November, 2015 | Kansas City Golf Information

With the grand opening of the Drumm Farm Fitness Center in Independence, GreatLife Golf & Fitness looks to provide a quality fitness experience to golfers and non-golfers alike.
Dozens enjoyed appetizers, prizes, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony as they viewed the new state-of-the-art fitness equipment and met with Drumm Farm staff and trainers from Elite Golf & Fitness. GreatLife owner Rick Farrant hopes the new facility will attract people with a wide variety of fitness interests, and maybe some of them will become golfers, too.

“Essentially, we’re creating golfers, which is kind of hard to do these days, so it’s very exciting for us,” he said. “If we can get people to the fitness facility, then they come in and look at the golf course while they’re working out and they experience this club feel, a lot of them eventually try golf. Once they do, a lot of them become golfers.”
The new fitness facility is attractive in its own right and having a fine course like Drumm Farm right outside makes it even more attractive.
“If they’re on the elliptical or they’re running, they’ll see, right out the window, our eighteenth green, which is a beautiful view,” said General Manager Ross Judy, PGA. “It’s pretty easy advertising on a nice, sunny day. And I think the advantage we have is our nine-hole executive course, which is perfect for the beginner.”

A new program known as The Fitness + Monday Golf program permits players access to the fitness facility as well as play on the executive course. “We allow them to play on Monday on the executive course,” Judy said. “A lot of them will say ‘I love the sport’ or ‘nope, not my sport’, but at least it gets them out there trying it out.”
Drumm Farm also offers a bi-weekly single membership for $4.99 which permits members immediate access to the fitness facility for free in November and December – billing doesn’t start until January – and members are not locked into a yearly membership. The club is especially attractive to a couple or a family. “Our perfect membership is a family where dad plays golf, mom works out and the kids are in the pool,” Farrant said. “That’s a great day for us. Some of our facilities are able to offer that.”

GreatLife members are also able to take advantage of access to other facilities in the Kansas City area, and the facilities are top of the line. “We don’t cut any corners on the golf side, and certainly not on the fitness side,” Farrant said. “It’s all brand new, state-of-the-art Cybex (equipment).”
Staffing is also top-notch. Janine Young of Elite Golf & Fitness has 20 years’ experience in the Golf Fitness Industry and was the first Titleist Performance Institute (TPI)-certified professional in the Kansas City area. “Drumm Farm is one of the few golf courses in town that’s also a fitness center,” Young explained. “Very few golf clubs have fitness centers that are open to the public. This one also has a separate fitness membership and that’s pretty unique.”

Young and her fitness staff are TPI certified. “TPI is the world leader in golf performance education, in all aspects of performance from the mental game to the medical side, prevention of injury and repair of injury, to the instruction side,” she said. “We utilize technology such as the 3-D motion capture system with the sensors on the body to analyze movement so that we can evaluate the swing as it relates to the body’s function or dysfunction, limitations, strength, coordination, power, balance, flexibility, and mobility. We want to take a look at the whole golfer, that whole individual, and that includes the swing as well as their physical ability. That’s how the Titleist Performance Institute works hand-in-hand with the instructor and our medical team, if necessary.”

The equipment at the new Drumm Farm Fitness Center is among the best in the business. “It’s really top-of-the-line” Young said. “It’s easy to use and self-directed with computer assistance. For cardiovascular equipment, we have everything: arc trainers, steppers, elliptical trainers, treadmills, stair climbers, and bikes. It’s really good stuff. And then the Selectorized equipment [strength equipment from Cybex] is also very user-friendly.”

Fitness buffs – golfers or not – should be sure to check out the new Drumm Farm Fitness Center. For more information, visit http://www.drummfarmgolfclub.com/-24-hour-fitness-center or call 816-350-9900.

In its 15th year, Shoal Creek Golf Course in the Northland remains one of the premier public venues in Kansas City. But the quality of the experience is such that it can easily be mistaken for a private course.

First, there is the drive into the course on Shoal Creek Parkway, a long and leafy boulevard. Then there is the handsome clubhouse, with a fireplace, banquet facilities, locker rooms and first-rate service. The golf course itself is meticulously manicured, offering players a pleasant yet challenging round over 18 wooded, secluded holes. And for good measure, there is a GPS on all carts – uncommon for public courses.

“We offer a private-club-for-a-day type of experience,” Shoal Creek General Manager Brett Plymell said. “Many people who come here feel that way.”

The setting of the course north of Highway 52 and west of Interstate 35 may seem far to people south of the river, but it is actually only a 15 to 30-minute drive from much of Johnson County and Jackson County. Last year, 32,000 rounds were played at Shoal Creek, up from an average of 30,000 rounds, Plymell said. Many players came from Iowa and Minnesota, especially in the early spring and fall when weather to the north is not as golf-friendly as in Kansas City, he added. The course encourages these travelers with stay-and-play packages offered in conjunction with a few Northland hotels.

Shoal Creek is continues to be rated among the top courses in the area and holds the title of second best public course in Missouri by Golfweek’s America’s Best You Can Play, second only to Branson Hills Golf Club, formerly the Payne Stewart Golf Club.

“The condition of the course is always good and it’s a unique layout,” Plymell said. “It’s almost like a lakes-area course. No holes run side-by-side. You are isolated, which is nice.”

Shoal Creek Club Professional David Brouillette said the course suits everyone’s game. “With four sets of tees, it’s playable for all skill levels,” Brouillette said. “And there are no long carries.”

Shoal Creek is owned by the Kansas City Missouri Department of Parks and Recreation and managed by privately by KemperSports. Playing to a par 71, Shoal Creek is 6,983 from the back tees and 6,363 from the middle, with respective course ratings of 73.9 and 70.8. It has a lofty139 slope rating from the back and 127 from the middle. From the forward tees, the course plays at 5,571 yards, has a 66.5 course rating, and 116 slope.

The opening five holes are the toughest stretch on the course before giving way to an easier 6 through 16, Brouillette said. Then, the par-3 17th requires a tee shot over Shoal Creek while 18 is a 464-yard dogleg par 4. Shoal Creek has zoysia fairways and bent grass greens, maintained by Duane Sander, course superintendent since the course opened. Two wet summer months cut into play earlier this summer, but has left the course lush heading into the fall.

Shoal Creek’s green fees vary by time of day and day of the week. Various types of annual passes are available. Club pros offer lessons, either on the practice tee or in a nine-hole round. The course also has junior clinics and a PGA Tour Academy camp in June and July. The pro shop has all the apparel and equipment a player could want and it custom fits clubs.

For several years, Shoal Creek has hosted the Kansas City Amateur tournament. It is also popular for corporate and charitable outings, leagues, and its annual Halloween tournament, which features some offbeat pin placements and various obstacles placed in strategic spots by the superintendent.

Shoal Creek does not live by golf alone. The course is booked for 30 to 40 wedding events every year. Receptions can make use of three different rooms in the clubhouse, including a banquet hall that seats 250 people. Couples who want to also marry at the course can do so. The ceremony seating is usually set up on the driving range in front of the clubhouse.

The clubhouse also hosts many parties for birthdays, anniversaries, reunions and other occasions, he said. The course has periodic wine-tastings with hors d’oeuvres and features other weekly food specials including the always popular Taco Tuesdays.

More information about the course, its amenities and tee times are available on its website, www.ShoalCreekGolf.com. The course is located at 8905 N. Shoal Creek Parkway in Kansas City. The phone number is 816-407-7242.

Monthly Archives: November 2015

Drumm Farm Fitness

The Special Experience of Shoal Creek Golf Course