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4.6
460 Reviews (460)
5 Stars
251
4 Stars
153
3 Stars
39
2 Stars
12
1 Stars
5
Conditions
4.4
Value
4.2
Layout
4.7
Friendliness
4.6
Pace
4.2
Amenities
4.2
96.0%
Recommend this course
433 out of 460 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.5
13 Reviews (13)
5 Stars
8
4 Stars
4
3 Stars
1
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.4
Value
4.5
Layout
4.7
Pace
4.3
Amenities
4.1
StaffFriendliness
4.5
100.0%
Recommend this course
13 out of 13 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.8
50 Reviews (50)
5 Stars
39
4 Stars
10
3 Stars
1
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.7
Value
4.4
Layout
4.8
Pace
4.4
Amenities
4.4
StaffFriendliness
4.7
100.0%
Recommend this course
50 out of 50 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Public
Style Links
Par 71
Length 7178 yards
Slope 138
Rating 75.0

Gateway National Golf Club is the top public golf course in St. Louis. The course sprawls across gently rolling pasturelands crossed with ribbons of tall native grasses and sprinkled with mature cottonwood trees. There are also several sparkling lakes that dot the course, providing challenges on several holes. Although it's nowhere near the ocean, the golf course has a classic links layout with wood-tie bunkers and subtle but tricky mounding that is in the tradition of great British Isles courses such as Carnoustie and the Old Course at St. Andrews. The Gateway National layout even incorporates Scottish-style burns. The fairways are generous but they are lined with rough that will readily swallow errant shots. It is a long golf course at 7,178 yards and it even boasts one of Illinois' longest par 4s, the 482-yard fifth hole.

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Gateway National Golf Links
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Course Details

Year Built 1998
Fairways Bent Grass
Greens Bent Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Keith Foster (1998) Kevin Hargrave (1998)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fees
Clubs Yes
GPS Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Caddies No
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Dress code Appropriate golf attire.

Food & Beverage

Bar

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Meeting Facilities, Banquet Facilities

Accolades

  • Golf Advisor: Top Courses in Illinois (2023 #4)
  • Golf Advisor: Golfers' Choice (2023 #39)

Reviews

4.6
460 Reviews (460)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 16
Watching the Game 8
Brunch 6
Course Challenges Include:
Water Hazards 24
Bunkers 23
Thick Rough 22
This course/club is great for:
Advanced Golfers 28
Locals 24
A Weekend Splurge 22
This Course's Location is:
Convenient to the City 33
Worth the Drive 19
Near Local Attractions 10

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap Don't know
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 244
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Missouri Advisor
Top 25 Contributor
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Great Conditions & Greens, Expensive Green Fees

Gateway National is consistently in the top tier of course conditioning in the St. Louis Metro area. It offers great views of the downtown St. Louis skyline. The only bent grass fairway public course in the St. Louis Metro area. However, it is one of the most expensive courses to play on a weekend morning ($83). You can find courses of similar quality at cheaper rates on the Illinois side (Spencer T. Olin and Annbriar).

Their greens are at the top of the class in the area. Roll true and have great speed. Stroking a few putts on the practice green is the foreshadowing of what you will experience in your round.

The course had some flooding issues back in late July but they moved quickly with numerous pumps to get the water off the course quickly. There are only a few areas that show any evidence of the flood waters. The left rough on hole 5, the raised wooden path from 14th green to 15th tee. You must cut in front of the 14th green and over a berm to the 15th tee. Finally, the rough between 17th tee to the green on the par 3.

A couple of tee boxes need some care. The white tee on hole 4 is too small and beat up with all the divots and it is rounded like a pitcher’s mound. The white tee on the par 3, 14th is rough also.

The course has decided to let the grass grow high, beyond the left fairway bunkers on hole 8. I have no problem with this, to prevent players from taking this shortcut and playing the hole as it was intended to be play. However, this is new and many players are unaware of this change. It is really difficult to find balls in this high rough and it only slows down play. I would recommend the starter mention this to players before they tee off.

Conditions Good
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Likely won’t be back.

Course was not in the best shape. Only one restroom on the course and it was disgusting.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played

SLOW

Played here many times. It is always slow but this time was horrific. Waiting on two groups to tee off on nearly every box. Course was in pretty good shape but not great. For one of the more expensive courses in stl I would expect pace of play to be better. Idk if it’s overbooking or lack of a Marshall but needs to improve. I like the course but hard to play 5 hour rounds.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser

Great course and service

Great course and service from the staff. I’ll be back next week.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 7
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Previously Played

Warning! Warning!

