Rounds played on Kentucky golf courses
Arthur Hills’ name doesn’t garner tremendous respect amongst golf architecture aficionados and the snobbish sort over on the Golf Club Atlas boards. Personally, I generally enjoy his designs; granted, his portfolio of Kentucky courses is fairly small (I’ve played 8 of his 10 Kentucky projects, plus Longaberger G.C. in Ohio) and think he and his…
Pulling into the parking lot of the Moss Hill Golf Club in Versailles, Kentucky, I really had no idea what to expect. All I knew from some cursory Internet research was that the course was relatively short at 6,142 from the back tees. It was a cool late afternoon in April, in which we’d received…
Everyone has played one of those golf courses. You know, the place where the pickup trucks outnumber the sedans in the parking lot 3-to-1 or better. Where golf cleats are optional, jeans are welcomed, tank-tops are abundant, and just having fun is the order of the day. A place where a round is not so…
I’ve always imagined that the Wildcat Course and Big Blue Course at the University Club of Kentucky in Lexington have a little brother – big brother relationship. Being a little brother myself, I understand the notion of living in the shadow of the better looking, more sophisticated sibling. The Big Blue Course, with its Arthur…
Wasioto Winds Golf Course at Pine Mountain State Resort Park is, ironically, perhaps the antithesis of a mountain golf course. There are no mountaintop vistas or dramatic 100+ foot drops from the tee box to the green. Despite attachment to a state park set high atop Devils Ridge of Pine Mountain, Wasioto Winds Golf Course…
Cherry Blossom Golf & Country Club hosted the 2014 Kentucky Men’s State Amateur Championship earlier this summer, which should say something about the regard in which the golf course is held. The course rates as the 4th best public golf course in Kentucky, according to Golf Magazine, and the 5th best Kentucky public course by…
One of the true highlights of my season occurred this past week as I was twice invited to play golf at Idle Hour Country Club in Lexington, KY. For those of you unfamiliar with Idle Hour Country Club (IHCC), it’s arguably the most famous, most exclusive, and most secretive of all the golf and country…
I generally enjoy Arthur Hills courses. They are big, wild, sometimes cruel golf courses that test golfer’s shot making at every turn with gigantic greens at which to aim. Persimmon Ridge Golf Club in the outskirts east of Louisville may be one of the crown jewels of Hills’ design portfolio. I recently had the opportunity…
The rolling hills of Houston Oaks Golf Course may be the Lexington area’s best kept secret to those golfers not from the Bluegrass region. It’s a fantastic golf course. Houston Oaks is an above-average layout that is kept in above-average condition year round (Bryan and I played Houston Oaks a few days before Christmas 2013).…
Lexington’s Tates Creek Golf Course is located near the heart of the city’s south side, nestled up against several widely disparate neighborhoods. It is far and away the most “muni” of all of Lexington’s city courses. John Mark and I have probably played Tates Creek a combined 150 times between us, so I guess he…
The Big Blue Course at the University Club of Kentucky is a long, fun, difficult golf course with a relatively short, but interesting, history in Central Kentucky. After 20 years, this unique original remains one of the most memorable and memory-making daily fee courses in the Lexington area. Originally designed by Danny McQueen, the University…
The 4th of July holiday weekend brought searing heat to the Bluegrass region, under which many of our golf courses began browning up around the edges. Fairways got faster and greens got firmer as the breeze got warmer. And Weissinger Hills Golf Course was no exception. Located just two minutes from Interstate 64 in Shelbyville,…
The third expedition of our season long Kentucky’s Best Golf Tour led us to Heritage Hill Golf Club on the south side of Shepherdsville, Kentucky. Located just 20 minutes south of downtown Louisville and just minutes from Interstate 65, Heritage Hill is located in a veritable metropolis compared to our treks to StoneCrest and Eagle…
Please note that this review is reflective of what Old Silo USED to be. Unfortunately, the course has gone significantly downhill in the interim between when I published this column in 2014 and whenever you are reading this. For a more accurate picture of the modern Old Silo G.C. experience, please see my premature obituary…
One of my decisions early on this season was, in addition to playing better golf, to play golf at better courses. This week I made an exception because the cause of the charity scramble I was playing in was more important than where it was played. So, for the first time in probably six or…
Lassing Pointe golf course in Union, Kentucky, is one of the true gems that I’ve enjoyed playing in the greater Cincinnati area of Northern Kentucky. The rolling terrain and collection of streams, woods, and ponds provide a great variety of holes that require accuracy, creativity, and discipline. I’d played the course once before, probably 3…
Sunday, my growing band of merry-men completed the second leg of our season-long Kentucky’s Best golf tour, this time crossing Eagle Ridge Golf Course at Yatesville Lake State Park off the list. On behalf of all that have played Eagle Ridge, I’d like to swift-kick architects Arthur Hills and Steve Forrest right in the shins. …
This Saturday I had the privilege to play in the 19th Annual Bryan S. Clark Pi Kappa Alpha Golf Scramble at the Griffin Gate Golf Course in Lexington. I haven’t played in all 19 editions of this Golf Scramble, but I’ve attended more than a dozen, for sure. In prior years I’ve been on teams…
Mark and I snuck out for a quick 18 holes Tuesday afternoon at the Golf Club of the Bluegrass (“GCB”) in Jessamine County. So, I thought I should update my prior post on the former Widow’s Watch Golf Club to detail what I found in 2014. Golf Club of the Bluegrass remains a joy to…
I’ve played several truly, soul-crushingly difficult golf courses, rounds during which I realized early on that “it’s going to be one of those days.” I’ve played on greens that were, I thought, lightening fast, to the point of being punitive. None of those experiences compare to what I experienced at Traditions Golf Club in Hebron,…
StoneCrest Golf Course in Prestonsburg is a less than two hours from my home inside New Circle Road in Lexington, but arriving at the clubhouse gave me a sense I’d entered a whole other world. The trip required a two-hour journey to the foothills of the Appalachian Mountain Range. After playing the course, I’d drive…
One of the first Pete Dye collaborations with his son, P.B. Dye, was Kearney Hill Golf Links here in Lexington, Kentucky. It has been the crown jewel of municipal courses in Central Kentucky since in opened in 1989. Despite hosting some lofty and prestigious tournaments over the years, Kearney Hill remains a golf course that the…
Despite my proclivity for attracting cloud cover, Slim, Dustin, and I were able to get out for 18 holes at Nevel Meade Golf Course in Prospect, Kentucky. And FYI, if you want a cool, wet, windy day, simply schedule a round of golf with me, relax, and wait for the sunshine and warmth to give…
After the soft opening to the golf season in the South Carolina Lowcountry, I finally opened the 2014 golf season in Lexington on Wednesday at Lakeside Golf Course. Since John Mark was heading in from Louisville, I hoped to meet him at the University Club of Kentucky to wrangle with the Wildcat Course for the…
Once upon a time, Widow’s Watch Golf Club, now known as Golf Club of the Bluegrass, was a beautiful escape into the Jessamine County countryside. Unencumbered by civilization and its shortfalls, Widow’s Watch golf course was routed through raw, rolling hills with thick timber stands framing the incredibly natural terrain. It was my favorite course…