Course
The Nicklaus Golf Club at Lions Gate is an 18-hole championship golf course designed by legendary golf pro, Jack Nicklaus. As the only links…
The Nicklaus Golf Club at Lions Gate is an 18-hole championship golf course designed by legendary golf pro, Jack Nicklaus. As the only links-style private club in the Kansas City area, it provides a unique and challenging experience to golfers of all skill levels. Previously hosting a Korn-Ferry Tour event for 9 consecutive years, the course features 84 bunkers and strong prevailing winds that add to the intrigue of the property.
# 1 /
Par: 4
Handicaps:
Men's 13
Women's 9
Yardage by Tee:
BLACK 427
BLUE 389
WHITE 369
GOLD 270
Slope:
Black- 140 | Blue- 138 | White- Mens: 137, White- Womens: 151 | Gold- Mens: 112, Gold- Womens 135
Pro Tips
| The first hole is a par 4 that plays straightaway with a prevailing wind from the player’s back. A 3 wood down the left, just short of the fairway bunker, will leave a clear approach to the green. The other option is to take driver long and right to a deep, low fairway, which results in a tricky second over a greenside bunker. |
# 2 /
Par: 3
Handicaps:
Men's 17
Women's 15
Yardage by Tee:
BLACK 211
BLUE 191
WHITE 175
GOLD 160
Slope:
Black- 140 | Blue- 138 | White- Mens: 137, White- Womens: 151 | Gold- Mens: 112, Gold- Womens 135
Pro Tips
| The green on this strong par 3 features three-tiers and is protected in front by water and a small pot bunker on the front-right edge. A swale at the center of the green will feed balls down to a lower fairway next to the water. |
# 3 /
Par: 4
Handicaps:
Men's 11
Women's 11
Yardage by Tee:
BLACK 465
BLUE 420
WHITE 357
GOLD 298
Slope:
Black- 140 | Blue- 138 | White- Mens: 137, White- Womens: 151 | Gold- Mens: 112, Gold- Womens 135
Pro Tips
| This long dogleg left par 4 requires players to carry the water on their drive to a landing area flanked by fairway bunkers. The approach shot must avoid the large greenside bunker on the left. |
# 4 /
Par: 5
Handicaps:
Men's 3
Women's 3
Yardage by Tee:
BLACK 562
BLUE 526
WHITE 515
GOLD 438
Slope:
Black- 140 | Blue- 138 | White- Mens: 137, White- Womens: 151 | Gold- Mens: 112, Gold- Womens 135
Pro Tips
| The first par 5 on the golf course is a long, tough test, where the best strategy is to hug the left side of the fairway the whole way. The drive will have to carry a short, small water hazard and the fairway bunkers left of the landing area. The second will, again, need to miss a larger fairway bunker on the left. The final stretch is peppered with bunkers on both sides on its way to a green that slopes away from the strong landform on the front-right. |
# 5 /
Par: 4
Handicaps:
Men's 5
Women's 13
Yardage by Tee:
BLACK 447
BLUE 409
WHITE 394
GOLD 304
Slope:
Black- 140 | Blue- 138 | White- Mens: 137, White- Womens: 151 | Gold- Mens: 112, Gold- Womens 135
Pro Tips
| This strong dogleg left par 4 plays downhill. A well-placed tee shot will hug the left side of the fairway while avoiding the two fairway bunkers nestled into the swale of prairie grass. On the approach, the green is protected by a bunker in the front-right and anything missed right is trouble. |
# 6 /
Par: 5
Handicaps:
Men's 1
Women's 1
Yardage by Tee:
BLACK 570
BLUE 544
WHITE 510
GOLD 469
Slope:
Black- 140 | Blue- 138 | White- Mens: 137, White- Womens: 151 | Gold- Mens: 112, Gold- Womens 135
Pro Tips
| The sixth hole is a long, uphill par 5 that will require three solid shots to reach the green. Players should stay left off the tee to avoid a large bunker on the right. The second shot should do the same, as to miss the bunkers tucked into the side of a deep fairway hollow. Playing to the upper fairway will leave players the best angle into the green. |
# 7 /
Par: 4
Handicaps:
Men's 9
Women's 5
Yardage by Tee:
BLACK 364
BLUE 327
WHITE 308
GOLD 246
Slope:
Black- 140 | Blue- 138 | White- Mens: 137, White- Womens: 151 | Gold- Mens: 112, Gold- Womens 135
Pro Tips
| The shortest par 4 on the course, the seventh will reward players who can hit it both long and straight. The slight dogleg right challenges players to stay long and right while avoiding the bunkers that hug the edge of the fairway. Approaching the green, which is guarded by bunkers front-left and back-right, from this angle is ideal. |
# 8 /
Par: 3
Handicaps:
Men's 15
Women's 17
Yardage by Tee:
BLACK 188
BLUE 167
WHITE 153
GOLD 122
Slope:
Black- 140 | Blue- 138 | White- Mens: 137, White- Womens: 151 | Gold- Mens: 112, Gold- Womens 135
Pro Tips
| This hole is a slightly uphill par 3 to a long, narrow green that breaks down and away from left-to-right. Sand guards the putting surface in front. |
# 9 /
Par: 4
Handicaps:
Men's 7
Women's 7
Yardage by Tee:
BLACK 442
BLUE 409
WHITE 393
GOLD 309
Slope:
Black- 140 | Blue- 138 | White- Mens: 137, White- Womens: 151 | Gold- Mens: 112, Gold- Womens 135
