Thanks to Matt McLain for the great review and pictures of Swope Memorial in his hometown of Kansas City. You can also follow Matt on Twitter at @mattmclain
Swope Memorial Golf Course
Kansas City, Missouri
Sitting secretly atop a hill at the end of a winding wooded road within Swope Park in Kansas City’s tough luck east side, Swope Memorial is a diamond in the rough. It is the quintessential hidden treasure in the Kansas City golfing scene.
It’s easy to miss Swope’s nondescript old iron-wrought gate and stone sign at the turn in, but that’s the one and only feature of this classic course golfers are likely to forget. The small greens and tight rolling fairways lined by massive old-growth trees (there aint’ a house in sight) let golfers know one simple fact: you are playing a vintage classic course of the highest caliber.
Opened in 1934 and designed by the same A.W. Tillinghast that brought Baltusrol, Winged Foot and Bethpage to life, Swope Memorial has hosted the PGA Tour’s Kansas City Open in the 1940’s, and in 2005 played host to the Women’s Public Links Championship.
Accolades aside, the real joy in playing Swope is the layout and the atmosphere. Bankers and lawyers tussle with bartenders and cops regularly in early morning ten-dollar Naussaus. The parking lot hosts as many clunkers as Caddies and there’s usually a special on 16-ounce beers – Bush or Pabst are grill favorites.
Although it’s not as long as today’s Tiger-proofed tracks, Swope plays every inch of its 6300-yard layout. Like all Tillinghast designs, the devil is in the detail at Swope. The hilly layout demands that players hit long, straight tee shots or they’ll be left with a severely sloping fairway lie. Accuracy and length off the tee are rewarded with flattish lies – which is key for hitting good approach shots into Swope’s tight rolling greens. And if you miss the fairway, you’ll likely have to chip out from under the towering trees that guard the short grass.
Take the 477-yard par-5 ninth: On the scorecard, it reads like a birdie hole. But the fairway runs out at 225 yards into three pot-bunkers that sit atop a massive hill. Big swatters trying to fly the bunkers must carry the ball 265 yards over the bunkers and down the hill to a 20-yard wide fairway guarded by a creek on the left, and a massive tree lined hill to the right. If said big hitter does find the short grass, he or she is left with a 175-yard viciously uphill shot to a narrow, 7-yard wide green. Miss it short, you’re in the bunkers; miss long and you’re OB. And when you do finally get on the putting surface, you’re greeted with a three-tiered roller coaster that is diabolical if you aint putting from below the hole. Par is a good score here.
And par is a good score all around. As such, Swope’s many members are known to have handicaps that travel very very well. So if you’re traveling through the Kansas City area, treat yourself to a round at Swope Memorial. It’s a classic you won’t soon forget. Rates and information available at: www.swopememorialgolfcourse.com
If you’d like to write a course review to be featured here on GoodWalk Spoiled, drop me a line at: goodwalkspoiled@gmail.com
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