Golf in Hays

Hays, the Ellis County seat and the largest city in northwest Kansas, anchors a region of the state where the High Plains meet the Smoky Hill River valley in terrain that is genuinely open — flat to rolling, windy, and dominated by wheat fields and rangeland. Fort Hays State University brings a college-town energy to what might otherwise be a purely agricultural community, and the city's role as a regional medical, retail, and educational hub for northwest Kansas gives it an outsized influence for its 22,000 residents. Two courses — the municipal Hays course and Smoky Hill Country Club — provide a full range of recreational golf in a city that understands the value of quality amenities in a region far from metropolitan alternatives.