Pro Tips
| The final hole of the front nine typically plays directly into the wind. Three fairway bunkers guard the landing area, which, if avoided, will set up a short iron into the green. The other, safer, option is to aim at the left fairway, leaving a longer second into a putting surface with two greenside bunkers in the front-left. |
# 10 /
Par: 5
Handicaps:
Men's 4
Women's 4
Yardage by Tee:
BLACK 501
BLUE 487
WHITE 475
GOLD 413
Slope:
Black- 140 | Blue- 138 | White- Mens: 137, White- Womens: 151 | Gold- Mens: 112, Gold- Womens 135
Pro Tips
| The back nine opens with a dogleg right par 5, where the ideal drive will challenge the right side of the fairway while avoiding the lake. The second shot provides players an option to lay-up or attempt a difficult shot into this heavily bunkered green. |
# 11 /
Par: 4
Handicaps:
Men's 14
Women's 10
Yardage by Tee:
BLACK 447
BLUE 428
WHITE 403
GOLD 318
Slope:
Black- 140 | Blue- 138 | White- Mens: 137, White- Womens: 151 | Gold- Mens: 112, Gold- Womens 135
Pro Tips
| A solid drive on the eleventh should stay right, but short, of the fairway bunker tucked into a broad landform. The approach into this green, which slopes hard from right-to-left, is protected by large bunkers in the front-left and back-right. |
# 12 /
Par: 5
Handicaps:
Men's 6
Women's 6
Yardage by Tee:
BLACK 592
BLUE 559
WHITE 545
GOLD 479
Slope:
Black- 140 | Blue- 138 | White- Mens: 137, White- Womens: 151 | Gold- Mens: 112, Gold- Womens 135
Pro Tips
| The last par 5 on the golf course, the twelfth is a dogleg left that plays downhill with a prevailing wind. Two fairway bunkers guard the left side of the landing area, defending against cutting off too much. Players who go for the green in two will need to carry water on the left. The second landing area narrows a bit and feeds off the landform on the right as it turns towards the hole. From there, a wedge is left to a green that slopes towards the lake. |
# 13 /
Par: 4
Handicaps:
Men's 8
Women's 8
Yardage by Tee:
BLACK 386
BLUE 338
WHITE 326
GOLD 246
Slope:
Black- 140 | Blue- 138 | White- Mens: 137, White- Womens: 151 | Gold- Mens: 112, Gold- Womens 135
Pro Tips
| A well-struck drive on this par 4 will carry a water hazard and three fairway bunkers. The green is perched on top of a natural ridge and angles from front-right to back-left. |
# 14 /
Par: 3
Handicaps:
Men's 16
Women's 18
Yardage by Tee:
BLACK 158
BLUE 144
WHITE 124
GOLD 84
Slope:
Black- 140 | Blue- 138 | White- Mens: 137, White- Womens: 151 | Gold- Mens: 112, Gold- Womens 135
Pro Tips
| This par 3 plays slightly downhill and over water. Any shots left or short of this small green will find the water. Bunkers guard the right and back of the putting surface, which also features a rock and water feature behind. |
# 15 /
Par: 4
Handicaps:
Men's 2
Women's 2
Yardage by Tee:
BLACK 363
BLUE 320
WHITE 310
GOLD 263
Slope:
Black- 140 | Blue- 138 | White- Mens: 137, White- Womens: 151 | Gold- Mens: 112, Gold- Womens 135
Pro Tips
| Water and bunkers frame the landing area on the par 4, fifteenth. In order to set up the best angle into the green, players should take their drive down the left side of the fairway. Then, a small pond and bunker in front and a grass hollow in back protects this three-tiered green. |
# 16 /
Par: 4
Handicaps:
Men's 10
Women's 12
Yardage by Tee:
BLACK 447
BLUE 420
WHITE 401
GOLD 311
Slope:
Black- 140 | Blue- 138 | White- Mens: 137, White- Womens: 151 | Gold- Mens: 112, Gold- Womens 135
Pro Tips
| The sixteenth is a dogleg left par 4 that typically plays into the wind. Off the tee, players must carry a small lake and avoid a large waste bunker down the left. A well-placed tee shot down the right will set players up for a fairly long and uphill approach to the green. |
# 17 /
Par: 3
Handicaps:
Men's 18
Women's 16
Yardage by Tee:
BLACK 231
BLUE 206
WHITE 192
GOLD 154
Slope:
Black- 140 | Blue- 138 | White- Mens: 137, White- Womens: 151 | Gold- Mens: 112, Gold- Womens 135
Pro Tips
| Though its longest par 3 on the golf course, the seventeenth also plays downhill and often with the wind. A right-to-left tee shot over a bunker-defended landform will feed into the front of the green. Errant tee shots to the left will often find a large greenside bunker. |
# 18 /
Par: 4
Handicaps:
Men's 12
Women's 14
Yardage by Tee:
BLACK 448
BLUE 405
WHITE 393
GOLD 315
Slope:
Black- 140 | Blue- 138 | White- Mens: 137, White- Womens: 151 | Gold- Mens: 112, Gold- Womens 135
Pro Tips
| The final hole on the course is a long par 4 that often plays directly into the wind. Off the tee, players will want to challenge a series of bunkers on the left side of the fairway. This will leave a slightly uphill approach to a green that slopes left-to-right and is defended by a front-right bunker. |