Ohio's Top 20 Golf Courses

[dugan49ers]

Kennsington #1?  What, did the owner place this list here?  wow. Good layout, but top 50 at best.

[buckeyekid1996]

River Greens Golf Course in West Lafayette is good. Has anyone played there?

[Spyder]

Oh yeah, I almost forgot.

Ridgetop Golf Course in Medina, OH is very nice for a public course.

Watered fairways, roughs and greens with lots of landscaping and nearly weed free (no crab grass, dandelions, bare spots, etc.). Rate for 18 and a cart in the Summer is $40.00 which is very cheap for the condition of the course.

[ThominOH]

I'm really surprised where people come up with these list..  I'm from the Canton area and "The Quarry" is very overpriced and over hyped..  There are other public courses in the Stark and Summit county area that I and others would rather play then The Quarry.. Then you add in the Cleveland Metro courses.. I played Manakiki this past summer and was disappointed after reading all the reviews about it..  It's a good course with clubhouse but for a Ross design, again feeling let down.. Our traveling group decided to not return anytime soon.. Manakiki was disappointing enough that we are reluctant to try Sleepy Hollow.. Then you have your Hanlin courses.. Stonewater, Little Mnt and Cumberland.. Stonewater went back to being private this year before I had a chance to play it, but did play Little Mnt. last year and won't be back.. It has a great clubhouse, but condition of the course was poor.. Many of the greens were pitted and damaged, lack of sand in their enormous traps.. This course like so many others on these "top course" list are great for the camera, but are only average for play..

Let me not forget my experience with Longaberger.. Great clubhouse and facility, but actual course play was B+ at best.. Again, our traveling group went their last year for the first time due from the hype and will not be back, even using current discounts..  This is not to say that these so called top courses are poor hack field, but they fall short in justifying their price on green fees..  There are many hidden gems out there never mentioned in any top review..  As to why they go unnoticed is beyond me, but it is what it is, I guess..  Our traveling league plays more then 30 courses per year, and we have found our best are often ones never found on a list..  Each year we vote on which 25 to return, while spending the other 5 weeks on "New Blood"..

So in conclusion..  I would be skeptical on most public course reviews, and give anything with a "C" rating or better a chance..

PS.. Blue Heron is closed.. I played it a couple years back before it closed..  First and only time there I shot a 73..  Amazing clubhouse, however course condition was good from tee to green, but sand traps were horrible.. I would rather play out of my cats litter then their bunkers.. Other thing that killed Blue Heron is it is completely "target" golf play.. You better be a skilled player that can go from one target area to another, or you'll get eaten up by the waste areas.. The average bogey golfer loses too many balls on that course..

[Spyder]

Originally Posted by ThominOH

PS.. Blue Heron is closed.. I played it a couple years back before it closed..  First and only time there I shot a 73..  Amazing clubhouse, however course condition was good from tee to green, but sand traps were horrible.. I would rather play out of my cats litter then their bunkers.. Other thing that killed Blue Heron is it is completely "target" golf play.. You better be a skilled player that can go from one target area to another, or you'll get eaten up by the waste areas.. The average bogey golfer loses too many balls on that course..

I agree with your description of Blue Heron and the average golfer (which sums up 80% of the people who go there) loses way too many balls. The problem is that I've lost balls at Blue Heron that would be safe, money shots anywhere else around here.

Blue Heron is re-opening in 2013 under the same ownership of Cherokee Hills/Coppertop Golf Course (Mark Haddad). The problem is that it is going to be re-opened with the same rates, or slightly increased, because people in the area and on Blue Heron Drive (as well as the Blue Heron private community) want to keep amateurs weekend golfers out; essentially creating their own CC out of a public course where anything less than an Audi A4 is not welcome to park there.

It used to be a nice course once upon a time though before it went bankrupt and the upkeep was pristine.

[ThominOH]

Originally Posted by Spyder

I agree with your description of Blue Heron and the average golfer (which sums up 80% of the people who go there) loses way too many balls. The problem is that I've lost balls at Blue Heron that would be safe, money shots anywhere else around here.

Blue Heron is re-opening in 2013 under the same ownership of Cherokee Hills/Coppertop Golf Course (Mark Haddad). The problem is that it is going to be re-opened with the same rates, or slightly increased, because people in the area and on Blue Heron Drive (as well as the Blue Heron private community) want to keep amateurs weekend golfers out; essentially creating their own CC out of a public course where anything less than an Audi A4 is not welcome to park there.

