Country Clubs in Kansas City

[Kcgolfer2018]

Looking to join a club in Kansas City. I know there have been a few discussions about this, but not exactly on the topics I’m most interested in. I’m most curious about The National and Hallbrook, but open to other clubs of that kind. Let’s assume for this discussion that fees/location are not an issue (they are, but not relevant to my interest here).

 

I am early thirties, would be jr. member. 1. What is the younger golf crowd like at these clubs? Active? Would I have trouble finding a normal weekend game with younger guys who are good golfers? 2. I’m also curious about the general stereotypes about what kind of members are attracted to each club, and clubs generally in KC. (For example, party clubs, declining clubs, snotty people, etc.), I’m just looking for a solid club with a good golf course and a nice group of jr members.

 

Thanks!

[Tha Carter]

The general stereotype of Hallbrook is that it is a doctors and lawyers club. Obviously not all of the members fit these professions but that's the general vibe. National will be a more varied group, everyone I know there is 40+ though, not sure what their younger membership is like.

[pdakc]

I think Hallbrook will trend older and wealthier, but not by a large margin. If you are looking in this price range and are more interested in a good golf course, I would look at Indian Hills or Mission Hills above both Hallbrook and The National.

[Kcgolfer2018]

Thanks, very helpful so far.

 

Ppakc, are you saying that MhCC and Indian hills are better courses than Hallbrook and National, better social scene for young members, or both?

[jth3333]

National has the best practice facility in the city. There are some good young players. Course is in very good shape. I have been a member for 17 yrs

[Tha Carter]

Have you considered Shadow Glen? Location doesn't seem to matter if you are looking at both Hallbrook and National. Not to argue with above, but Shadow's practice facilities are really good. Course is great, social scene is non-existent. If you want good social scene and so-so course, look at Indian Hills (course is not better than any of these others as asked above). Milburn is probably the best balance between good social and good golf.

[pdakc]

> @Kcgolfer2018 said:

> Thanks, very helpful so far.

>

> Ppakc, are you saying that MhCC and Indian hills are better courses than Hallbrook and National, better social scene for young members, or both?

 

The courses at MHCC and IHCC are more traditional parkland style courses. Much older, narrower, etc. Hallbrook and National are both relatively young and their routing and architectural choices show that. I have no clue regarding the social scene at the National, but haven't seen much at Hallbrook that led me to believe it was young member friendly.

[f1fan]

I just joined Hallbrook last year and would strongly recommend it. The course is great and very challenging (but I am far from a scratch golfer). The facilities are awesome, with the pool, gym, and men’s locker room being particularly nice. Food is fantastic. They have a lot of great events for families and children. I don’t think the membership is overly stuffy, but it certainly trends older than Milburn. I am in my early thirties and so we qualified for the junior golf membership (roughly half of the full initiation fees).

 

We looked at two other clubs in our search - Indian Hills and Milburn. Milburn was our second choice. The course is fun, clubhouse is very nice, and the membership seems particularly young and vibrant (probably due to its lower price as compared with Hallbrook and Indian Hills). We ruled it out primarily due to distance from our house, and the less than impressive pool\dining options (though I think the pool is being redone next year).

 

Indian Hills is a beautiful club, but we concluded it may be less than ideal for families with young kids. There were many “18+ only” areas (including several dining areas) and just generally got the vibe that kids were merely tolerated, rather than welcomed. That may be totally untrue in actuality, but that is the impression we got during our tour. I didn’t play the course, so I can’t comment on that. Indian Hills is, by far, the most expensive of the three.

 

All in all, three great choices. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions, or if you want to play Hallbrook.

[GolfPhish]

I disagree with f1 about Indian and kids. My wife and I are early 30's with a 10 month old, and we picked Indian over Milburn, MH, and KCCC specifically because of the social scene and how great the club is for kids. Indian and Milburn have by far the youngest membership and the pool and family dining room are always filled with families with small children. They have a daycare area available most of the time for golfers, and even at nights Wed - Sunday if you don't want to use a babysitter (6$ per hour). There are a few 21+ areas, but thats simply because a large part of the club has so many kids that its nice to get away from them if yours are grown or you don't have any.

 

As far as the golf goes, the course is a very nice course. Its not the most challenging or the longest, but its always in great shape with great greens and they are constantly updating and making changes, and have never charged membership an assessment. Its designed by AW Tillinghast who also designed Winged Foot, Bethpage Black, Baltusrol, Medinah, San Fran GC, Firestone, Colonial, Interlachen, all of which are top 100 courses and have hosted many majors, so while its not the best course around, its definitely fun and challenging.

 

The downside, is that it is very expensive, there are some snobby people (although they are definitely the minority) and there's actually a decently long waiting list to get in. Apparently Patrick Mahomes wanted to join but was told there was a 10 month waiting list and went to MH instead (why they would make him wait is beyond me, but at least it shows they don't play favorites).

[dlygrisse]

To me a lot depends on where you live. South then Loch Lloyd is great in Mo. North then the National. West Shadow Glen, middle then Indian Hills. Hallbrook, never been there, but I hear it's nice. Also check out Milburn or Blue Hills, they are both really nice, and testing tracks, older courses but great layouts and clubhouses. Blue hills is in MO but close to Hallbrook, Milburn is north-ish JoCo right off Metcalf.

