Gateway National Golf Links

The day I played the course, there had been heavy rain the previous weekend so it was cart path only. The tee boxes were in great condition, the fairways were good besides a few divots that people didn't repair, and the greens were great: smooth, fast, and in good repair. There were mud plugs all over in the rough from what seemed like a recent aeration, but besides that everything seemed well maintained (and evidence of aeration shows they maintain it well)

My only issue with playing this course is the daily rate, which is the highest in the area. If you can catch a hot deal or don't mind waiting for a later round to get the twilight rates, this course is a must see.

Course is in pretty good condition overall. Only shortfall are the tee boxes. Numerous tees are under repair and others need to be. 2 holes had temporary tees which required hitting on off a turf matt.

This happens often with golf courses and PGA professionals, they refuse to tell you that the course is being aerated. When I checked in I was told to start on the back and when I got there they were in the process of aerating. We then had to skip 4 holes and finish the round, that being said I will not return anytime soon.

Normally - I would say that Gateway National is one of the best tracks in the Lou, but today was not the case. However give it a few weeks to recover and it will be back in great shape once again. I would still recommend this course as it is still one of my favorite places to play in the St. Louis Metro area.

Pace of Play - was OK except we got stuck playing behind a group of egotistical men, who refused to play the tees that they should be playing. Listen up here, if you cannot get past the forward tees, you cannot play from the blue tees! The best part of golf is that it is meant to be played by all talent levels. I have no issues with beginners learning to play the game, but play up... it will make playing the game that much more enjoyable. At one time I called to ask the marshall to come out, but instead of asking them to pick up the pace; which they did not, but they actually had a 5-some at one point.

Course Conditions - The course was torn up, the tee boxes were not in the best shape and the greens were atrocious. On the 17th tee box, it became obvious why - we played a couple of days after a tournament; where it was obvious the players did not take any care to fix pitch marks on the greens. The greens were in the worst condition I have ever seen them. However, give them a couple of weeks to come back and they will be back in great shape.

Cost Value - The course value was good due to getting a cost break from GolfNow, but if I had to pay the full rack rate, I would have been unhappy. Overall, though I didi not feel as though we got a poor value. One nice thing to see was that the snack shack at the turn was open, and the beverage cart was seen many times throughout the 18 holes.

This is most expensive course in the St. Louis metro,. They really need help with customer service and how to run a golf course,

When I arrived to pay the $94.49, the man behind the counter says this first. The State of Illinois does not allow us to have water on the course. We all kinda know this with the pandemic going on, No course does this.
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How about welcome to Gateway National - we are so happy you decided to play here today. If you need some water, we have some for purchase here in the cooler to your left (however, only filled with alcohol). Maybe consider putting water in there? He never says where I can get any water. At the bar? Some courses have filled cups of water sitting on the bar for customers to take for free.

We do not see the beverage cart until the 10th hole. Nor is the snack shack open at the 10th tee.

They now state you must ride 2 in a cart. Depending on availabity, you can pay an additional $5 for a single cart. The man behind the counter said this was not an option today. Just to note, when we finished our round, there were 14 carts sitting outside, Another 4 being returned. There may have been more but I did not look in the cart shack. Looks like there was availability.

A nice course in St. Charles County (greens fee of $56), allows single carts during this pandemic at no charge at anytime (including weekends). Now, that is what good customer service looks like..

On the positive side, the course is in outstanding shape. With all the rain earlier in the week, this course drains the best in the area. The only concerns were a couple of tees are in rough shape. Holes 7, 10 & 15.
Pace of play was terriffic, first time I can remember this in a long time.

Finally played Gateway National after years of wanting to...great decision! Best course in the area as far as conditions are concerned. Fairways are immaculate. Greens rolled true. Tons of fun! The only drawback is the service. Played at 12:30 on a Sunday and the guys in the pro shop seemed more annoyed that I was there to play than grateful. I’m not looking to be massively catered to...but a smile would go a long way. Same goes for the cart guys. Standing around on their phones not interested in helping me figure out where to start. A little attention to detail like that and this course would be AMAZING in every aspect!

Gateway is in great shape, greens are firm but receptive and the bent grass fairways are the best fairways around.. We played as a twosome in just over 3 1/2 hours which was nice for a weekend round. Food options are limited with Covid but basics ( burger , brats and dogs are available) cart girl was around every few holes, so drinks were readily accessible. Shot 79 so it was a enjoyable fun day out!