It used to be a nice course once upon a time though before it went bankrupt and the upkeep was pristine.

This will be interesting..  Coppertop is one of the courses that our group votes to repeat.. It's a drive for us, but considering the price of play, it's a steal..  Great clubhouse as well.. I hope the same management is able to revitalize Blue Heron.. I often got the feeling Blue Heron truly wanted to go private years ago, but couldn't get any members to pay for it.. The Quarry I believe wanted to go the same route, but no takers.. Personally I would go back to BH again if they would just clean up the bunkers, do some tweaking here and there, and keep the price reasonable..

[Spyder]

Originally Posted by ThominOH

This will be interesting..  Coppertop is one of the courses that our group votes to repeat.. It's a drive for us, but considering the price of play, it's a steal..  Great clubhouse as well.. I hope the same management is able to revitalize Blue Heron.. I often got the feeling Blue Heron truly wanted to go private years ago, but couldn't get any members to pay for it.. The Quarry I believe wanted to go the same route, but no takers.. Personally I would go back to BH again if they would just clean up the bunkers, do some tweaking here and there, and keep the price reasonable..

I agree. It's not feasible to charge $60-75.00 a round when you cannot even maintain your bunkers. Coppertop is definitely maintained well and is a great experience for the cost. Luckily it is only a 10 minute drive for me as well and our bowling league's outing is usually there as well.

The Quarry was basically in the same boat as BH - outrageous asking prices for memberships with no takers. I'll give BH a try next year again, but if it looks anything like Little Mountain did this year...it won't be long before their equipment is repossessed again unfortunately.

[ThominOH]

Just got back from playing Apple Valley..  Really enjoyed myself.. Condition of the course was A-, design of course is good.. I give it a solid B+..  The employees were great... Our group played this for the first time and willing to drive back again to play it.. Next new course I want to hit and test out if Kennington? in the Youngstown area..  It's not on anyone's top list, but hear it's worth the drive and time..

[Ricepr]

Hueston Woods north of Cincy ain't too shabby!

[Aquaguru]

Stonelick, Legendary Run, Aston Oaks, and Still Meadow Country Club (formerly Royal Oak) are all nice courses in the Cincinnati area

[TomasH]

Hi,

New member here.  I am from Western Pa and have made a few trips into Ohio to play.  We have played Avalon, Boulder Creek, Longabarger, Eaglesticks, Kennsington and a few others.  We are planning  a couple of trips this summer.  First we are playing The Quarry,  we want to play second round reasonably close to there.  I see Seven Hills, Sable Creek, and Sancturary in the area.  Any thoghts on these courses or are the any better ones to play.

The second trip is to play Windmill,  Any thoughts on reasonably close courses near there?  I see a course called Signature of Solon fairly close but not much info about it.

Any advice is appreciated.

[Wisguy]

My parents used to live a few miles from Sleepy Hollow, so I've played there a half dozen times, but not in the last decade.  It is a very challenging and scenic course but I don't recall ever seeing it in good enough shape that I'd consider it to be a top-tier course; maybe in recent years they've got a better course superintendant than they used to have.   Several times the course condition in the spring was pretty bad, though, and once it was just awful - they had half a dozen fairways ripped up so severely that I thought that maybe a bear had wandered onto the course and was trying to dig something up (turned out the local raccoons were digging for grubs).  The photo above does not really reflect the course so well, as it is definitely not as wide open as that hole on average - on probably at least half the holes, you go more than about 15-20 yards wide of one or both sides of the fairway and you'll end up in a rocky, wooded ravine.  Slicers sometimes find themselves needing to pick up some more balls from their car or the pro shop at the turn.  I don't remember if it was the 9th or the 18th hole, but one of those two greens slopes very steeply upwards toward the back, and they kept it mowed quite short later in the summer to the point that it was so fast it was gimmicky.  I remember one time I one-putted the hole but had a horrible score because I three-chipped it.  My approach shot was about 10-15 feet short of the green directly in front of a fairly deep pin placement and I watched my uphill chip go maybe 5' past the hole, pause for a moment and then come rolling back toward me.  I had to move out of the way as my ball rolled past me.  My next shot was a good 5' further away from the pin on about the same line as the previous shot.  I chipped this one short and fairly close (it would have been a gimme on a normally sloped green), but it too rolled back off the green.  I left the third chip a good 10' short of the hole and it managed to stop.  Luckily I sank the putt, otherwise I probably would have had at least six strokes following my approach shot.  Someone once told me that Sleepy Hollow had hosted a PGA tournament or two back in the 30's or 40's.

