After a long drive through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana we made it to Shepherdsville, Kentucky for the third round on our insane trip. Shepherdsville is about a half hour south of Louisville and is home to Heritage Hill Golf Club, one of the top public courses in the state – or should I say “commonwealth”.
Getting a tee time without much planning at decent course in Kentucky was a bit of a challenge. The course I hoping to play again (Nevel Meade) was all booked until about 4pm, so the timing didn’t work for this trip. The next best thing in the Louisville area for public golf looked to be Heritage Hill. Thankfully for us, they had an 11:00 AM tee time which worked great for our travel schedule.
Heritage Hill normally can be found among the top public courses in the state and after golfing here, I certainly can see why. The front nine is decent and sets the stage for multiple signature holes on the back nine. The front has links-style holes while the back has more traditional Mid-Atlantic holes, with some up and down terrain. I’d say the course has four signature holes, including two great par-3’s. Excellent par-3’s seemed to be a theme on this trip.
The 194 yard par-3 2nd hole is the first of those signature holes. It has a rocky, tree-lined look to it and plays downhill at least one club, maybe two. It was cloudy most of the round so my pictures didn’t turn out great, but you should still get an idea of all the cool exposed rock that can be found throughout the course, including on the 2nd.
The 158 yard par-3 11th is a shorter version of the 2nd. The 11th was my favorite hole at Heritage Hill and it shows off more exposed rock. It is also downhill and plays to a green that is cut into a hillside. A creek runs short of the green and curls around to the left. If you get the yardage right it is a chance for birdie, but if not bogey isn’t a bad score.
The 14th and the 18th – both par-4’s – are the final two signature holes, thanks to their elevated tee boxes. The 14th is 433 yards while the 18th is only 359 yards. The 18th has water to the left which runs all the way up to the green so you can try different strategies off the tee. The safer shot is to the right, but that leaves a longer carry over the water.
We picked the blue tees which are 72.3/135/6779 and I didn’t really didn’t feel the higher slope. The fairways are generous and while there is enough lost ball trouble, there are also plenty of areas to bail out and recover. Douglas Beach designed the course and this appears to be his only design. I walked away thinking a bigger name architect worked on Heritage Hill. Good stuff.
The conditions were good for what we paid – about $65. The turf was scruffy in spots and the facilities need a bit of a refresh. Nothing to complain about for the price though. The fairways were full and still greening up. The tees were good, however multiple back tee boxes were overgrown and closed. The greens were smooth, just slow.
I’d play Heritage Hill often if I lived in the area and it was a good choice for our Kentucky visit. It is an above average public course in multiple ways. As long as you set your expectations properly then I think you’ll enjoy the round here.
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):