TBlood

I began playing Oak Valley (Union Hills) last Spring. I have played the course a number of times and though the cart paths and bunkers need work, I have always liked the layout and the large, tough, greens.
When we played this Saturday, I was amazed at the poor condition of most of the fairways. I wonder if they put down the wrong fertilizer or something as they were in truly horrible shape.
With the hot summer months, I don't anticipate a resurgence in grass growth. They're only going to get worse and that's too bad. Good course but poor conditions right now.
I hope they can recover as I know they've been putting money into a new clubhouse but you've got to fix your fairways first!

I have now played Union Hills 6 times in the past 9 months. This course has great potential. They need to address several sand traps that are lacking sand and the sand that they have is tightly packed, even in the summer. When I played this time, the greens were cut higher for winter play which made them considerably easier to putt. In the summer, their greens have been among the fastest I've played on public courses and they keep them pretty well maintained.
I know this course is off the beaten path but it's a challenging layout that has bettered me several times.
With public courses, I think St. Louis metro area has a top tier like Annbriar, Pevely Farms, Stone Wolf (and when it's not flooded) Tapawingo. along with Spencer T and a few others. Then there's the middle tier courses like Birch Creek (a true gem), Crescent Farms, The Orchards, Country Club of Wentzville and Forest Park to name a few. Then there's the courses you play when you're playing on a budget and among all those courses like Mystic Oaks, Normandie, Columbia Bridges and Sunset Hills, I would put Union Hills at the top of that list. Do a little more work on the course and it could easily rise to that middle tier. If you haven't tried this course, give it a shot (or several). It's more than worth it for the price you pay.

A gorgeous afternoon for golf was spoiled by a close to six hour round. There were no marshalls anywhere to speed up play. No drink carts, either to help while away the 5-minute waits on the tee that started on the first hole and got worse as the round proceeded. Maybe that's because everyone was 3-and-4-putting the pock-marked greens where no one apparently cares about repairing ball marks.

Very disappointing round in what used to be one of my favorite courses to play on the Illinois side of the St. Louis metro area.

I have played the Orchards for more than 20 years. A few years ago, it went on a downhill slide. But it's obvious that the management has put both time and money into making the Orchards a really nice course once again - especially for the money. It's a hike for me to get there but this course remains on my play list and if you want to play from the tips, good luck!