The Back Nine - Bellerive Country Club, Back Nine

Back to One of My Favorites - Bellerive Country Club

Updated: Tue 8/11/2009 10:08 pm

As an amateur golfer in the St. Louis area, I'll admit we have it good. The amateur golf associations of the Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association and Missouri Golf Association are so well organized and well run we, as amateur golfers, have the privilege of competing on the area's elite private clubs and public golf courses each summer.

This week we return to Bellerive Country Club for the 2009 Metropolitan Amateur Championship. It was over 10 years ago when Tom Barry won his Metropolitan Amateur Championship at Bellerive CC and it marked the first time I was in contention during the final round of this major championship.

Growing up as a public golfer, I wasn't one to get the opportunity to play courses like Bellerive CC or Old Warson CC. Unless you were a caddy or knew a member, getting the chance to play one of the big five (Bellerive, Old Warson, St. Louis CC, Glen Echo or Westwood CC) was a rare, if ever, opportuinty.

My Favorite Five Courses to play in St. Louis -

5.) WingHaven Country Club
4.) Boone Valley Golf Club
3.) Westwood Country Club
2.) Bellerive Country Club
1.) Old Warson Country Club

Send your top five in St. Louis to mail@espnbacknine.com
and join the discussion on The Back Nine Radio Show.

While I've enjoyed a career in the golf industry and shared a round of golf on nearly every golf course in the St. Louis metro area including all of the private clubs, it's still a special day when you get to challenge yourself on the best. And I hope I never forget just how special it is and how lucky we have it.

So regardless how I play at this week's Metropolitan Amateur, you'll be pressed to find me not enjoying the test that Bellerive Country Club will provide. Nothing against Newton Country Club in Newton, KS or Providence Country Club in Providence, KY (where I played a lot of golf as a child each summer with my grandfather), but when I play a course like Bellerive or Old Warson I find myself reflecting on this amazing journey I've been on as a result of being introduced to the game of golf.