Quail Creek Golf Course

The pace of play on this course was ridiculously slow. Obviously overbooking the course. After spending 3 hours to play 9 holes I was frustrated but continued on to hole 10 where it then took an hour to play 2 holes. That's when I called it quits. There was no way to play through, 2-3 groups were waiting to tee off at each hole.

On the positive side pace of play was great, we nearly had the place to ourselves, probably because every one else must know the conditions, I can overlook sparse fairways, but the greens were inexcusable: also the sand had not been raked recently. Staff was very friendly, but when we made the turn the clubhouse was locked up.

This course is locally known as a once great course that has gone down hill. While this is once true, the course has made amazing recoveries over the years. The green's are amazing and the fair ways are getting greener. These improvements are being reached while still being the home course to two high schools with both JV and Varsity teams along with a girls team, all of which completely tare up the course every year. Also, floods are very common due to low elevation. Yet, even with these problems, the course is still somehow improving every year. I would recommend this to anyone.

The course is in horrific shape. Fairways are non existent. Greens are awful. Bunkers are non playable. T boxes are sparse or bare. I have not played the course in a few years and the last time I played it was in good shape. Don't know what happened but do your self a favor and DO NOT waste your money.

Quail Creek is a very nice course with a number of challenging holes. The course, however, is in very poor condition. The bunkers have plants growing in them and looked like the haven't been raked for quite a while. The fairways are very choppy with lots of weeds and bare spots.

Finally, when I played the flags were not properly designated. Red flags were in the back and blue flags were in the back!!! In some cases in it made club choice really difficult to get right.

Not that many on the course, yet it took almost 5 hours to play. It wasn't the group in front of us, but a group in front of them. Wide open before them. The fairways have not yet grown in, which is OK considering the time of year. However, the bunkers need to be raked, and there are weeds growing in the bunkers. Greens were fine, and the course has an outstanding design. Also, I would suggest getting an industrial size mulcher. There are so many branches and sticks, and leaves that could be mulched, improving the overall appearance of the course.

Hale Irwin designed this course in the 90's and it is an absolute gem of a track. When his company ran it back in the day this was one of the best tests of golf in the area. But somewhere along the line it was sold to some guy who made a quick few million and now it's like seeing the great Arnold Palmer barely able to move. Only it's not age, it's neglect.

Quail Creek is in such bad condition it makes Sunset Hills or River's Bend look like Bellerieve. You simply cannot play out of the bunkers. They are more dirt than sand, there are weeds growing in 75% of them, and there are rocks strewn throughout waiting to ruin your sand wedge.

The tee boxes are a disaster. Some are completely unmowed while others have virtually no grass at all. The fairways are so barren and full of dirt and gravel that at a recent US Kids golf tournament there the kids had to play Lift Clean and Place -- despite the fact it had not rained and was 60 degrees!!!

The pro shop is a joke. It feels like a construction trailer despite the fact it's a brick and mortar building. The staff on both days I was there was rude and acted like they didn't care if I paid to play the course or not. The food is disgusting. My playing partner and I ordered a dog and a bratwurst. Both were inedible.

What kills me the most about Quail Creek being so horrible on every single level is the fact that the design is superb. You can see the once great course lying dormant under the decay and neglect. I wish another millionaire who actually cared would buy it, restore it, fire everyone and make it great again. This place hosted US Open qualifiers and Mid Amateur championships! So sad.

The nail in the coffin is the price. They're changing as much for a round of golf as the Bluffs... but Quail Creek isn't worth more than $18 a round in its current condition, joke of a pro shop and terrible staff.

Avoid this place at all cost!

When the new group took over Quail they showed promise, work around the clubhouse, some trees removed, pretty decent pricing that included a package deal, but then things went downhill.

Over the 5 years the course conditions have not improved and possibly have become worse.

Course Conditions

The greens are ok, but are having trouble, and in a summer last year where the weather was perfect they struggled to keep them up in perfect conditions for Missouri.

The tee boxes are in horrendous shape and need to be sodded with zoysia, not seeded with fescue. How is new grass suppose to grow when players are walking on it.

Bunkers need help, sand and roundup!

Cart paths need serious work

Trees and underbrush- need to be removed from areas where a ball can land to make it easier to find and improve pace of play. AND FOR GODS SAKE CLEAN UP THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF 18 and make it so you can find and play a ball, seriously a chainsaw and weeder and about one day is all it would take.

** they did cut down some trees and this did help on some holes but one improvement does not change the other factors.

PUTTING GREEN AND PRACTICE RANGE

OK, so the putting green has been cut in half and looks horrible and has been this way for two years because the new practice green never was finished.