Consider this a warning. Do not pay $100+ to play Gateway National. The course conditions continue to decline. In my honest opinion this is a $40-$50 golf course. It may have bent grass fairways, tees, and greens but many tee boxes are in pitiful shape and the greens need some TLC. I understand the challenges that recent flooding have caused. Many areas are GUR and washed out. It amazed me how poor the rough areas were. Very inconsistent... Hardpan due to lack of watering, no grass, or totally overgrown. I get it... keep your ball in the fairway, but it appears that all efforts go towards the bent grass. Hopefully the grounds crew is able to turn things around. Otherwise, this place will be turned into a parking lot for Nascar fans. I hope that doesn't happen because the course layout is good and the St Louis area needs a higher end course like I recall this course being in previous years.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Average.

Overall I thought the course was ok value. Some holes were in hard shape. A few had been flooded then possibly burnt out? I thin the courses in forest park are in better shape for less.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap Don't know
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 32
Handicap 20-24
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 11
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Slow day recovering from flood damage

Overall this is a great course to play. Recent floods have the course in repair and while not bad there are defiantly some areas that are being worked on. Pace of play is hit or miss this time I played, we must have had a group clogging up the course. Took 4.5 hours for our group to finish. Waiting on one or two groups on every tee was agonizing.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 244
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Missouri Advisor
Top 25 Contributor
Previously Played
Wet weather
Used cart

Staff Working Hard To Make Course Playable. Compensation For Alterations Made To The Course Due To Flooding Was Not Enough.

The week was filled with unprecedented amount of rain in the St. Louis area. From Monday night to Thursday afternoon – 14 to 18 inches of rain. The grounds crew was working hard to pump the water off the course to make it playable by Sunday. I would guess, most of the course was under water at some time. Considering all the rain, the course conditions were still very good.

Here were the changes that were made on Sunday:

Hole 5, par 4 – changed to a par 3
Hole 8, par 4 – changed to a par 3
Hole 11, par 4 – tees moved up
Hole 12, par 3 – green was only half mowed because half the green was still wet from being flooded.
Hole 13, par 5 – changed to a par 3
Hole 15, par 4 – tees moved up
Hole 18, par 5 – green very damp from being flooded.

Due to these changes and course conditions, Gateway National gave every golfer a $10 off coupon on their next round at Gateway in 2022.

All my playing partners and other people I talked to this week, felt this was not enough. We played with all these alterations at the full rate of $83. How can you charge the same amount of a normal day with all these alterations? A head scratcher. The $10 off for a future round was a nice gesture but most people will lose the coupon or forget about it the next time they play Gateway. They really needed to reduce the green fees on that day by $20. I don’t want to come down too hard on Gateway because they were dealing with record rainfall and doing a fine job just to make the course playable. Kudos to the greens keeping staff there. But, maybe if something like this happens in the future – they should think about reducing the greens fees on the day people play the round.

The greens and fairways were in their usual outstanding shape, in the areas not flooded. However, I cannot give them a 5 star review because the compensation offered by the course was not enough.

Conditions Good
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 0-4
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Wet weather
Used cart

Great layout, poor facilities and overpriced.

I had heard nothing but great things about Gateway from multiple people so i was excited to play there and brought a few friends with me.

The course layout was fun, but challenging at times.

We had some pretty bad flooding leading up to our round, so i completely understand the course being in rough shape. My issue is that we received no communication that multiple par 4's and par 5's had been converted into par 3's and one hole was actually going to be shut down all together and we still paid full price for the round without essentially being able to play a full round.

In addition to that, something that the flooding had nothing to do with, the bathrooms are disgusting and certainly not what i would expect from a course that costs almost $100 to play at. Both on course and in the clubhouse were in terrible shape.

More than likely won't be returning as the facilities are not worth the price in my opinion.

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Fair
Pace Excellent
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 35
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Course is well maintained and greens are not slow (unlike most STL metro courses of equal quality). Keep those greens rolling true!

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Good day even in the rain

First few holes was in a steady drizzle, but cleared up and it was a great round.

Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 8
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
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