One of the places I've had an opportunity to play in Kansas, and really enjoyed, is Lake Shawnee Golf Course in Topeka, Kansas. Lake Shawnee Golf Course is a public course located, as the name suggests right on Lake Shawnee. I don't remember exactly what it cost to play, but on a Thursday afternoon it was under $30 for 18 holes and a golf cart. Not a bad deal.As you can see from the photo, the course is guarded in large part by a huge lake. This means two things: first, there is plenty of water to hit golf balls into, so bring plenty - I personally love to lose those custom logo golf balls you get in golf tournaments; and second, there is plenty of water for the course. So, even in August, we were treated to a very lush, very green course (even though it was over 100 degrees the day we played!).
On to the review. Upon driving up the pro shop was what you might expect from a public course - not terrible, not great. Any more when I go into a pro shop I don't expect to find a lot of great gear and clubs, they don't sell, and my low expectations were met. The staff was friendly even though we were running a little late on our tee time, and the beers were cold and relatively cheap. I think they were under $2.00 a piece if I remember correctly.
As I intimated above, the course itself was in great shape. As you can see from the Lake Shawnee Golf Course scorecard, the course is not that long. Where they made up for it was the twists and turns and relatively fast greens. I would have to say my favorite hole was number 17, a challenging 180 yard par 3 over water (on the day we played it was made even more challenging by the howling Kansas winds). I believe I parred it, so that made it even more fun.
If you are ever on business in Topeka, it is the Capitol of the State of Kansas, and have some free time to play golf, I'd highly recommend scooting on over to Lake Shawnee Golf Course. The price, staff, and condition of the course are hard to beat.
Golf Course Reviewer.
