Golf in Kansas City

List of Public Courses
List of Private Courses

Since the first course was carved out of a cow pasture at 36th Street and Gillham Road in 1894, Kansas City's golf tradition hasn't stopped growing. Today, the more than 60 public and private courses spread over the hills and valleys of Greater Kansas City account for more than 1 million golf rounds every year. From the early 1900s through the early 2000s, this area has fostered some of the Midwest's premier golf courses designed by some of the game's premier architects.

From the two Paradise Pointe public courses along Smithville Lake up north to The National Golf Club of Kansas City, a private course designed by Kansas City's own Tom Watson in Parkville; from the new Sycamore Ridge public course at the southwest edge of the metro area in Spring Hill, Kan., to the 100+-year-old tradition of the exclusive Kansas City Country Club in Mission Hills - this is a town that cherishes its links.

The Senior PGA Tour makes a stop each summer in Kansas City, and regular PGA Tour players (and other celebrities) participate each year in Tom Watson's Children's Mercy Golf Classic, which has raised millions for Kansas City's Children's Mercy Hospital.

Every year of the last decade has seen the completion of either (or both) new upscale public courses or private courses - and more are in the works. For information on golf in Greater Kansas City, contact the Kansas Golf Association at www.kansasgolf.org or (913) 842-4833; the Missouri Golf Association at www.mogolf.org. or (314) 636-8994; or the Kansas City Golf Association, (913) 649-5242.