St. Albans orginal course by Wieskopf and Morrish has some very good golf holes and can be walked, especially for nine holes on the front. The other course, by Hurdzan and co., suffers from a very difficult piece of land and a lot more in-play housing.
The most important variable (in my opinion) is based on where your friend will be living. The STL metro area is quite large and the main artery, Highway 40, is closed in sections for the next couple of years making traffic a bit of bear.
With that in mind, here's the short version on STL clubs:
There is a big 4, clubs that never seem to be short on membership interest, STLCC (the best course in town), Bellerieve (good tournament course that offers plenty of challenge), Old Warson (a solid RTJ track from the 60's with perfect putting surfaces) and Westwood, a lesser known club that Tillinghaust supposedly worked on (it has some great holes and even more potential but is horribly over-treed). These 4 clubs are all invitation only.
Two clubs mentioned earlier, Norwood CC and Glen Echo, both are full-service clubs with cool histories and excellent golf courses (36 holes in the case of Norwood). Both clubs suffer from location -- located north of the city, they are less desirable neighborhoods. Your friend could join both today for a reasonable price. One more note about Norwood... it has the largest collection of low-handicap players in town.
There are a couple of other older clubs in the suburbs, Algonquin, Sunset Hills, Meadowbrooke and Greenbriar Hills. All three are good members clubs and should be considered depending on where your friend decides to live.