Colbert Hills in Manhattan, KS

I have played every course in Wichita & surrounding area ,except 3 country clubs ( Wichita Country Club , Flint Hills National Country Club & Derby CC ) and Have always wanted to Play Colbert Hills and Fire Keeper as Bulldog and I have thought about making a weekend run up there to play those courses .
Terradyne I almost joined several years ago , as its a very fun course to play , as long as the Kansas 30+mph breeze doesnt show up . I need to get up to Turkey Creek in McPherson , as it was a great course to play .
Hesston ,Ks Golf course is in the best shape I have ever seen it in from Tee to green !
Quail Ridge in Windfield , Ks is in excellent condition and some of the nicest people you will ever come across in the club house !!!
Sand Creek Station is fun to play , Bulldog played a 2 man scramble there last weekend and he said it wasnt in to bad of shape .
This is the third Hottest Summer in a row with out rain in Kansas , so some of the courses are showing some signs of Stress .

SprayTech said:

I have played every course in Wichita & surrounding area ,except 3 country clubs ( Wichita Country Club , Flint Hills National Country Club & Derby CC ) and Have always wanted to Play Colbert Hills and Fire Keeper as Bulldog and I have thought about making a weekend run up there to play those courses .
Terradyne I almost joined several years ago , as its a very fun course to play , as long as the Kansas 30+mph breeze doesnt show up . I need to get up to Turkey Creek in McPherson , as it was a great course to play .
Hesston ,Ks Golf course is in the best shape I have ever seen it in from Tee to green !
Quail Ridge in Windfield , Ks is in excellent condition and some of the nicest people you will ever come across in the club house !!!
Sand Creek Station is fun to play , Bulldog played a 2 man scramble there last weekend and he said it wasnt in to bad of shape .
This is the third Hottest Summer in a row with out rain in Kansas , so some of the courses are showing some signs of Stress .

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Dude, you get us on Flint Hill's National and I'll find a way to get there asap, lol. Played that one last year and can absolutely say I loved it.

I would LOVE to get on Flint Hills as I have never played it , walked it when they had the US girls Amateur tourny there when it first opened .
That course is only 15 minutes from my house !!
Tom Devlin owns it he is the guy that started the Rent-a-Center company and sold it for $780 million and then he bought that property and had Tom Fazio design and build it , rumor has it Devlin spent $30-$50 million of his money to build it .

Intimadator2007 said:

I don't think the guy from Colbert Hills will be back any time soon, He just killed his chances of getting more players to their course...WOW !

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I hope you are wrong. I hope he at least reads the responses, because I do not care what type of position you are in, choose the ethical approach.

I'm back

I'm back

JB said:

I hope you are wrong. I hope he at least reads the responses, because I do not care what type of position you are in, choose the ethical approach.

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Perhaps a little overreaction on my part but in my profession it can get a little much to see people bash golf courses without all the facts. The inaccuracies of certain comments were the cause....I posted with my name because I wanted everyone to see who was writing it... Hoping everyone read the comment about me not playing a course I did not like. Every course has issues...all of them...some greater than others. Golf is golf...comparisions can not generally be made between two courses...To be clear...I would have posted almost the same comment if it concerned another shot at another facility. The golf buisness is tough enough for all facilities and perhaps it is unrealistic to hope golfers would understand that conditions at courses vary due to a variety of factors many beyond their control. Golf conditions vary across the board...funny it used to be that golfers played golf to enjoy spending time with their buddies. I guess I am taking a stand to be with all the facitilities that are struggling...the nine holers, the executive courses, the mom and pop courses and those struggling for whatever reason. The best course I have ever played was a 9 holer that I played as a kid because I played with my buddies. I hope this site discusses the fun in the game and where to go to have some fun versus knocking facilities.

oh...by the way...very nice response by Spray Tech....and I have a vested interest in all golf courses...we have seen enough of them close over the past 10 years...

dgourlay said:

Perhaps a little overreaction on my part but in my profession it can get a little much to see people bash golf courses without all the facts. The inaccuracies of certain comments were the cause....I posted with my name because I wanted everyone to see who was writing it... Hoping everyone read the comment about me not playing a course I did not like. Every course has issues...all of them...some greater than others. Golf is golf...comparisions can not generally be made between two courses...To be clear...I would have posted almost the same comment if it concerned another shot at another facility. The golf buisness is tough enough for all facilities and perhaps it is unrealistic to hope golfers would understand that conditions at courses vary due to a variety of factors many beyond their control. Golf conditions vary across the board...funny it used to be that golfers played golf to enjoy spending time with their buddies. I guess I am taking a stand to be with all the facitilities that are struggling...the nine holers, the executive courses, the mom and pop courses and those struggling for whatever reason. The best course I have ever played was a 9 holer that I played as a kid because I played with my buddies. I hope this site discusses the fun in the game and where to go to have some fun versus knocking facilities.

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Perhaps a little overreaction? You posted with your name so everybody could see who was writing it? Ummm. Not exactly. No offense here, but I find this last post almost as bad as the first. You said you would stick up for any course, but yet took shots at other courses in your first post. Then to suggest what you were suggesting that someone is just not good enough to play your course is laughable.

I suggest taking a step back and realizing the reach or spending a little more time on THP before writing some of this stuff, because frankly I find it appalling what you have suggested.

last comment...if anyone is looking for a player or two to play a golf course that may be struggling let me know...I am in.

All I can say is wow. People should really think a little more about honesty and transparency when conducting business.

Sound like a great place for your average awesome golfer that doesn't mind sub-par conditions

Hawk said:

Sound like a great place for your average awesome golfer that doesn't mind sub-par conditions

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hahaha, I'm now terrified to ever go to Kansas.

