Kansas City Country Club

Detailed description of Kansas City Country Club

Kansas City Country Club is a Private, 18-hole golf course located in Mission Hills, Kansas.

The club has its roots in an informal golf course in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. In 1896, Hugh C. Ward and other businessmen incorporated the Kansas City Country Club. They leased a pasture at what today is Loose Park in the Sunset Hill neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. The tract of land belonged to Ward's father Seth E. Ward, a pioneer who made his fortune outfitting settlers on the Oregon Trail.

In 1925, the club moved its course a mile west to the banks of Brush Creek in Mission Hills. The club's former grounds then became Loose Park.

The course was designed by A.W. Tillinghast and later redesigned by Robert Trent Jones.

The club's most famous player is Tom Watson, whose father, Ray Watson, still holds the amateur record of 64 for the course. Tom Watson holds the professional record of 60. The course par is 70.

In 1991, Watson resigned after the club declined the application of H&R Block founder Henry Bloch, allegedly because Bloch was Jewish. Watson's then-wife was Jewish. The club subsequently changed its policy to permit Jews to become members, and Watson rejoined. Today, the Club has several Jewish members.

As a result of the Bloch matter, the club permanently lost its status as a stop on the PGA Tour.

This extremely tight course features small greens and numerous grass bunkers. The terrain is flat and easy to walk.

Championship tees: par-70, 6,822 yards, course rating 74.4, slope rating 137.

Middle tees: par-70, 6,277 yards, course rating, 71.6, slope rating 132.

Forward tees: par-71, 5,604 yards, course rating, 72.1, slope rating 125.