A trio of worthy Lake of the Ozarks stops

by ken macleod T 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 advantage 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 Bear Creek, Deer Chase and Lake Valley are unheralded gems at Lake of the Ozarks

“It seems like every hole is uphill,” said general manager Rob Wilson. “I remember when I first came here I thought this is going to be pretty easy with six par-5s. But it’s not as easy as you think.” Not at all. Not when a typical downhill hole is the par-3 seventh, 230 yards to a narrow green. I guess it’s better than an uphill 230-yard par-3, but still you get the point. Not easy.

Several of the par-5s may be reachable for longer hitters, but during our outing the ground was soft and the bluegrass overseed was taking hold over a base of rather coarse Westwood Bermuda. Once fully established, the bluegrass should thrive year round in that climate, providing a green playing surface in the fall and winter and not allowing the Bermuda to take over again. It will be a big agronomic benefit for Lake Valley.

The greens were firm and fast on our Deer Chase meanders around several large ponds and also cuts through the forested Ozark hills.

visit, so fast that being above the hole was treacherous. The saying among the membership is “don’t go left and don’t go long.” Left usually means woods or water, while long is a fairly automatic three-putt.

While it’s not manicured to the level of its neighbor Old Kinderhook, it really has a bunch of fun, challenging holes and overall was a treat. We asked to squeeze

a third nine in before dark and a second journey around gives you a better feel for the strategy. And again, even my longhitting playing partner didn’t overwhelm the course from a yardage perspective.

Our final stop on this quick trip was Bear Creek Valley, located much closer to the main tourism trails at The Lakes and just across the street from the, ahem, dance hall that served as an inspiration

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Driving it straight is pretty much a must to enjoy, let alone conquer, Bear Creek Valley. There is plenty of elevation change, but the holes also bend enough that errant driving is punished by recovery shots that leave you playing hard for bogey. It has some wonderfully dramatic holes, including the 183-yard par-3 16th with a 90-foot drop from the highest elevation on the property to the green below.

The zoysia fairways and bent grass greens at Bear Creek Valley were in superb condition on our visit. The bar and restaurant was welcoming and the pro shop well stocked with the essentials.

There are many excellent venues for basing your trip at Lake of the Ozarks. This time we stayed at Holiday Shores, a condominium complex right on one of the lake’s many coves, with great views and fully stocked with every convenience. Call 1-800-639-4207 and ask for Lori, tell her you read about it in Golf Oklahoma. She’ll fix you up.