Feature Course
WinterStone
“ A Touch of the Ozarks ” Just a Short-Iron Away
Editorial and Photography by Bill Cromwell
It ’ s hard to believe that 22 years ago , I walked WinterStone Golf Course while it was being sculpted ( dirt moved ) with the owner , Harlin Limpus . He described how each hole would look once the course was complete . A year later , in 2003 , the course opened with plush greens and rolling fairways . with most near the greens . The large , undulated greens are superb , and its immaculate Zoysia fairways are a pleasure to play .
As a bonus , the course has a covenant that does not allow the land to be used for anything but a golf course for a set period of years ,
I think the first thing that hits you are the dramatic elevation changes , so much so that there are few holes in which you ’ re not either hitting uphill or downhill , which does two things — creates challenges and makes for spectacular views — up , down , and across the tree-lined Zoysia fairways framed with sculpted mounding . There are some pretty incredible Ozark-like views when standing on the tee boxes .
It has been my experience that rarely — if ever — does an advertising slogan actually match a product . WinterStone Golf Course in Independence is an exception . It was just after its opening in 2003 that I coined the slogan “ A Touch of the Ozarks ” to appropriately describe WinterStone . It truly is just that .
When playing WinterStone , my thoughts quickly turn to weekend visits to some of my favorite Lake of the Ozarks courses like Old Kinderhook , Bear Creek , and Deer Chase , to name a few . However , when you don ’ t have time for a long-drive road trip to the Lake –– it ’ s nice that WinterStone is just a short-iron away for KC area golfers .
The par-72 , 18-hole course plays 6,752 yards from the championship tee boxes and 5,611 from the forward tees . Each nine has two par 3 holes , two par 5 holes , and five par 4 holes . Thirty-two sand bunkers pepper the course ,
16 June 2024 TEE TIMES GOLF GUIDE
Many of the holes at WinterStone play downhill or uphill like this view from the par-4 3rd tee that plays downhill . It ’ s a short hole , but the rock wall and creek fronting the green spells trouble for shots coming up short .