dbpotts

The course is short. Several interesting holes. The conditions were hit or miss, with some areas needing attention, and others were in good shape. Pace was slow, with us waiting on most every hole. 4-½ hour round, that would have been 3:45 if we didn't have to wait. I've played here three times, and might play here again...

This course, I understand, was purchased in 2020, and has been getting a lot of improvements since. The greens, fairways, and tee boxes were in great shape. As the guy in the shop said, "It's a Donald Ross course, so there's not a lot of flat lies out there."

This used to be a private club, and after the renovations are complete, will probably go private again, so play it while you can!

I played Hillcrest 7 and 8 years ago, and I don't remember much of the rounds then, and I also don't remember being impressed by the course. This time, we found the fairways, greens, and tees were in very good shape. Some of the tees, I didn't even use a tee on them because the grass was so thick and lush.

I'm told this is the only Donald Ross course in Missouri/Kansas, and the new owners have put a lot of effort into improving the place. Lots of variations in the fairways, a few two-tiered greens, several blind shots.

Shot placement will improve your score. You just can't put the ball in the fairway every time...sometimes it must be on the left or right. Sometimes, you may want to hit a shorter tee shot so that you've got a level lie.

A 6000 yard par 70 course, in need of some course condition improvements. There were 5 holes that had 8 players waiting to tee off. 4:45 playing time.

Layout is interesting, with a driveable par 4 for 18. While I think all courses should have a driveable par 4, having it for #18 is a mistake. 12 people waiting/teeing off there made the last hole take almost 30 minutes to play.

The course had had 7” of rain over the previous few days, so it played as expected. No roll, lots of mud, and car path only.

I like the layout very much. A couple of short par 4’s that give you eagle opportunities. A mix of par 3 lengths, and a couple of reachable par 5’s as well.

Lots of water in play, so if your unfamiliar with the course, use the GPS and map on the scorecard.

We’ve driven up from Dallas 6-7 times over the past 4 years. It’s almost an hour drive, but the layout and windy conditions always make for a great round.

Today, the front nine was great...finished in 1-¾ hours. However, the back nine took 3 hours. There were 5 groups on almost every hole. And while they said there was a Marshall out there, we never saw one.

This may have been an anomaly, but 1 slow round can make us reconsider a trip up there again.

Some of these greens were in very bad shape, such that when you putted, the ball spent as much time in the air as it did on the ground.

We had many lip-outs too, because the hole liner was only 1/16" below the ground, which essentially made the hole smaller. USGA requires them to be at least 1" below ground level.

That said, I really enjoy this course layout. The staff is friendly, and they did a great job of getting everybody off on time. We played in 4:15 in a four-some. My wife and I will usually play in 3:15, so it was slower than we'd like, but not slower than expected.

It has two drive-able par 4's, both of which require either a draw, or an incredibly good line with your tee shot.

Many of the traps were more like dirt pits, and yet some were well sanded and maintained. Not sure why though.

We played on freshly aerated and sanded greens, on a day with sustained 35 mile-an-hour winds. I was very disappointed that Golf Now didn't tell me that the greens were aerated, and I'm not sure if it was the courses fault for not letting them know.

The course is fairly forgiving, in that you have pretty wide fairways. However, your approach shots need to be pretty well on target.

The greens are usually fast and true (except when we played last).

This is a semi-private club. We had a three-some jump in front of us (a two-some) on the back nine (they passed us while we played 10, and then held us up for the next three holes). Even with those idiots, we still finished in 3:15.

The course is set around apartment complexes and it appears to have been laid out to accommodate an existing apartment complex. So some of the fairways are kind of narrow strange slopes and landing areas. There is a lot of distance from green to tee box on a few holes, so walking is difficult.

However the whole course is cartpath only, so you still have to take your bag with you to some of your shots if you're not sure of distance and yardage which is not marked well.

Course was in decent shape, with nice fairways and fast greens.

I've played this course 8 times over the summer. Each time, the course has been in excellent shape. The staff is friendly and professional, and they drive a cart up to your car when you park.

A comment about their par 5's. 3 of them have greens set back behind trees, which makes it nearly impossible to reach them in two. They should thin/remove the trees so that a 300 yard drive can be rewarded with a shot at the green.

Two of the times I've played, we had excruciatingly slow play (3 groups at a tee box on one hole). Not saying it will happen to you, but I've seen lots of new players on the course, and some messaging about course etiquette would be valuable.

There is a fair amount of sand, and only a few holes have water on them. The rough can be tough in some areas, but is pretty fair. Greens are soft, and fairly fast.

They have a set of green tees, about 4500 yards, which is great for beginners and younger players.

Be sure an enjoy an after-round meal at Chef Renee's...great food!

Just so you'll know up front, we arrived 1-1/2 hours early for our tee time, and were told that we couldn't tee off early because we had booked through Golf Now. I've never run into that before on any of my Golf Now bookings, and the starter was accommodating and let us off early anyway.

I love this course. It's got some challenges to it, blind tee shots, dog legs, water, sand, and some holes that are more target golf than just hitting it as far as you can.

Friendly staff, good cart service, and a nice restaurant in the club house. A must play course in the north woods!

I used to play this course a lot 15 years ago, but I've seen it decline in terms of course conditions, most dramatically over the past 3-5 years.

Lots of bare spots in the fairway and on the greens. Some of the holes look as if they've made an attempt to improve them, but others looked like all they've done was mow for the past 5 years.

But for the $18 Hot Deal rate with cart, I don't think I'd play here again, unless it improves.

Elevation changes, blind shots, and a short par 3 that drops at least 60 feet.