TC said:

hahaha, I'm now terrified to ever go to Kansas.

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Not sure if that scratch hcp of yours can hang at this place.

Hawk said:

Not sure if that scratch hcp of yours can hang at this place.

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Doubtful. I've never even played Pinehurst or Nate's course.

Dude I am sorry but you are digging yourself a deeper hole by the minute

Update and hopefully an end to this thread:

First of all, let me say that I never intended for this thread to go in this direction. I would have written sooner but to be honest I'd forgotten about the post until yesterday. I would also like to take a moment to thank the forum members that have shown their support, especially JB.

What's ironic is that yesterday, before I had read any of the comments, I read my original post for the first time in almost a year. Upon completion I realized that what I had written (although true) was a bit venomous so I went through and toned it down. Then, out of curiosity I read the responses and WHOA... was I surprised.

So, that brings me to today. I had considered writing yesterday but thought it best if I give my response 24 hours. The last thing this thread needed was an angry rant.

Written in blue below is the original post by Dave Gourlay, General Manager at Colbert Hills. Below that is my response.

dgourlay 08-19-2012 12:24 PM

wow...Titleist Striker...from your post about Colbert Hills it may have been too tough for you...I have never played a course that I didn't like...a lot of outside factors determine daily golf conditions...firekeeper is ok...a nice flat course but doesn't compare to the layout at Colbert's...it just doesn't...the greens at Colbert's have always been the best in Kansas period...they don't ever aerate them which is nice so there are no surprises when you play like many other golf courses....bunkers are the best anywhere..(firekeepers are dirt)...I know Colbert is restricted with water from the city so it has played drier this summer...I do know for a fact that that water leak between #9 and the clubhouse was a city leak and not Colbert's so better get your facts straight before all the whinnng about Colbert's....It will always be one of the best courses in kansas to play and that is simply a fact...sorry if I hurt your feelings on this one...maybe some lessons would be in order





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Dave,

I've played courses all over the state of Kansas for the better part of the last 30 years so when I talk about course conditions and expectations I know exactly what I'm talking about. Throughout my years I've also had the opportunity to work in the golf industry. Those opportunities included maintenance, management, marketing, and instruction. Long story short, when it involves golf I know what I'm talking about. It was this knowledge of the game that led to my review.

Regarding my playing ability; I've had the opportunity to play this great game since the age of 5. I also started receiving professional instruction at the age of 5; one of the perks of having an uncle that was a teaching professional. I've carried a single digit handicap since the age of 12 and currently carry a +4.8 handicap according to the USGA Handicap Index System. Needless to say, your condescending remarks about me, "needing a lesson", or Colbert Hills being "too tough for me" are ridiculous. The last three rounds I've had at Colbert have all been in the 60's. Two of those rounds were played from the famed "black and blue" tees.

When I wrote this review last year I had played three courses in the span of four days which included playing Colbert Hills twice. The other course I played that week was FireKeeper. My round at FireKeeper took place on a Wednesday, and then on Friday and Saturday I participated in a tournament with friends at Colbert Hills. Again, during that week of play (which was mid-July) my assessment of both courses was absolutely accurate and factual.

While I realize my words were strong, they were in no way meant as a knock to either you or your son (course superintendent). However, I can see why you would take course condition criticism personally considering the positions that you both maintain.

I have no doubt that Colbert Hills will return to top notch condition after the large amounts of snow we've had this winter. Its a wonderful course that challenges a player from all aspects of the game. Unfortunately last summer I just happened to catch it on a particularly "rough" day when it was at its worst and I shared that experience with thousands of readers.

Here's to warm weather, great golf, and cold drinks!

Regards,
Mario

Good follow up MizuoStriker, well said.

Wow, I just discovered this thread. While I live in Florida, I grew up in Kansas. I grew up playing Alvamar and Lawrence Country Club. Alvamar would let juniors on for $1.00 after 1:00 in the summer. I will always have great memories of playing there as a kid. I miss the bent greens and zoysia fairways.

As far as Colbert Hills, when I played it, it was a very nice course. It was not in perfect condition, but it was decent. I am surprised the guy got so defensive.

My favorite Kansas course is probably Shadow Glen.

Great job Mizstriker, I'm happy to see you took the high road in your response, much higher than I dare say I would have. I've never played Colbert Hills, still want to, but really can't say I look at the place in the same light after his response to you.

Reviving this thread since Mrs. Reject and I played there Sunday for her birthday. We scheduled a 12:10PM start time online for $200 total. We came at 10AM to see if we could get started earlier but were told a tournament had the whole course. Came back and actually got an Alumni discount (Mrs R) Senior discount (both of us) so we actually got a rate of $157 total!! Nice! The first hole was CPO because of new sod, the cart actually turned off and had to go in reverse. We were following members who had their own carts so they drove everywhere. Second hole I didn't dare to venture off the cart path, but the members in front of us actually came back to tell us it is only CPO on holes 1 & 9! We let a single thru on Hole #4. Followed him closely for the rest of the front 9. Looked like he either quit or drove around the foursome on hole 9??!! We stopped to fill our water bottles at the turn and another single showed up in front of us on the #10 tee box. Not a big deal, but kind of unusual. The rest of the back 9 was a pleasure since no one pushing us. We finished in less than 4 hours (SLOW PLAY). The greens were some of the best in KS for sure!! The negatives for the round were the poor fairway conditions on multiple holes, there were sprinkler heads laying around on 5 or 6 holes. We are planning on going back again, the course layout is AMAZING but the fairways need help. Don't know or care who the GM or Superintendent are, but they both need to do better here. We also played Stagg Hill across town on Saturday ($62 total) and their fairways were in better shape!