Ohio's Top 20 Golf Courses - Page 3

I haven't gone to those places but i hope by next year I can visit one of those places.

Most of the great Ohio courses are private, so these are a few of my public favorites from around the state in no particular order:

Avalon Lakes........warren

Cooks Creek.........Ashville

Eagle Sticks.........Zanesville

Windmill Lakes......Ravenna

Yankee Run...........Brookfield

Eagle Creek...........Norwalk

Players Club at Foxfire....Lockbourne

Bent Tree..............sunbury

Indian Springs.......mechanicsburg

Granville Golf Cse....Granville

Royal American......Galena

Blacklick Gold......Reynoldsburg

West chester........Canal Winchester

Blue Ash..............Cincy area

 

I've played well over 100 courses in the state, but I moved away from the state in the late 1990s.  The above is just off the top of my head from memory and I'm sure I am forgetting some.  I'll bet there are a few nice new courses too!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shale Creek is new and is very nice. Quite pricey though, but you do get full access to their Driving Range prior to and after your round. Pretty tough when you're doglegging with the bend of a 30 yard-wide stream as well, but really peaceful when that thing is raging with white capped currents and you're trying to focus on a 50 yard-wide fairway (sarcasm).

Blue Ash ain't what it once was condition wise. They are in the process of building a new multi million dollar clubhouse tho'.

How 'bout Stonelick Hills? http://www.stonelickhills.com/

I haven't played it since the early 1990s.  IMO...the main weakness of the course was that it plays through too many condo's.  I prefer a course that tracks through wilderness....not housing.

They let the superintendent go in the early 90's that got it to the Golf Digest top 50 or 100 Public or whatever it was. Also let all their greens go to almost totally poa. They did install double row irrigation system finally and are sinking some $$$ into it over the past couple years. It's a nice course still, don't get me wrong, but they don't pay as much attention to detail like they did when Ankster was there.

I haven't played Blue Ash in years but I remember it being a terrific public course. It's very well laid out over a nice piece of property. From the pictures on the website it looks in need of some restoration and the trees need to be trimmed to open the fairways.

I'm ready to rant on Blue ash......IMO....they are AZZHOLES..  I called the day before to tell them I was driving down from Columbus...I even asked how the course was!!!!.....I guess I failed to specifically ask if the aerated yesterday?  I swear I asked specifically, but it's been so many years I don't really remember...What I do remember is I specifically told them I'd be driving 110 miles from columbus and I asked them the condition of the course......they said GREAT...c'mon down....

 

When I got there, I found greens that were freshly plugged and buried under a ton of sand...in fact they were still doing the fairways when I got there.  I was FN pissed..... My plan was to play 36, but it was so bad...I wandered off to play a crappy muni.... I think I played my 2nd 18 at a place called Glenview...nothing memorable about it.....I don't remember it. 

 

nothing to really contribute - just a new member from Ohio too.

Eagle Creek in Norwalk, hawks Nest in Creston, and deer ridge in Bellville are all vey nice courses as well. You can keep Blue Heron. I've never met anyone that has played it that wants to play it a second time.

 

Thumbs up  on Hawks Nest. Played it often when I live in NE Ohio in the late 90s. In fact I lipped out a hole in one on #5 - a par four. 265y downhill, creek in front of the green. Prudent pay is 5i to bottom of hill, flip wedge on. One day I was just puring it so I waited for the group in front to clear the green. I flew the creek by about 10y, the uphill slope to the green killed the shot, hopped up onto the green, rolled right at the hole, lipped out. The guys in front looked back & gave me a golf clap. I had a 6 inch eagle putt. :)

 

BuckeyeNut mentioned Windmill Lakes in Ravenna. I went to Kent State & that was where the golf team practiced/played. I've played it at least 50 times. The challenge I have for anyone is to go 18 holes there without a 3-putt. HUGE undulating greens.

 

I would throw Sleepy Hollow in Brecksville onto the list. Part of the Cleveland Metropark system. Great course. Also Good Park in Akron - annual site of the Summit County Amateur - great finishing hole - 450y par 4, tiny, sloping green.

just played manakiki 18 in a tournament. I don't think some people recognize the severity of the hills. These pics don't do it justice, but here.try walking and carrying and see. The back nine in the evening....heavenly

Bent tree was one of my favorite courses to play when I went to school in Columbus. Great challenge and beautiful lay out. Now I'm in Cindy where they have some nice public courses. Legendary run, the vineyard, stone lick are a few that pop out at me. They aren't spectacular but that maintained nicely and have nicely cut greens

Only courses I've played in Ohio are

Crooked Tree in the Cinci area (actually Mason) a group of us use to go down for a long weekend every

May, same weekend of the Kentucky Derby.

 

On the way back to MI we played a little course just outside of Sidney, Ohio, also public, don't remember the name of that one,

maybe Shelby Oaks.

 

Always enjoyed the play at Crooked Creek.

 

Both relatively short courses around 64to 6500 but fun to play.

 

Not a fan of Blue Heron? Most of the people that I know are not a fan of the price, but the conditions of the course are very, very well maintained. It is extremely tough though, and I have golfed with a few of my buddies there who will not return because they exceeded the stroke limit several times and lost every ball that they had on them.

Found this shot of #1 at Sleepy Hollow - downhill par 5, reachable, but don't go right. You can see in the background the east side of the Cuyahoga River Valley. Sleepy Hollow plays along the west side of it - the clubhouse is the highest point of the course & it just slopes down from that point (sort of like Olympic). Good elevation changes, some real tough holes.

 

Last time I played I got a golf now coupon for 15 , 18 holes and cart. Even at that price the greens were spotty, bumpy. Too many forced carries, just not well designed.

Sleepy Hollow is a solid course.  Definitely worth the visit.