Kokopelli Golf Club

Steve Smyers's 1996 Kokopelli in Marion, built on the 176 acres of a former coal strip mine, which gives the course a distinctive mix of linksy open holes and a memorable water-filled mine-pit feature still visible on the back nine. One of the more unusual design briefs Smyers has taken on and a course that punches well above its rural-Illinois address. 7,039 yards, par 72, with 96 sprawling bunkers, a 74.7 rating, and a 139 slope. Smyers's modern-strategic sensibility shows in well-shaped chipping areas and fair green contouring, the holes ask real questions without tipping into penal, which is the signature Smyers balance. A few holes pick up noise from nearby I-57 but the routing itself is well thought out. Named by Travel + Leisure as one of 'America's 100 Best Courses for $100 or Less' and rated by Golfweek as one of 'America's Best Places You Can Play.' The headline round on the Southern Illinois Trail, the kind of hidden-gem muni-priced design that makes the trip worth the drive from St. Louis or Evansville.