[Wisguy]

Any suggestions on public courses to play around Sandusky?  My folks moved there from the Cleveland area and I've been thinking about bringing my clubs when we go out to visit this summer.

[dave s]

Originally Posted by sam004

How does this list compare ?

http://www.ohiogolfguide.com/page.php?page=coursetop25.php

that list compares to Trip Advisor  page on 'best restaurants' in Tampa that includes Applebees, Hot Dog Palace and Dairy Queen in its top 5 choices.

It's more like a popularity poll and not a true representation in quality golf meets value meets mandatory return visits to play more.  Sable Creek? Chippewa?  Ok courses, but not top-flite area courses by anything other than popularity.

I've played several of the courses on both lists and a whole bunch that meet the quality golf meets value meets return visit didn't make the list.

dave

[dave s]

Originally Posted by Wisguy

My parents used to live a few miles from Sleepy Hollow, so I've played there a half dozen times, but not in the last decade.  It is a very challenging and scenic course but I don't recall ever seeing it in good enough shape that I'd consider it to be a top-tier course; maybe in recent years they've got a better course superintendant than they used to have.   Several times the course condition in the spring was pretty bad, though, and once it was just awful - they had half a dozen fairways ripped up so severely that I thought that maybe a bear had wandered onto the course and was trying to dig something up (turned out the local raccoons were digging for grubs).

Sleepy Hollow is NOT a great course, or layout for that matter. It's claim to fame is 'keep it below the hole.'  Or, there are 4-putt greens out there.  Yep, that's always fun.  Fairways aren't great.  Tee boxes not in good shape.  Course is always susceptible to late-summer burn-out.  Some of the holes are just unfair.  Played there last season twice.  Don't want to go back, either.

dave

[dave s]

Originally Posted by TomasH

Hi,

New member here.  I am from Western Pa and have made a few trips into Ohio to play.  We have played Avalon, Boulder Creek, Longabarger, Eaglesticks, Kennsington and a few others.  We are planning  a couple of trips this summer.  First we are playing The Quarry,  we want to play second round reasonably close to there.  I see Seven Hills, Sable Creek, and Sancturary in the area.  Any thoghts on these courses or are the any better ones to play.

The second trip is to play Windmill,  Any thoughts on reasonably close courses near there?  I see a course called Signature of Solon fairly close but not much info about it.

Any advice is appreciated.

Windmill Lakes and Boulder Creek would make a nice pairing as they are pretty close together.  Possibly a 3rd in the general area would be Brookledge in Cuyahoga Falls.  Great track (Arthur HIlls redesign) and always in beautiful condition.  Haven't been to Sable Creek in a long time, but it's not very memorable at all.  Seven Hills is usually in great condition but gets TONS of play.  A few cheesy holes.

Call me if you need a 4th!  I'll be the tour guide guy at WM Lakes, Boulder Creek and Brookledge!

dave

[nellycuz]

I've read through most of the posts here and I didn't see one course I played last year for the first time in Springboro OH called Heatherwoode.  Golf Digest just rated it top 100 public courses in the U.S. a few years back.  Great track with A LOT of water.  I think 15 of the 18 holes have water....well maintained, great staff and clubhouse is really nice.  Sits in a subdivision with nice looking houses.  Overall great experience.  You can find it on golfnow or ezlinks for under 30$ in the summer!  Check it out.  I live in Cbus and golf around 2-3 times a week when the weather is right (april-sept).  I've heard good things about The Quarry in Canton so I will be playing that this year.  Played Eaglesticks for the first time last year and thought it was a nice layout and challenging.  Someone mentioned Aston Oaks in cincy, I played once and enjoyed it.  I have also played New Albany Country Club and that place is amazing.  The course is great but the whole facility is something special.  Been trying to get on Murfield as I go to the Memorial every year.   Anyone with hookups please let me know ;)

[golflaw]

Heatherwoode is a nice public course....but. Because of that water I have never played it in less than 6 hours. In my opinion, that is absurd so I won't play it anymore. A big reason golf participation is down. Way too long and waiting between shots for 10 minutes causes me to lose whatever focus or rhythm I have on the golf. Muirfield Village is a nice course, very nice and quite difficult for an average player, at least for me. Scioto and The Golf Club are both equally terrific and fun courses to play in Columbus. As is Double Eagle. We are blessed to have so many great courses to play. And the Scarlet Course at Ohio State is just one other terrific course in this area.