Feature Course
Swope Memorial
Golf Course
Preparing for its 2026 Big Reveal!
by Bill Cromwell
Swope Memorial renovation photos shown were taken in fall 2025. Final preparations underway now for its early summer 2026 reopening.
Our July 2024 issue highlighted the upcoming year-long closure of Swope Memorial Golf Course in 2025 for an estimated $ 9 million renovation. After 92 years and countless rounds of golf, the course received a complete facelift. It now looks like a billion-dollar baby and is preparing for its 2026 reveal.
A preview video featuring Josh Lynn, golf course superintendent( photo on right), released on December 3, 2025, showcases stunning views of the full-scale restoration, including tee complexes, new white quartz sand bunkers, renovated greens, dynamic mounding for aesthetic appeal and playability, new cart paths, a new irrigation pond, and various other improvements( see the QR at the end of this article to view the video). Lynn and
the grounds crew are currently in the final stage of preparations, completing the irrigation and waiting on Mother Nature to allow Zoysia fairway grass, Fescue rough grasses, and Bentgrass greens to grow lush and green for an early summer 2026 reopening celebration. I’ m definitely excited about the reopening. I can’ t wait to tee it up and experience an all-new Swope Memorial Golf Course.
I’ ve been playing this course since my teenage years, and it’ s always a treat to play— especially with the KC Zoo next door and the occasional sounds of lions and elephants. If you haven’ t played the historic Swope Memorial Golf Course, originally built in 1919, then you either just moved to Kansas City or are a golfing“ newbie.” It should be on your 2026 courses-to-play list, and take some time to admire the historic stone clubhouse; they just don’ t build them like that anymore.
The course is owned by Kansas City Parks and Recreation, which commissioned A. W. Tillinghast for its first facelift in 1934. This
16 February 2026 TEE TIMES GOLF GUIDE