will be lengthened from 141 yards to 173 yards . The additional yardage will lengthen the course to 6,062 yards from the back tees .
Members and patrons will also be offered a new golf division website about Heritage Park and Tomahawk Hills at www . jcprdgolf . com in 2024 ( Heritage Park will be added in 2025 ). “ Members can pay or reserve tee times online seven days in advance at Tomahawk Hills ; public players five days in advance ,” says Tanner . Reservations can also be made by phone at 913-829-4653 .
Not only is it one of the oldest courses around KC , but Tomahawk Hills is also one course no one ever forgets , all because of two of the most dramatic holes in Kansas City . Both par 3s , the 9th and 18th tee boxes sit on cliffs some 100 feet above the greens , offering spectacular shots that hang in the air for countless seconds to fairways that range from 145 to nearly 200 yards in length . “ That ’ s who we are ,” says Tanner . “ Our signature holes are what golfers , young and old , love to come out and play .”
Other “ Major upgrades ” to the course in 2023 included new golf carts and new bunkers , along with the resodding of four tee boxes and new forward tees on Nos . 3 and 7 .
Located adjacent to Shawnee Mission Park , Tomahawk is also one of Kansas City ’ s most picturesque courses . Its high bluffs , fairways lined with huge , age-old trees , and hilly terrain offer numerous uphill , downhill , and sidehill shots .
18th green
Your round will finish on 18th by teeing off from a cliff to a green with nearly 100 feet in elevation drop . Watching the ball sailing through the air as it falls to the green is thrilling ! The 9th hole to the right , offers the same experience .
Already an active league course , Tanner has added a Wednesday Night Men ’ s League . Open to all ages with a 5:30 p . m . shotgun start , it ’ s become very popular for golfers to join after getting off work . The course also offers a Tuesday Morning Men ’ s League with more than 100 members , a nine and 18-hole women ’ s league on Wednesday mornings , and a nine-hole Thursday night ladies ’ league that starts at 5 p . m .
“ We do offer charity and corporate tournaments in April and May and in the fall , but during the summer , we keep the course
9th green
open for members ,” says Tanner . “ The last three weeks in June and all of July are open for play every day .”
Unique to Tomahawk Hills is a shelter near the first tee that offers a memorial plaque honoring volunteers and members who have passed on and great views on the dramatic 9th and 18th tee boxes .
Today , Tanner , who has been married for 16 years , and his wife , Christy , have two children , a daughter , Lily , 13 , and a son , Beckham , 9 , both in the Piper School District .
Tanner ’ s early golf career started as a member of a Shawnee Mission South High School golf team that reached the state tournament in his final three years ; he played competitively at Johnson County Community College and UMKC , where he was awarded the Newcomer of the Year in the Mid-Continent Conference in his first season .
He left UMKC in the fall of 2002 to begin a nine-year stint as an assistant at Milburn Country Club . He then spent 11 years in the Overland Park Golf Division before coming to Tomahawk Hills as the successor to Jay Lispi after his retirement in 2022 . “ Very blessed to have this job ,” says Tanner . “ The members have been really great .”
Once the trees turn green , golfers at Tomahawk Hills are treated to a picturesque view of the course ’ s famed 9th tee box and green . A shelter with a plaque memorializing volunteers and members who have passed on is just behind the green .
Learn more about Tomahawk Hills and Heritage Park at www . jcprdgolf . com .
TeeTimesMagazine . com TEE TIMES GOLF GUIDE March 2024 17