KCMOHacker

I played this course for the first time in February 2016. It was overall in pretty good shape for being what should be a nasty time of year in Missouri. The course can be tight and is tree-lined, so hit 'em straight. The staff was very friendly, and it's got a driving range (although, it uses floating golf balls, which are weird). Three criticisms: (1) there appeared to be a lot of beginners and hackers on the course, which really slowed things down to a crawl; (2) it was relatively common to have players taking shots from fairways on the wrong hole; and (3) the price is a little high for the overall quality, but I'd go back again.

I've played this course about 5 times this year, and the condition continues to go downhill. In comparison to other courses I've played this summer (Tiffany Greens, Hodge Park, The Deuce, Heritage Park, Winterstone, and Fairview (in St. Joe), this course is hand's down in the worst condition of all of them. It's not even close. The fairways and tee boxes were filled with weeds, ranging from crab grass to clover. The rough was thick and ate up balls that just missed the fairway, while the greens were riddled with un-repaired ball marks and had missing chunks of grass. It's a shame because the course layout is fun and the price is reasonable (but perhaps too high for the present conditions). Frankly, this course is, right now, probably in the poorest condition of any course I've EVER played in Kansas City, except for the now-defunct Rockwood course in Independence. I've heard the course is under new ownership, so perhaps they can get things in line soon, because the course has potential.

This my second time playing Fairview, and I've learned that it's more enjoyable if you keep the driver in the bag and use your irons to funnel your way through the tight, tree-lined fairways.

The pros: the greens were in excellent condition, and the course was plenty challenging. I thought the staff was very friendly (e.g., a course ranger helped look for one of my balls). The pace of play (about 3:30) was a plus, and there is very little sand on the course, which is fine with me. The water placement was great on a few holes, and made you carefully select a club from the tee.

The cons: the course could use some tree trimming and some weed spray. There were several shots where I thought the removal of a tree or the trimming of branches would make the course a lot more fun. The most frustrating part, however, is the rough, which is filled with thick, tall clover. I thought we spent way too much time trying to find balls that just missed the fairway or rolled off the edge. We ended up coming up a with a free drop rule to compensate for this issue.

Unless you can go tee-fairway-green on every shot (which is nearly impossible given the tight fairways and numerous trees), I'd highly suggest you bring some extra balls.

Finally, I paid $40 (plus tax) to play this course. That's a little steep when I can play nicer, wider, and better-maintained courses in Kansas City for the same price or less.

We (a two-some) played this course on a Friday afternoon, and when we booked our tee time online, everything looked wide open. However it took us three hours to get through 11 holes (no exaggeration). And based on this course's layout, there was no time for a break after hole #9.

I complained (first politely, and then later, more firmly) to the course ranger, who told me that the pace was "normal," and further suggested that we were simply being impatient. I've played this course several times this year, and trust me, the pace was not "normal"--at Tiffany Greens or anywhere else.

It seemed that several residents (including some teens wearing basketball shorts) had simply walked out of their homes and started playing on the hole nearest their backyard. Alternatively, the clubhouse had decided to simply pack the course with a bunch of beginners, who we saw hitting multiple shots from the tee.

It got worse: our cart broke down at the 12th tee. We were able to drive it (in a herky, jerky, working, not-working, should we push it?) manner back to the clubhouse. When we alerted the cart barn kid to the defective cart, he told us something like: "uh, yeah, uh, there's about, uh, five of the carts that do that." Gee. Thanks for giving us one of the good ones.

In short, a slow, clogged course, made slower by a broken down cart. Given the pace of place and the time if took to return a worn out cart to the clubhouse, we didn't have time to finish our round. In hindsight, I should have asked for a refund.

This is my regular course, but I may find another. We (a two-some) tried to get in 18 holes before what was supposed to be a rainy weekend. It took us just over 3 hours to get through the 11th hole ( no exaggeration). And the way this course is designed, it means we could not stop at the clubhouse after hole #9. I complained about the pace politely (at first) to the ranger, and then complained repeatedly and eventually loudly to the same ranger (who we saw several times), but was told the pace was normal. Hardly. Worse, our cart broke down at hole 12. We took the slow, bucking, working, not working drive back to the clubhouse, which took forever. When I told the guy running the cart barn about our broken cart, he just shrugged and said, 'yeah, we've got about 5 carts that do that.' Gee, thanks for giving us one of the 'good' ones. Overall, pretty disappointing experience.