Back in the nineteenth century, it was a cattle ranch owned by a transplanted Kansas City Jewish businessman turned rancher who married his housekeeper, an Irish Catholic immigrant. Rather than drive her (by horse and buggy) across creeks and rivers to Mass every Sunday he built her a chapel on the ranch and the priest came to them. Thus every Sunday after services in Linn Creek (the county seat) the priest would ride to the ranch and say an additional Mass for all of the parishioners who lived west of the Niangua River. After each mass, a luncheon was offered by the host for all of the attendees and the atmosphere changed from church to picnic, games, and fishing in the river. Little did these people know nor could they possibly imagine that two centuries later the ranch would transform to a golf course and their beloved church belfry would adorn the 14th fairway. What they could be certain of was the fact that nature had carved out a beautiful valley and no matter what its use, its underlying magnificence would remain. In the late 1990s Tom Weiskopf saw the valley and its potential and with a minimum of earth moving created eighteen of the most invitingly beautiful holes of golf you will find anywhere. Searching for a name for this signature golf course they reached back in history for Kinderhook the original name of Camden County. Thus in 1999 Old Kinderhook was born and once again people flocked to this valley for friendship, sport, and food. The cycle was complete.
-Courtesy of Jack Madigan