In Lawson, No Longer“ Hidden” from Golfers by John Baccala
Feature Story
Hidden Valley
Golf Course
In Lawson, No Longer“ Hidden” from Golfers by John Baccala
Lawson, MO.
It was ten years ago when I first played Hidden Valley Golf Course in Lawson, and we featured the course in our April 2015 issue. In the 2015 article, I said,“ Every once in a while, life, and golf, hands you an unexpected bonus— like finding a $ 20 bill in your pants pocket moments before tossing them into the wash, or the far-too-occasional birdie that finds its way onto my scorecard. My latest unexpected bonus, Hidden Valley Golf Course in Lawson— a course I never played before.” I returned to play it again in July 2025, to see if there was another spare $ 20 or birdie to be had. I was pleasantly surprised.
Situated about 45 minutes north of downtown along U. S. 69 Highway off 184th Street, Hidden Valley might seem hidden if you are not familiar with the far northeast region of the metro, but it’ s actually easy to locate. Designed by Scottsdale, Arizona-based Leo Johnson, the course opened in fall 1995 and has been locally owned since 1998. The current owners are a group of local businessmen( golfers) who purchased the course in 2010 and have continued to improve Hidden Valley ever since.
Hidden Valley Golf Course is a par 72 layout, stretching nearly 6,200 yards from the white tees and 6,702 yards from the blues. The course is fairly wide open, with large greens and only a few grass bunkers— not sand ones— making it a whole lot of fun to play. But don’ t let the bunkerless course idea fool you— there are plenty of other challenges throughout.
16 October 2025 TEE TIMES GOLF GUIDE
It’ s a highly walkable course with only a few hills. It’ s both fun and challenging because it features some shorter holes for scoring well, along with some longer, more challenging holes.
The forward tees were rebuilt in 2010 under the new owners’ direction for everyone, including beginners, women, seniors, juniors, and even better players, to have fun, play well, and not feel like every hole is a monster.
Hidden Valley’ s front nine begins with back-to-back par 4s, each playing roughly 400 yards from the white tees. The par-4 1st hole has water along the left side of the fairway, and the 2nd hole forces you to tee off through a narrow chute of trees. For the most part, however, the course is pretty forgiving off the tee. Worth remembering: you can hit the ball right all day long and still have a playable shot. However, hitting the ball left on the other hand can get you into trouble because the course is tighter down the left side of the fairways.
The secret to scoring well at Hidden Valley is taking advantage of the open land when opportunity presents itself— even for the beginner or average golfer.
Holes 4, 6, and 8 are all fairly lengthy par 4s, with the short par-5 7th sandwiched in between, presents a good birdie opportunity. Nevertheless, the 7th hole, playing at just 414 yards, getting home in two isn’ t guaranteed, especially on windy days, thanks to water fronting the green.