Annbriar Golf Course, designed by Dr. Michael Hurdzan and opened on Memorial Day 1993, occupies 226 rolling acres on a former family farm just south of St. Louis. The course required moving more than one million cubic yards of earth to craft its links-influenced layout across 115 bunkers and undulating Zoysia fairways. Named in memory of Ann Nobbe, whose family fulfilled her vision of transforming the land into a public golf destination, Annbriar has earned a 4.5-star rating from Golf Digest and has been recognized as one of America's Top 500 Places to Play.
History
Annbriar Golf Course carries a story unlike any other public course in the Midwest. Ann Nobbe, daughter of the Nobbe family who owned farmland outside Waterloo, Illinois, dreamed of one day transforming the family property into a public golf course. When she died in an automobile accident in January 1990, her parents chose to honor that dream. Construction began on May 13, 1991, and Annbriar opened to the public on Memorial Day weekend, May 28, 1993, with the course named in Ann's memory. To design the course, the Nobbe family commissioned Dr. Michael Hurdzan, ASGCA, a respected golf course architect in the country. Hurdzan, known for projects including Weaver Ridge in Peoria, Naples National in Florida, and St. Albans in St. Louis, was given 226 acres of hills and meadows to work with. Moving more than one million cubic yards of earth, he shaped a links-influenced parkland layout that takes full advantage of the site's natural topography. The infrastructure is substantial: 5.5 miles of cart paths built from 34,000 yards of concrete, 115 sand bunkers strategically placed throughout the course, and 1,005 sprinkler heads fed by an irrigation system capable of delivering approximately 700,000 gallons of water per day during summer months. The layout plays to a par of 72 and stretches 6,863 yards from the gold tees, with a course rating of 72.8 and slope of 136. The Zoysia grass fairways and the course's varied terrain create a playing experience that rewards shot-making and course management. Annbriar quickly earned national attention after opening. Golf Digest awarded it a 4.5-star rating and named it one of America's Top 500 Places to Play. It has consistently ranked as a top public course in Illinois and has been a fixture on "Best in State" lists across multiple golf publications for over three decades. The original Nobbe farmhouse has been preserved and converted into the clubhouse, while the old barn site now hosts a pavilion used for tournaments and events. A 100-year-old smokehouse that stood on the property has become the course's logo, an enduring symbol of the farm heritage at the heart of Annbriar's identity. In recent years, Annbriar has added a major competitive presence to its resume. The course has hosted the Missouri Valley Conference Women's Golf Championship in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, and was selected to host the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Championship in 2026. Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying events were held at Annbriar in 2025 and 2026, bringing professional-level competition to the course. The Smokehouse Restaurant operates daily, and the facility offers full event hosting capabilities alongside a robust membership program.3 and slope of 131. Hurdzan's design at Annbriar applied his characteristic approach of creating naturalistic-looking courses that embed strategic complexity within a landscape that appears organic and uncontrived. The Waterloo location, in Monroe County on the bluffs above the American Bottom floodplain south of St. Louis, provides a setting of considerable natural beauty that enhances the golf experience throughout the season. The Smokehouse Restaurant and event facilities complement the golf, supporting a year-round hospitality program that extends the club's community function beyond the playing season.