Lead Belt Golf Club, Bonne Terre, MO

Golf Course: 9-hole, par 36 public course. Bermuda/blue grass fairways, fescue rough, and bent grass greens. Lead Belt Golf Club has a new, but small metal building clubhouse. The pro shop is limited to a few golf balls and soda machines. Lead Belt does not take tee times. Layout: This municipal style course has scattered trees throughout, with a smallish creek that comes into play on one hole. There is one pond to carry that comes into play on two holes. The wood line only comes into play on one fairway, so driving accuracy is not terribly important. No houses are built along this course due to the fact that a graveyard, a “chat dump,” a farm field, and a main roadway enclose its boundaries. Tees: There are four sets of tees (blue tees and whites which are for the men, yellow for seniors, and reds for ladies). Typically the members play the whites on their first nine, and blues for the second nine. Ten or so yards separate the blue and white tees on all holes. The red tees give a reasonable distance break to the women. Condition: Fairly good. The Bermuda fairways have not completely taken yet, so some blue grass and clover still exist. The greens are always fast and have a lot of undulation, which provides this rather short course its greatest defense. Some tee boxes are in poor condition. Pace of play: During the week, the course is always busy—mostly with members who tend to golf quickly. On the weekends, it can be slow due the many “non-golfers” who play Lead Belt because of the cheap rates. Walking is allowed. Quirks: Because Lead Belt is somewhat short, they have allowed trees to grow in some rather strange places and are reluctant to trim them. The par-5 second has two huge oak trees blocking the green from the fairway. The par-5 seventh is a 200-yard tee shot to a landing area in front of a pond, and then 260+ yards to the green. The par-4 eighth once again has two huge oak trees blocking the green from the fairway, leaving an opening about fifteen yards wide to hit an approach shot through. The club’s board of directors likes to play skins, so fivesomes are allowed (usually with all five golfers in a separate golf carts). Practice facility: The driving range teeing area is usually in poor shape. The landing area is narrow, and has very few aiming targets. Range balls are usually in fair condition. The putting and chipping green is nice, and usually represents the speed of the golf course greens. There is no practice bunker.

Customer Service

Only one person works the counter, but customer service is usually good.