The hardest golf courses in St. Louis, Missouri

The hardest 18-hole golf courses within about 25 miles of St. Louis, Missouri, ranked by USGA slope rating from each course's longest men's tees, with course rating as the tiebreaker. 30 courses have complete, verified tee data.

Also covers Sunset Hills, St. Albans, Saint Louis, St. Charles, Chesterfield and 13 more nearby towns.

  1. Old Warson

    Old Warson Country Club

    St. Louis, MO, USA
    8.3

    Slope rating 144, 74.5 course rating, Tournament tees, 6,946 yds

    PrivateRobert Trent Jones Sr.

    • 4.0Conditions
    • 4.0Layout
    • 3.8Scenery
    • 4.5Facilities
    • Driving range
    • Pristine
    • Locker rooms
  2. Lake Forest

    Lake Forest Country Club

    Lake St. Louis, MO, USA
    7.6

    Slope rating 142, 74.8 course rating, Blue tees, 7,055 yds

    PrivateGary Kern

    • 4.0Conditions
    • 4.0Layout
    • 4.0Scenery
    • NRFacilities
    • Challenging
    • Driving range
    • Pristine
  3. Bellerive

    Bellerive Country Club

    St. Louis, MO, USA
    8.4

    Slope rating 141, 76.3 course rating, Back tees, 7,460 yds

    PrivateRobert Trent Jones Sr. & Bryce Swanson

    • 4.8Conditions
    • 4.4Layout
    • 4.0Scenery
    • 4.3Facilities

    Robert Trent Jones, Bellerive immediately comes to mind. Not my favorite architect but it's a challenging golf course in A+ condition that I probably wouldn't choose to play all the time but I'd certainly recommend it to anyone that hasn't had the pleasure.

    Written by

    @Urannimal

    • Pristine
    • Restaurant
    • Challenging
  4. Stonewolf

    Stonewolf Golf Club

    Fairview Heights, IL, USA
    6.7

    Slope rating 141, 74.0 course rating, Black tees, 6,943 yds

    PublicJack Nicklaus

    • 3.0Conditions
    • 3.7Layout
    • 2.5Value
    • 2.8Scenery
    • 2.5Facilities
    • Parkland
    • Traditional
  5. St. Louis

    St. Louis Country Club

    St. Louis, MO, USA
    8.8

    Slope rating 139, 71.6 course rating, Gold tees, 6,469 yds

    PrivateCharles Macdonald

    • 4.8Conditions
    • 4.6Layout
    • 3.7Scenery
    • 4.5Facilities

    Raynor! Always fun to see his templates incorporated throughout a golf course and how each one is brought to life. I thoroughly enjoyed my time here. The course was in great shape, and the thick rough made for an added challenge.

    Written by

    @jensencastle

    • Fast greens
    • Must play
    • Pristine
  6. Meadowbrook Country Club

    Ballwin, MO, USA

    Slope rating 136, 74.3 course rating, Black tees, 7,142 yds

    7.7
  7. (Championship) Forest Hills Golf & Country Club

    Chesterfield, MO, USA

    Slope rating 136, 73.2 course rating, Gold tees, 6,705 yds

    7.9
  8. Annbriar Golf Course

    Waterloo, IL, USA

    Slope rating 136, 72.8 course rating, Yellow tees, 6,863 yds

    8.0
  9. Gateway National Golf Links

    Madison, IL, USA

    Slope rating 135, 75.1 course rating, The Tips tees, 7,178 yds

    7.1
  10. Pevely Farms Golf Club

    St. Louis, MO, USA

    Slope rating 135, 74.2 course rating, Black tees, 7,032 yds

    7.0
  11. Spencer T Olin Community Golf Course

    Alton, IL, USA

    Slope rating 135, 73.5 course rating, Green tees, 6,941 yds

    6.6
  12. Crescent Farms Golf Club

    Crescent, MO, USA

    Slope rating 132, 74.1 course rating, Black tees, 7,078 yds

    6.5
  13. Missouri Bluffs Golf Club

    St. Charles, MO, USA

    Slope rating 131, 73.2 course rating, Black tees, 7,047 yds

    7.2
  14. (Fair Oaks) Far Oaks Golf Club

    Caseyville, IL, USA

    Slope rating 131, 72.6 course rating, Tournament tees, 6,847 yds

    6.8
  15. Aberdeen Golf Club

    Eureka, MO, USA

    Slope rating 130, 74.8 course rating, Gold tees, 7,210 yds

    6.5

How we rank

This ranking uses published scorecard data from each course’s longest men’s tees, the same tee set for every course. Only 18-hole courses with a yardage for every hole, a total that matches the hole-by-hole sum, and a par between 54 and 80 are included, and the tees must carry a single slope rating (55–155) and course rating. Courses whose scorecard duplicates another course’s are left out until the data is fixed. Courses are ordered by slope rating, then course rating, then Course Vaults score. Only open courses with a published Course Vaults score (at least 5 explicit ratings) are eligible, and a page is published only when at least 5 courses qualify. City pages include courses within about 25 miles of St. Louis, so nearby suburbs can appear. Rankings refresh about hourly.

FAQ

Old Warson Country Club is #1 on Course Vaults in and around St. Louis, Missouri at Slope 144 (74.5 course rating · Tournament tees · 6,946 yds). 30 courses qualify for this list.

This ranking uses published scorecard data from each course’s longest men’s tees, the same tee set for every course. Only 18-hole courses with a yardage for every hole, a total that matches the hole-by-hole sum, and a par between 54 and 80 are included, and the tees must carry a single slope rating (55–155) and course rating. Courses whose scorecard duplicates another course’s are left out until the data is fixed. Courses are ordered by slope rating, then course rating, then Course Vaults score. Only open courses with a published Course Vaults score (at least 5 explicit ratings) are eligible, and a page is published only when at least 5 courses qualify. City pages include courses within about 25 miles of St. Louis, so nearby suburbs can appear. Rankings refresh about hourly.

Slope rating is the USGA measure of how much harder a course plays for a bogey golfer than for a scratch golfer, from 55 to 155 (113 is average). Course rating is the expected score for a scratch golfer from the same tees.

Yes. It includes qualifying courses within about 25 miles of St. Louis, not only courses whose address is in the city.

This page was last generated Nov 12, 2026, 4:18 AM EST. Scores and eligibility are recomputed about every hour.

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