The Country Lake Golf Club in Warrenton officially reopened on Sept. 25. The course had closed under the previous owners in December of last year. 

The course has been purchased by the ownership group behind the Bear Creek Golf Club in Wentzville as well as the Warrenton Golf Course, which they purchased in 2020. 

That ownership group includes Kirk and MaryAnne Porter and John and Barb Rufkahr, and they are excited to provide another option for golfers in Warren County. 

Porter is a PGA Golf Professional and previously worked at Country Lake as a general manager back in 2001, he said he was disheartened to see the course close, and quickly reached out to inquire about reopening. 

“I loved the facility, and when I heard it was going to shut down, I decided I didn’t want that, … So we bought this course and we’re going to bring it into the fold of the rest of our family of public golf.”

Porter has also been responsible for the care and maintenance of the course for the past six months as part of the purchasing agreement with the previous owners, the Keeven Family. 

“Part of the deal was I maintained it for six months until we closed on it this last Friday, which would have been the 20th of September,” said Porter. “And so we got it opened here on 9/25 and we’ve been maintaining it ever since.”

Currently, pricing for the course is $49.99 for 18 holes with a cart on the weekend and $39.99 on a weekday. Porter did say that there would be cheaper pricing for afternoon rounds as well as nine hole and senior rates. 

He said pricing was still being decided for next season along with varying levels of memberships that he hoped to offer soon for next year. 

He was also quick to highlight the course’s amenities, including the bar, pro shop and banquet halls that were all renovated shortly before the course closed. He also made note of the course’s driving range, which now includes Trackman Bays, allowing golfers to track shots and play games similar to those available at TopGolf locations. 

“You’ll play a course (on the Trackman) and you’ll hit your shot there, that the course requires, and it’ll measure that to the screen,” said Porter. “So it’s actually playing different courses.”

Outside of improvements to some of the amenities available at Country Lake, the course itself has remained largely the same, although Porter did say they moved some of the tee boxes back. 

Those changes brought the course’s total yardage to just over 6,100 yards. 

“It’s a very challenging layout for a shorter course. There’s some tight landing areas, some smaller greens,” said Porter. 

He did continue, saying he planned to enlarge some of the greens, as he said they have been slowly shrinking with annual maintenance. He also hoped to increase the speed of the greens to make for a more challenging and entertaining playing experience. 

There were considerations made toward competition, since Porter and his group also own the Warrenton Golf Course, but he felt that with the growth in the area, Warrenton could once again support another course. 

He also said that they felt that the price difference, with tee times five to ten dollars higher than the Warrenton Course, would separate Country Lake with a different clientele. 

“I don’t think there’ll be any problems getting the population to support this golf course. A lot of your golf courses during the peak times are full, and so this course will obviously give people another choice to play golf at peak times,” said Porter.

Country Lake plans to remain open through the winter when weather permits, and according to Porter will likely only be closed in the event of snow or temperatures below 40 degrees.