Locals will tell you, without much fanfare, that they’d rather play Kendrick than most courses charging three times the price. That’s not boasting — it’s just the math of a municipal course that’s been running since 1929 and has figured out what it’s supposed to be.
Kendrick sits on the west edge of town, carved into the same parkland that houses the free zoo and the duck pond and the general air of a city that spends its parks budget sensibly. The course itself is 18 holes, par 71, running about 6,200 yards from the back tees. It’s not long by modern standards, but it’s tighter than first-timers expect, with mature cottonwoods framing fairways that don’t leave you much margin for the lazy draw you’ve been working on since April.
The greens are the main attraction. For a municipal course in a city of 18,000 people in the middle of Wyoming, they’re kept in genuinely good shape — consistent, moderately fast, with enough subtle break to keep you honest. The grounds crew clearly takes the work seriously, which is not something you can say about every muni in the Rockies.
Green fees run roughly $30–$35 for 18 holes depending on the day, with cart rental running another $15 or so. Twilight rates drop that further. If you’re a Sheridan resident, annual passes exist and are, by any reasonable measure, absurdly cheap. Non-residents still come out well ahead of what they’d pay at resort courses up in the Bighorns.
The clubhouse is modest — a pro shop with the basics, a snack bar that does breakfast sandwiches and hot dogs and does not pretend to be otherwise. You can rent clubs if you need to. The staff is the kind of unhurried, knows-everyone type you’d expect from a place that’s been doing this for nearly a century. Tee times can be booked online or by phone, and walk-ons on weekday mornings are rarely turned away.
Go in June or early July if you can. The cottonwoods are fully leafed out, the Bighorns are visible from several of the back-nine holes on a clear day, and the course hasn’t yet cooked in the late-summer heat. Mornings are cooler and less crowded. Saturday afternoons in August belong to the regulars, and they will play at their own pace whether you’re behind them or not.
A few holes worth noting: the par-3 seventh plays shorter than it looks, usually into the wind; don’t be a hero with the club selection. The finishing hole, a dogleg left with a tree line that punishes anyone who tries to cut the corner, has ended more than a few friendly wagers. Play it straight, two-putt, buy a round in the parking lot.
Kendrick Golf Course won’t make any national Top 100 list, and nobody involved seems particularly bothered by that. What it is, reliably, is a well-maintained, honest track at a price that makes sense, in a town where you can squeeze in 18 holes after work and still make dinner. In Wyoming, that’s worth knowing about.
