DESTINATIONS
A different take at the lake Bear Creek, Deer Chase and Lake Valley are unheralded gems at Lake of the Ozarks by ken macleod
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his writer has been fortunate to play a lot of outstanding courses at the Lake of the Ozarks over the years, but I’m both sheepish to admit and quite glad to find out that there was still a full trip worth of hidden gems that I had yet to discover. This trip left out favorites such as Old Kinderhook, The Cove, Osage National, The Oaks and The Ridge in favor of a trio of venues new to us. Or new to one of us anyway. My playing partner remembered he had played Bear Creek Valley in the past, right after he got through lightening my wallet on the 18th
hole. I played a round of bumper pool trying to navigate my way around the twisting holes of this hilly, tree-lined beauty, not conducive to winning bets. More on that later. We’re going to start with Deer Chase Golf Club, where the announced goal by head pro Spencer Wilson is to go from the Lake’s best kept secret to its busiest venue. Charming is an apt word to describe the bucolic setting, the wooded, low-lying front nine and the small pro shop and restaurant. We’ll put charming aside for the back nine, however, and go with riveting or dramatic. Deer Chase was designed by Roger Nall of St. Louis, an architect intimately familiar with designing courses to take best advan-
tage of the Ozarks terrain. He certainly did that on the back nine, using the surrounding ridges to create holes that rise and tumble, providing long scenic views while offering plenty of opportunities for both birdies and disasters. It’s just a really fun nine that adds to a great overall experience. The fairways are zoysia and had recently been overseeded with rye when we played, while the greens have an A-1, A-4 bentgrass blend and putted true. We started out the trip with a round at Lake Valley, a member-owned club located just a few minutes from Old Kinderhook, south of the Lake. The 250 or so members make their club available to Lake visitors who account for 50 percent or more of the rounds in season. Lake Valley is unusual in offering six par5s, six par-4s and six par-3s. Even with that
Lake Valley Golf and Country Club has six par-3s, six par-4 and six par-5s, and most play longer than they look. 20
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