has not been maintained very well. Best case scenario they should be charging $30

We played yesterday at this course which has a nice layout. The course was in good shape. But the course has shifted to winter mode which means all carts stay on paths. This cause pace of play to be rather slow (4 hours, 50 minutes) and added some lengthy walks to hit your next shot. As we finished the round near the end of the day, the clubhouse was closed so we had to go to a nearby bar for a 19th hole.

Our tee time was 2:06 and it was slightly delayed and after some 12 holes the course got so backed up it was a little ridiculous...evidently due to a frost delay that was experienced in the morning. The course and views were amazing, The course was in excellent condition for fall golf and even the greens retained speed after aeration.

The Missouri Bluffs is in my Top 5 courses in the St. Louis Metro area - as far as course design. However, when it is almost November, they are charging an $88 greens fee and it has aerated greens - this is unacceptable! Also, the tee boxes are not in the best shape and the bunkers needed to be raked.

It was cart path only because it was wet and they have no visable yardage markers from the cart path. No blue, white or red stakes.

Just give to give how overpriced the Missouri Bluffs is, you can play the best course in the area for $70 (Annbriar) in the summer. Annbrair is now charging $50 on the weekends now.

The greens have been very recently aerated and sanded. There was no note when we made the reservation. It’s hardly worth $69 if you can’t putt on the greens. We could barely get a putt to roll straight.

I recently played a course booked on GolfNow that notified us before the reservation was made. It feels like they were disguising it. It’s a ripoff at $69.

Wonderful layout with rolling hills and challenging tees and pins.

Water coolers have been empty last 2 times i played….. and wan of those rounds , not cart girl was on a Saturday. Hard to enjoy yourself when your extremely thirsty

Challenges for every ability level, a lot of risk-reward shots, just a beautiful course. I would happily play there again.

Beautiful course. It’s in great shape. Very challenging but enjoyable!