The Top Public Golf Courses in St. Louis, Missouri

Lawrence Taylor, the linebacker from North Carolina, once said: "I like golf because I can go out and hit a little white ball that doesn't move and doesn't hit back. It should be easy, but it isn't…" Most everyone has heard that the game of golf as we know it dates back to Scotland in the Middle Ages, though there is evidence that the Scots were influenced by other "stick and ball" games found in France, Holland, and Germany. The word "golf" derives from the medieval Dutch term "kolf" which means "club." The Dutch and Scots were trading partners and the game may have come to Scotland through them. Even the Romans had an earlier version of the game. Some of these games were played on ice. Sounds a little bit like hockey, doesn't it?

Regardless of where it originated, those tricky Scots dug a hole in the ground and made it the object of the game to get a little ball into it, much to the chagrin of millions of weekend hackers all over the world. I remember playing a little course in rural Missouri where you had to climb up the side of a bluff and hit the ball OVER a whole grove of trees. A lot of squirrels were running for their lives that day.

There are a lot of world-class private golf courses around St. Louis like Bogey Hills, The Legends, Bellerive Country Club, and Forest Hills where you can blow a considerable amount of money to join and pay the monthly greens fee. But if you are like most of us, you head out on the weekend to find a public course and hope that it isn't to crowded. Here are a few of my favorites: