Bellerive Country Club – Played August 2024
- Rankings: Golf Magazine #97
- Location: 12925 Ladue Road, Saint Louis, Missouri
- Year: 1960
- Original Architect: Robert Trent Jones
- Additional Work By: Roger Rulewich, Rees Jones, & Bryce Swanson
- Course Access: Private
- Walking Rules: Carts & Caddies Available
Score Card Information:
- Black: 7,460 yards, Par 72, 76.3 Rating/146 Slope
- Gold: 7,365 yards, Par 72, 75.7 Rating/142 Slope
- Blue: 6,871 yards, Par 72, 73.7 Rating/140 Slope
- Green: 6,408 yards, Par 72, 71.7 Rating/137 Slope
- White: 6,023 yards, Par 72, 70.0 Rating/131 Slope
- Silver: 5,529 yards, Par 72, 73.0 Rating/133 Slope
- Red: 5,100 yards, Par 72, 70.6 Rating/129 Slope
When I get on a big road trip, I like to see if there is somewhere I can play along the way. Hitting a spot related to my quest is always the goal and that opportunity materialized this time with Bellerive Country Club. As an added bonus, this was my first ever round in Missouri!
Bellerive has had quite the history. Like many clubs started in the late 1800s, it has changed sites over the years. The original location featured a nine, then eighteen-hole layout. The club has moved twice since then, landing at its current address in 1959.
Since Bellerive opened the current course, it has hosted multiple major events over the “Green Monster of Ladue”. First was the 1965 US Open, where Gary Player completed the career Grand Slam. Additional titles to be held here include the 1981 US Mid-Amateur (first playing), the 1981 & 2018 PGA Championships, the 2004 US Senior Open, the 2008 BMW Championship, and the 2013 Senior PGA Championship. In the future, the 2026 BMW Championship and 2030 Presidents Cup are scheduled to visit.
Now that you have some background, let’s begin the tour.
Hole 1 – 392 yards – Par 4
Based on the rest of the holes at Bellerive, this is a gentle handshake to start the round. Stay out of the bunkers on the left, and you will have a good look at the green.
There is ample slope in this green, especially when there are left pins like this one.
Hole 2 – 341 yards – Par 4
This is a daunting tee shot if you tend to miss to the left. You can push it up as far as you dare, but there’s a lot of downside if you miss.
Hole 3 – 135 yards – Par 3
At first glance, this is an intimidating hole. However, the green is larger than it appears, and it is pretty short. Don’t get greedy and put one in the middle of the green.
Hole 4 – 514 yards – Par 5
This hole doglegs left and is dotted with bunkers the entire way before it ends in a green with a pronounced ridge running through it.
Hole 5 – 374 yards – Par 4
This is a straightforward hole that dips before rising to the green surrounded by bunkers.
Hole 6 – 166 yards – Par 3
A fade feels like the more comfortable shot from this tee because the green is angled from left to right. When you add in the water and the bunkers, it’s a tough shot.
Putting this green is difficult if you have to traverse the large depression in the middle of it.
Hole 7 – 342 yards – Par 4
It’s hard not to see all the bunkers when you stand on this tee. If you can hit the fairway, the approach is a green light special.
Hole 8 – 549 yards – Par 5
Keeping your drive inside the treeline on the left, you’ll have the best route to the green. If you have accuracy, the green provides an avenue to run your ball on between the bunkers.
Hole 9 – 388 yards – Par 4
This is the hole where Tiger Woods hit the sweeping nine iron from the left rough in the 2018 PGA Championship. I can confirm that it was quite the shot once I got a look at the angle. The rest of us should be focused on staying out of the left bunkers and getting as far up the fairway as possible so we can shorten the approach to this very elevated green.
Hole 10 – 477 yards – Par 5
Bellerive provides a very gettable birdie opportunity to start the back nine. A good drive down the middle allows you to go for the large green.
Hole 11 – 271 yards – Par 4
This hole is begging you to go for the green. I find it hard to counter that strategy even if there is water all along the right side. If you have to hedge your bet, make sure you miss left.
Even though the green is wider in the back section, there is substantially more slope there.
Hole 12 – 412 yards – Par 4
Nothing to say here other than this is a difficult hole. At least you get an elevated tee box to launch the driver.
The hole bends to the left once you get to the approach shot. You do not want to miss long.
Hole 13 – 156 yards – Par 3
After some tough shots, this one feels like you can be aggressive. The two-tiered green is a big target with very little trouble aside from over the putting surface.
Hole 14 – 372 yards – Par 4
Trouble all down the left side of this dogleg-left means that the right tees see plenty of traffic. I found myself on that side but you can get lucky with some angles.
Hole 15 – 423 yards – Par 4
For the second hole in a row, you have to avoid the left side. This one is straightaway, but you can get blocked out by the trees.
Hole 16 – 175 yards – Par 3
This is another big green guarded by bunkers. With a dropoff on the left side, you don’t want to miss over there.
Hole 17 – 518 yards – Par 5
It’s bombs away on this dogleg right that has a creek running up the right side.
You’ve got a decision to make on your second shot. It’s either challenge the green or lay up short of the bunkers to your favorite yardage.
You must control your spin when you’re hitting wedges into this green.
Hole 18 – 403 yards – Par 4
The finishing hole at Bellerive has a generous fairway so you can unleash the driver. The trio of bunkers straight ahead is a good line.
You can see the undulation in the green from all the way back at your approach shot.
Bellerive is known for hosting big events, and the layout supports that reputation. It is an execution test that lays out its questions clearly. That might not be everyone’s favorite style, but golf is better with a variety of styles.