Bowling Green, Kentucky
Olde Stone delivers championship-caliber golf where rolling Kentucky hills, deep bunkering, and fierce green complexes test players on every shot. The course flows between high and low ground for a constant mix of strategy, requiring precision, nerve, and shot selection. This is private-club golf at full throttle—exclusive, pristine, and regionally revered.
Arthur Hills’ vision for Olde Stone unleashed 18 holes across undulating Kentucky horse country, dramatically alternating between uplands and a rich valley plain. The routing maximizes the site’s elevation—holes 2 through 7 plunge down to Drake’s Creek, where risk/reward decisions flourish, before scaling back to high ground. Bunkering is deep and artistic, sometimes overwhelming (see hole 4), while green complexes are heavily contoured and demand both nerve and touch. Distinctive split fairways and no two holes feel the same, but every one demands your attention from tee to green.
Arthur Hills brought both muscle and flair to Olde Stone, shaping a course that marries bold hazards with clever playability, ably supported by Drew Rogers’ restoration eye in more recent years.
A brawny opener with a dogleg left, this hole sets the championship tone immediately. Players face an angled landing area with uneven lies that make the approach to its perched green a nervy proposition.
Favor the right center to avoid bunkers, but don’t overplay the dogleg.
A pulled drive brings deep bunkers and a tough angle, while any approach missing short faces a severe green rejection.
Championship-firm, fast greens and groomed fairways year-round
Efficient private-club speed; intense but not drawn-out
Exclusive, detail-obsessed and competitive
Standard private-club golf attire (collared, confirmed with club)
Bunkers are everywhere—practice escapes and distance control from all types of sand before arrival.
With more than 100 feet of elevation change and long green-to-tee transitions, bring spike-less shoes and hydrate.
Access is strictly private—arrange your game through a member or select invitational event.
Review the hole-by-hole flyover, especially to see the contours and perched targets that define scoring.
Jim Scott launches project with vision for Kentucky’s best club
Course opens, designed by Arthur Hills
Drew Rogers begins ongoing restoration consulting
Site hosts the Junior Ryder Cup
Major clubhouse expansion and rooftop dining completed
Host venue for USGA’s Girls’ Junior Championship
A Harvard feasibility study said Bowling Green could never support a country club of this caliber—Jim Scott disagreed. His vision for Olde Stone, executed by Arthur Hills, transformed 220 acres of Kentucky bluegrass into a regional icon that stands as a monument to ignoring the doubters.
Hole 4, aptly named 'Entrapment,' is one of the wildest par 4s you’ll play: 17 fairway bunkers split routes and punish every miss. It’s a strategic gauntlet that terrifies first-timers and rewards cunning placement, earning its spot among the state’s best risk/reward holes.
The 2022 renovation didn’t touch the classic course—just the experience off it. The clubhouse expansion added nearly 19,000 square feet, including a rooftop dining deck overlooking the 18th green, so your 19th hole bragging now comes with a panoramic golf view.
The course routing was shaped to maximize use of natural valley and hill contours, creating two distinct nines.
Hole 4 (‘Entrapment’) features a jaw-dropping 17 fairway bunkers—one of the most sand-laden par 4s in America.
The Club at Olde Stone was cited as a 'crown jewel of Mid-South golf' in several independent reviews.
A Harvard feasibility study wrongly declared a course of Olde Stone’s stature impossible in Bowling Green.
The 2022 clubhouse expansion added a rooftop dining area directly overlooking the 18th green.
A nine-hole, walkable par-3 experience ideal for tune-ups, family, or post-round fun.
Reputed best public-access round in Bowling Green; affordable and enjoyable for all skill levels.
Traditional routing and a solid test just minutes from downtown, open for limited public play.
Stay in Bowling Green proper to maximize tee time flexibility and enjoy new clubhouse dining.
Courses with the most similar DNA profile — matched by deviation shape across all eight playing characteristics.
Why it matches: Keene Trace Golf Club (Champion Trace Course) is a natural next stop after The Club at Olde Stone: it a comparable balance of challenge, variety, and character.
Why it matches: What links these two? A comparable balance of challenge, variety, and character — a familiar feeling, expressed in Aronimink Golf Club's own setting.
Why it matches: If The Club at Olde Stone is your kind of course, Oak Hill Country Club - East is worth a look because it a comparable balance of challenge, variety, and character.
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