That type of shit is lots of fun tho
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My guess was at least in the soccer realm. haha. just picked the wrong gender…(if there are only two, of course, lol).
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Yeah, a sports club owner makes a lot of sense. The “most recognizable name in KC” kept throwing me off. Feel like an idiot for missing the National Treasure-style clues our boy was giving us though.
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quietly building the stable of sports adjacent properties what with owning all the Homefields as well.
In case anyone had any questions, its good to be rich
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Hopefully now that the information is somewhat out there, someone with more knowledge of exactly what they have planned for the course can drop some information. Only things I have heard is it might be set up as more of a “challenge course” (no clue what that means) and that every time the new ownership group is out there they spend a lot of time looking at the driving range area.
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You’re saying scared money don’t make money?! 
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Hopefully they build it to host a State Am! Lol.
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Evidently, Watson hasn’t been a KCCC member since the mid-80s.
Watson resigned when Henry Bloch was denied membership. KC’s own John Garrity wrote a column about it in SI.
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Had a friend send me this old article. Hopefully whoever the new owners hire for the redesign has read this article. Has a hole by hole description of the course as of May 28, 1916. Some pretty crazy features that would be really interesting to play.
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Im all for the changes to 11 (hate that hole) and original routing as seen in that shot and mentioned here previously. That just makes more sense as opposed to what is there now.
Interesting to see this develop moving foward
Have to wonder what connection this has to KCCC being shut down for 18 months - I can’t see how it isnt.
You have me mining for info amongst sources now… 
The KCCC connection is interesting but I do not know how the new owners could get Hillcrest up to KCCC member standards in a short enough time period.
If the new owners are planning a full restoration (crosses fingers), based on that article here is all the features they would have to reconstruct hole by hole:
- Fairway sand trap with cop bunker (not sure what a cop bunker is) 120 yards from the tee.
- Ground sloping to the left (not sure how that is even possible). Stone wall (sick!) on the right of the green. Left of the green terrace (also not sure what this means). The green on this hole now is 50 yards back of the original green.
- Promontory (land form in a depression according to google) on the right side of the ravine. Another ravine 50 yards in front of the green. Deep sand traps (not sand trap) to the left of the green. Like two the green on this hole is back and left from the original green.
- A motherfing Donald Ross Alps hole even though he didn’t usually use templates. Sand trap 110 yards from the tee (think this is the giant depression out there now). Sand trap on the right about 100 yards out. Sand traps (not sand trap) on the left. Green redone to slope “sharply to the left”.
- Two trees to drive through. Deep sand trap on the right of the green. Pot hole sand traps on the left.
- Centerline tree and sand trap to left of that tree (double sick). Heart shaped bunker 20 yards in front of the green. “Roulette sand pockets” behind the green. Deep wide sand trap IN THE GREEN.
- Green completely redone to run away from the tee. Sand trap behind the green. Series of sand traps to the right. Sand trap to the left.
- Push tees way back. Sand trap 120 yards in front of new back tee. Trap 155 yards to the right of the green. Sand trap with another “cop bunker” on the left. Deep sand trap 224 yards from the tee. Sand traps behind the right of the green. Mounds and sand traps on the left of the green.
- Sand trap left of the fairway. Ravine “cutting from the left” towards the green. Sand traps behind the green.
- Series of mounds on the left off the tee. Deep trap in front of the green. High “cop bunker” (wtf is a cop bunker) and mounds on the right of the green.
- Complete redo. Trap left of the green. Green “practically surrounded by sand traps.”
- Sand traps behind.
- Current 16. Deep ravine that is now fairway, second deep ravine. Sand traps to the right.
- Current 15. Expand the green a shit ton. Four bunkers on the left. Trap on the left hand side of the green (think this is another in green hazard).
- Current 13. Three deep sand traps to the right of the fairway .
- Current 14. Complete redo. Deep ravine 100 yards from the tee. Two sand traps 120 yards from the tee. Sand traps and mounds to the right of the green. Depression with long grass in the left side of the green.
- Donald Ross thought this was one of the best holes in America! Sand trap in the fairway 230 yards from the tee. Deep ravine behind second hill and succession of deep sand traps on the right. Re do the green to slope it away from fairway. Sand traps to the right of the green.
- Deep sand trap in the left of the green with “a pocket in front”
On top of all those things, the article gives the approximate size of the greens and they appear to be significantly bigger than what is out there today. As I said in an earlier post, I have no idea what the plan for the course is but if they did a full restoration to the course that is described in the article it would be an insanely cool course. Since restoration and renovation seems to be very trendy right now lets hope they do a full, true restoration to what Donald Ross intended and called “the finest golf course” and thought it would become “the most famous in the world.”
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Happy holidays. Long time listener of the pod, first time dabbling in the refuge. Was scrolling through the message board questioning if I would actually relate to anything on here; until I saw the post about ‘…if I won the lottery, and buying Shawnee Country Club…’ I daydream about that at least once a week lol. Anyways, can someone direct me on how to join the Great Planes Roost? Or who I need to get in contact with?
Thanks
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Welcome! Last I heard, @Double_Bogey_Dave could assign you to a Roost. Maybe El Capitan @scagnetti has that functionality now too.
Check out the IG account @ greatplainsgolfclub and our discord channel for more ways to #getinvolved
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Western Kansas here but I’m going to jump in that discord if that’s cool
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Feel free!
Is KC golfable in January?
Conceptually, yes. But I wouldn’t plan a trip here then. And KC golf kind of stinks, when compared to other metro areas if we’re being honest with ourselves.
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Combine with a visit to the Truman Library.
Just throwing this out there. I will be looking for some new clubs for my son for this summer. Hes a very tall skinny - soon to be 12 year old – who is left handed
Finding those clubs, let alone gently used will be my challenge over next month. Checking used before buying new outright, figured this is the place to start if anyone had any to begin with before going the conventional route.
LMK
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