Had thunderstorms in the area. And was only able to play nine holes. Spoke with Clubhouse manager and he advised I needed to contact Gokfnow.com for a rain check for the other nine holes. Please advise process to obtain a rain check for the holes. I paid for two rounds of golf for today 7/8/2020 and as I said we were only able to play 9 holes. Please refund or provide rain check.

We went off around 4 pm. There was no starter and the course was wide open. We coasted through until 16 when it came to a dead stop. We had plenty of beer and enjoying the course and company so no big deal. Course condition was like a nice private club. If I had a complaint it would be the bunkers. Since there is no raking right now anyway, I’d say not really their fault. Staff was friendly. The clubhouse was a no frills kind of place. It looked like a clubhouse from a Muny course but who cares. The course is what you are there for. The layout was nothing to get excited about but the condition of greens and fairways outweigh that slight downfall. Looking forward to returning.

First, the course is in great shape. Just a couple of items to point out. For some reason the #4 green has been recently aerated (the only green) and when I was in the #5 greenside bunker, it didn't hardly have any sand in it. The only thing you could do is skull it across the green.

From the last time I played, there were some issues they needed to change. Especially, having water available to purchase on hot days. This time they had the bar area open to purchase water, the beverage cart was out with water and drinks and they had a lady at the 10th tee snack shop.

The rough was cut shorter and it has dried out a bit. Meaning it was much easier to find your ball in the rough.

With all these much needed changes, they still have this issue - pace of play. We waited on every tee box. The pace of play is never good at Gateway. They still have not decided to use a course ranger to help improve this.

Playing Gateway today was great. Course is hands down one of the best public courses around. Hard to find anything wrong with this course. Play it if u have the chance.

Gateway National continues to be one of the top 2, most expensive courses in the St. Louis Metro area. You would expect big things from them, but they always let you down. Let us start with what they are doing right, followed by their many areas that need improvement. One of them I feel is critical for them to address.

Course Conditions:
The best I’ve ever seen. The greens were absolutely perfect. Smooth was glass. Their rough is very thick and this is causing slow play issues highlighted below. The fairways were the firmest I’ve ever seen them for their bent grass fairways. Some of my drives were the longest ever on this course.

Drinking Water Issues (CRITICAL):
Due to COVID-19 issues, courses do not have water jugs/paper cups on the course anymore. Therefore, one would expect a course to be prepared to address this new situation. Especially the day we played – high temps in the 90’s and high humidity. Gateway National has not figured this out yet.

When you arrive, there is a new cooler in the pro shop. However, only alcoholic beverages and no water. We asked how we will get any water. We were told a cart will be coming around on the course to purchase water. We did not see the cart until the 8th tee. Then, would you believe the cart was out of water. They only had Powerade. One of our players was feeling lightheaded and left the course.

When we finished the 9th hole, Gateway National has a beverage/food snack bar at the 10th tee. However, on this warm and humid day, no one was there. I had to drive my cart to the clubhouse (1-2 minute drive in a cart). When I arrived at the clubhouse, no one could be found behind the bar to sell me some water. I had to go to the pro shop to ask if anyone is working there. There was someone in the back but there in no bell to ring to let him know you are there.

I head back to the 10th tee after this 10-minute delay. Another playing partner feels lightheaded and calls it a day. Just 2 of us finish the round and the beverage cart did finally have water on the back nine.

Pace of Play Issues:
In my previous reviews of Gateway National, I have mentioned they have a pace of play issue. Nothing has been done to improve this. Still no course ranger on the course to monitor this. Another reason why the pace of play is so slow, is the rough is too high for the thickness of their rough. On every hole, you cannot find your ball until you are standing on top of the ball. We lost numerous balls in the rough, we simply could not find.

COVID-19:
It appeared Gateway National is taking the COVID-19 issues seriously. They have a glass screen between you and the person in the pro shop and they are only taking payment by credit card. However, I asked the starter, should we get individual carts. He said we would prefer you ride together unless you have a medical reason to do so. We rode in individual carts but this statement from the starter made no sense if they are committed to the COVID-19 concerns.

Summary:
I cannot recommend this course until they fix the drinking water issue, slow play, cut the rough lower and be totally committed to the COVID-19 concerns. It is so disappointing to do this because the course is in phenomenal shape.

Played this course on January 9. It was cloudy and windy, temps in the low 50's. Basically had the course to myself, which surprised me. The course was in good shape for the time of the year. It was a great day of golf.