Corn Fed Course Crawl: St. Paul Country Club (St. Paul, Nebraska)
- CornFedMike
- May 20
- 5 min read
Stop # 4 on the Corn Fed Course Crawl takes us to St. Paul, Nebraska. Population around 2,500, sitting at the forks of the North and Middle Loup Rivers about 20 miles north of Grand Island. It is the kind of town that has a few things going for it that most people outside of Nebraska have never heard of, and the locals seem perfectly fine with that.
Dorothy Lynch salad dressing was invented here. If you grew up in Nebraska, you already knew that and you probably have a bottle of it in your fridge right now. If you didn't grow up here, Dorothy Lynch is a sweet French-style dressing that has been a Nebraska staple since the 1940s, and if you have never had it on a taco salad you are missing out.
St. Paul Country Club has been out here since 1956. It has the kind of lived-in, well-maintained feel that tells you this course actually gets used. The parking lot had cars in it on a weekday. This is a town that plays its golf course.
St. Paul Country Club Quick Facts
Course: St. Paul Country Club (St. Paul, Nebraska)
Holes: 9
Par: 36
Yardage: 2,836 yards (Men's) / 2,484 yards (Women's)
Year Built: 1956
Vibe: Flat, walkable, tree-lined, friendly
A Warm Welcome
When we checked in, we were given a heads up right away: the pins had been placed in tough positions for a high school golf tournament earlier in the day. So the greens were already set up to be unforgiving before we even pulled our clubs out. Good to know. Didn't help, but good to know.
As we were getting ready to head out, a guy walked up and just welcomed us. Not the same person who checked us in. Didn't introduce himself as staff or an owner or anything, just came over and made us feel at home. I couldn't tell you if it was the camera and mics, the Corn Fed Bogeys shirts, or just small town Nebraska hospitality doing what small town Nebraska hospitality does, but I have a feeling it was the latter.
He mentioned there was a couple on hole # 9 that plays all day, basically every day, and I suggested we might want to let them play through since they would move faster than us. We ended up chatting with them for a few minutes before they teed off. Very, very nice people. That interaction set the tone for the whole round. This is a place where people are genuinely happy to have you there.
The Course
St. Paul Country Club is flat, walkable, tree-lined, and completely honest about what it is. This is not a course that tries to trick you or punish you with elevation changes or forced carries or water everywhere. The fairways are straightforward. The routing is easy to follow. The ground is level. If you are someone who just wants to go play golf without spending half the round searching for your ball in tall grass or fishing it out of a creek, this course has you covered.
The difficulty here is the greens. They are small, they are shaped like the top of my head, and they have absolutely no interest in holding your ball. The pins were placed tough the day we played, but I don't think it would have mattered much. These greens are designed so that anything short of a perfect approach shot with the right trajectory is going to find its way back off the putting surface and leave you chipping. It's classic old school small town nine hole golf, and it's not as easy as it looks.
Signature Holes
Hole # 3: The Tree
Hole # 3 is the most memorable hole on the course and it is memorable for one specific reason. Standing on the tee, the fairway looks narrow. Really narrow. There is a tree that hangs over the left side of the fairway and another that sits right in the middle of the fairway, and your brain immediately starts doing the math on whether there is actually a golf hole here or if you are facing the wrong direction and the locals are laughing at you. Precision is required here and that is not something I possess when it comes to golf.
It is a short par 4 at 279 yards, so there is not a lot of room for error. Hit it over the trees on the right, play your approach to one of those small greens, and try not to three putt. The hole is a good microcosm of what this course is all about: simple concept, tricky execution.
Hole # 8: The Longest Hole
Hole # 8 is the number 4 handicap on the card, a par 5 at 497 yards. It is the longest hole on the course, but it's straight as an arrow. It got the better of several of us on this particular day. Not going to call anyone out, but it wasn't me, I made a par.
The Hidden Displays
Natalie, my youngest and the one who is always behind the camera, made a discovery during the round that became one of the better moments of the day. A couple of the older trees on the course have hollow bases, and someone has filled those hollows with little displays. Tiny figures, small decorations, miniature scenes tucked right into the base of the tree.
It is the kind of thing you would walk right past if you were focused on your scorecard. Natalie found them because she is always looking for what the camera might catch that everyone else misses. They are in the video. Keep an eye out for them.
My Round
I shot a 43 on the par 36 layout. Pretty decent for me. But playing with my daughters and brother-in-law on a beautiful Nebraska day is hard to beat.
The round felt controlled for the most part. No trees, no out of bounds, no dramatic disasters... well, maybe # 6. The greens kept me honest all day. I would hit what felt like a decent approach, get up there, and find out the ball had settled just off the putting surface. That is the story of this course. You think you got away with a mediocre shot and then you realize the green had other plans.
I finished the final two holes with pars. On a course where the greens were actively working against me all day, I will absolutely take that.
The YouTube Video
Final Thoughts
St. Paul Country Club is a good, honest 9-hole golf course. It is not flashy. It does not need to be. The fairways are straightforward, the people are genuinely welcoming, and the greens will make you earn every par you get. If you are playing golf in central Nebraska and this is on the route, stop and play it. You will not regret it.
And watch where you step near the old trees.
See all the courses we have visited so far on the Corn Fed Course Crawl page.