The driving range is horrible, no grass, full of weeds and just needs to be re-sodded PERIOD!

MANAGEMENT

All the above issues obviously lie with the above title!

I heard they let go the person in charge of both courses, and I will say that is a start. Pricing which is dictated by management is a joke, $55.00 the last couple of years to play that course, is insulting to players who understand what other golf courses charge in much better condition. Location means jack when your course is in bad shape. Their player plan is overpriced and has little creativity or common sense. Why would I pay $20. 00 to play there sister course at twilight( it is not a good course), when that is the same price as Quail at 9:00 on Saturday. It does not make any sense. On top of the pricing issues they offer no GHIN or other discounts that should be included to make it something special. And no the club fitting is through a outside contractor.

I do wish them good luck, but based on the decisions made over the last couple of years I am not sure if they are going to be able to recoup the players they already lost.

We were surprised to be able to play golf in January for St. Louis on such a beautiful 67 degree day! The course was in very good shape for this time of year and greens were great!

I was a member last year 2015. The greens were in poor shape all year long.All repairs to the course were left unresolved with plumbing parts left in place all season long.

Beautiful layout and greens but overall course and paths in poor shape.

Unfortunately I was disappointed because normally you can count on fast, true nice greens from Quail Creek. Not currently. Most of the greens are plagued with bare spots and weeds. All the greens were slow. The rest of the course was as you would expect for Quail - worn out tee boxes and fairways and rough with a mixture of good grass and crab grass.

With the current condition of.the greens, I would not pay the $50 asking price to play there.

There was some damage on at least half the greens. Hole placement could have been better to avoid the damaged areas.

The cart paths need a lot of repair.

The driving range did not have good tee boxes.

It's been a little over a year since playing this course and it will be many more until I return. In a year with low heat and plenty of rain every course in St. Louis is in GREAT shape. NOT THIS ONE! 80% of the greens and 70% of the tee boxes were virtually unplayable. Fairways are in decent condition. Bunkers were hard has concrete.

This course has never drained well so the slightest shower leaves much of the course water logged. Don't plan on warming up on the practice green before your round....it's horrible.

With the many options for golf in St. Louis, you can find a much more enjoyable course than this one.

Great layout and challenging from the correct set of tees. About 1/3 of the greens were burnt from heat and fungus. I would not play here anymore in 2015. And their practice green is gone, which suggest they have no money. Fairways were somewhat shaggy.

A great layout but suffering from proper management.

Normally this course is in excellent shape. The weather has not been that hot this year, but most of the greens are burned up. There is hardly any grass on several of them and you have to putt over dirt. I don't know what has happened to this once great facility but I won't be coming back.

Almost all of the greens and many tee boxes were absolutely terrible. No one said a word about this while they were taking my money. I will never go back.

Someone told me the course was in rough shape and I should have listened or checked it out more. The other reviewers were right. What a shame!! Quail is a very good layout and although it's has had it's ups and downs over the past 15+ years when it comes to condition, they have now just completely let it go. The greens are as bad as any place I have ever seen. There are maybe 3 greens that have only minimal bare spots, 4-5 others that are not all that good, and at least 10 that range from bad to nearly un-puttable. Had a 6 foot birdie putt that was a joke, no chance. Might as well have the old "scramble 2 putt max rule" in effect if you choose to play here. Unfortunately, the fairways weren't much better. I'd give them a 3 or a 4 on a 10 scale, but at least in most fairways you could roll the ball to a nearby acceptable place. Tee boxes are mostly terrible too. Makes me sad to see the course in such bad shape and to have to give such a bad review. Unless you are unconcerned about condition or can get a really low hot deal, I would avoid. I will not even think about going back until next May at the earliest. Maybe they will put the money into it and maybe they won't, but it will take 8-9 months to see.

The worse greens I have ever seen in my life. Patches of grass and dirt made it impossible to putt. For as much rain we have had the fairways looks like a goat patch. I cannot believe they charge 40.00 dollars to play there, used to be one of my favorite places to play, what a shame.

The greens used to be the highlight of Quail Creek. They are totally gone. Not worth the $45 green fee. Such a shame to see the course in these conditions. When I asked the pro-shop they kind of laughed it off and they didn't seem that concerned about the quality of the greens. I won't be playing there again at their current prices which is a shame as it is the closest course to my house and the layout is challenging. The tee boxes and fairways were never that great to begin with, now that the greens are of similar quality I can't recommend this course to my friends.