When Guy and Jan Saxton opened Cool Crest Garden Golf 60 years ago, they offered an escape from bustling post-war St. Joseph, where families could relax and knock around a few golf balls.

Old aerial photos show a mechanized green-felt oasis, stuck like a postage stamp among open fields on a quiet road. But six decades of commercial growth have changed the view. Now the city surrounds Cool Crest on all sides, and the country road has become the Belt Highway. Even so, the crowds still line up, convinced that with a little concentration, they can beat that pesky windmill for a hole-in-one.

“I’m winning,” Chris Hanshaw said as the local seventh-grader stopped between holes. “I’ve hit two hole-in-ones so far.”

Kids like Chris have shared similar experiences since July 4, 1948. In those days, Mrs. Saxton could count her neighbors on the Belt on one hand.

“There was Snow White’s and the old (Pony Express) motel,” she said. “They finally tore it down, but it looked really nice when it opened.”

Cool Crest has built a loyal clientele. Half of the customers are local, and half come from the small towns of Northwest Missouri, Northeast Kansas or sometimes places across the horizon. Mrs. Saxton said it’s not unusual to see customers from California or the East Coast.

“They come to St. Joseph for a family reunion or some other thing, and they remember coming to Cool Crest when they were younger, so they come back here,” she said. “It’s a memory for them.”

The Saxtons have kept the business in the family through the years. Current manager Darby Meehan grew up at Cool Crest with his grandparents. Now he wears the title of manager on his name tag, though a bit uncomfortably.

“Just call me glorified help,” he said. “Or grandson. There’s my title right there.”

Mr. Meehan has no trouble explaining the course’s longevity. When families look for entertainment in St. Joseph, they have three main options: movies, bowling and Cool Crest.

“The cost of going to the movies keeps going up, and everyone is locked up inside bowling all winter,” Mr. Meehan said. “When it warms up, people come to Cool Crest. It’s our season.”

Business reporter Clinton Thomas can be reached at clintonthomas@npgco.com.