None of these options would suck, if you can afford them. :)

[dlygrisse]

> @f1fan said:

> I just joined Hallbrook last year and would strongly recommend it. The course is great and very challenging (but I am far from a scratch golfer). The facilities are awesome, with the pool, gym, and men’s locker room being particularly nice. Food is fantastic. They have a lot of great events for families and children. I don’t think the membership is overly stuffy, but it certainly trends older than Milburn. I am in my early thirties and so we qualified for the junior golf membership (roughly half of the full initiation fees).

>

> We looked at two other clubs in our search - Indian Hills and Milburn. Milburn was our second choice. The course is fun, clubhouse is very nice, and the membership seems particularly young and vibrant (probably due to its lower price as compared with Hallbrook and Indian Hills). We ruled it out primarily due to distance from our house, and the less than impressive pool\dining options (though I think the pool is being redone next year).

>

> Indian Hills is a beautiful club, but we concluded it may be less than ideal for families with young kids. There were many “18+ only” areas (including several dining areas) and just generally got the vibe that kids were merely tolerated, rather than welcomed. That may be totally untrue in actuality, but that is the impression we got during our tour. I didn’t play the course, so I can’t comment on that. Indian Hills is, by far, the most expensive of the three.

>

> All in all, three great choices. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions, or if you want to play Hallbrook.

 

i know several members at IHCC. It's a great family facility if you have active teenage kids who enjoy junior programs, swimming etc. In my mind it's a bit of an old school design course-wise, but the facilities are modern and top-notch. Great place if it works for you.

[scagnetti]

ive actually heard really nice things about IHCC's Tillinghast course. He also designed swope memorial, and stayed near or on the IHCC property.... basically he studied and designed IH with more intent than Swope, and I am particularly fond of Swope's routing and design...

 

I would much appreciate playing as a polite and fun guest if anyone is kind enough to host me for a game. architecture and course design nerd, my latest gem of a find is the Bendelow course up in Excelsior Springs. fun track.

[KUJayhawks]

Any new happenings at the KC CCs this year? Membership deals? General changes to any clubs?

[duckboat24]

Lake Quivira is advertising reduced initiation fees and I believe they just redid their practice facilities.

[ericjohnson520]

We're pretty lucky in the KC area that we have some high quality clubs. I've been a member at Blue Hills for several years and absolutely love it. The club emphasizes family, and during the summer, Friday evenings are an absolute blast. The club is packed with families and friends. The food is great, and everyone can relax because children are welcome.

Also, it's easy to integrate into the club due to our men's league. We play on Wednesdays, and we usually have a hundred or more guys show up for a different format each week that stresses playing with different players each week. Once you've played in our men's league a couple of times, you will have no trouble finding games on other days. It is also easy to find a game on the weekend because we don't have tee times before noon. You can just show up and play, and you won't have much trouble finding a group to play with.

The golf course is demanding. It can play very long, and the greens are enormous. It feels good to post a good score because you had to earn it.

If you're looking for a club in KC, Blue Hills should get considered.

[KUJayhawks]

We've got a very similar league down the road at Hallbrook. Our summer men's league is a blast. Different format every week and usually somewhere between 80-100 guys. Great chance to have a few beverages and meet different people.

We're definitely going to see quite a few changes this year though. Our director of golf was let go towards the end of last season. We hired an external candidate a few weeks ago and there has been a mass exodus in the proshop. The head golf pro left, which was kind of a given when he didn't get the director job, then we had two assistants leave. I'm guessing it was all a little by design so the new guy can bring in his own people, but losing 4 guys in a matter of 6 months, 3 in a span of weeks, is a bit of a shock to the system.

Now here's to hoping we get some good Spring weather!

[sportingpc]

Strong agree here. A lot of nice clubs in the area but factoring everything in from a really good course, to membership, to family friendly I don't think you can find a better option in South KC.

[Kcgolfer2018]

Would anyone be willing to take me out to play Hallbrook? My wife and I recently moved to town and we are interested in joining. If so, please message me! Thanks.

[Tha Carter]

Anyone have experience with the Great Life changes to their membership plans? They mixed up their plans and generally increased costs so I'm wondering how it affected their membership numbers.

[Truman]

I don’t think the price increase had any significant impact, on Greatlife courses. The problem they have is a lack of competent mgt.. if they don’t get that corrected I think they will have membership retention.

[GatorBob23]

I play out at Canyon Farms, and have no complaints about the management of the course there.  They've always kept the course in good shape since I've been a member.  I know that hasn't been the case at some other Great Life courses.  I live by Falcon Ridge, so I've seen some of the improvements they've been making there.  I think they did a lot of bunker work, and all of the bunkers should now be white sand.  I know they increased dues there quite a bit, I'm assuming to take care of some of the work that needed done with the course.  I think they cut their member count down to like 400 as the max.  All positives from what I can tell. 

[Truman]

I play at StaleyFarms which is still in need of a lot of work.  It appears the new owner has very little interest.  It’s such a great challenging layout, it’s disappointing.

[scagnetti]

just played Hillcrest for the first time since New Year's Day under the new owners... place looks the best Ive ever seen it.

[mfull]

Is there anywhere in the city that doesn't have a waiting list to join right now? I'm desperate for a decent practice facility and ability to get consistent tee times, and public golf in the city just doesn't offer that anymore.