Fall Golf Option
Heritage Park Golf Course
A Destination for Golf Enthusiasts for Three and a Half Decades
by Bill Cromwell
The par-3 16th hole at Heritage Park is all carry over the lake fronting the green. Enjoy the challenge!
Whether you strip it down the middle of the fairway or slice it into the trees, there is a lot to enjoy at Heritage Park Golf Course in Olathe, KS. Opening in 1990, Heritage Park’ s par 71 course is located within Johnson County’ s Heritage Park with no housing developments— it’ s a very peaceful and scenic setting. For 35 years, it’ s been a longtime favorite among KC area golfers.
This Don Sechrest-designed course comes with four sets of tees and yardages ranging from roughly 5,000 yards to 7,000. It’ s a very“ player-friendly,” regardless of ability level.“ It challenges and rewards at the same time,” says Rob Wilkin, PGA professional and golf operations manager.
Noteworthy: In April, Rob Wilkin was inducted into the Kansas Golf Foundation’ s( KGF) Kansas Golf Hall of Fame class of 2025 along with Tillie Becker and Bill McDonald. See page 11 to learn more about the 2025 inductees.
Rob Wilkin began working at Heritage Park Golf Course in 1998 as a golf professional. In 2013, he became the head PGA professional and golf operations manager. Wilkin has played in the U. S. Open, PGA Championship, U. S. Senior Open, and Senior PGA Championship. He has competed in 10 official Major Championships on the PGA and Champions Tours. Wilkin is a nine-time Midwest Section PGA Champion and an 18-time Midwest Section PGA Player of the Year. His legendary victory over Tom Watson in a five-hole playoff to win the 2016 Watson Challenge remains a defining moment in Kansas City golf history( photo of Wilkin hoisting his trophy shown below on left). Wilkin is also a longtime member of the Midwest Section PGA and a member of the Kansas City Golf and Coffeyville Community College Halls of Fame.
At Heritage Park Golf Course, your first real challenge comes quickly on the second hole. A relatively lengthy par 3, your tee shot is all carry over water. The second hole, along with the par-3 16th, gives Heritage Park two of the most formidable and intimidating par 3s in the KC Metro. From the championship tee, the second hole plays 220 yards and is intimidating for even the best players. Even from the forward tees, just 90 yards away, you need a solid strike or else you’ re all wet. The par-3 16th at least has a bailout area, but it is no gimme, especially when the wind is in your face. The green is severely undulated; even with a great shot to the green, your par isn’ t in the bag if you don’ t survive the tricky green.
Tough par 3s are typical of Sechrest-designed courses, so if you are going to“ go low” at Heritage Park, you need to take advantage of the course’ s wide fairways.“ For the most part, there’ s plenty of room off the tee here to let it fly on the par 4s and 5s,” Wilkin said. However, that’ s not to say the par 4s and 5s are easy— they’ re not. Especially the dogleg right par-5 9th, where hitting the“ right”( as in“ correct”) side of the rolling fairway is critical.
The course features Zoysia grass fairways, beautiful Bentgrass greens, and an exceptional combination of traditional tree-lined and links-style holes, providing an interesting, challenging, and picturesque round of golf. Three lakes, as well as Coffee Creek, bring water into play on 11 of the 18 holes.
Heritage Park’ s typically pristine conditions make hitting good( and great) shots easier thanks to the hard work of Golf Course Superin-
12 Nov. / Dec. 2025 TEE TIMES GOLF GUIDE