I have discussed several Top 100 courses in recent posts that were located in several states including Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania Alabama and Virginia. Since I reside in Ohio and have played all the courses that have ever been rated Top 100 in this state, it is time to discuss these home grown courses.
Ohio is blessed with many outstanding and famous private courses such as Muirfield Village, Scioto, Inverness, Canterberry, Carmago, The Golf Club and Double Eagle. Ohio also has many quality public courses available to the daily fee player. For example, I live in a rural area that is 90 minutes to two hours from any major city, yet I have access to nine public courses within a twenty minute drive from my home. Despite this wonderful availability of courses and the great number of top notch private facilities, I am afraid our Top 100 courses do not match up with many nearby states like Indiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Ohio currently has only one course in the Top 100, Virtues (formerly Longaberger) (Currently Ranked #74). This is an outstanding Arthur Hills design and is certainly worthy of its current rank. Virtues has all the elements that are required to make a design stand out against its peers. It has great variety, has memorability, it is challenging yet fair and is in great condition. It has a wonderful clubhouse and restaurant and a terrific practice facility. It is also a great value as the rates are some of the lowest for a Top 100 course. I make an effort to play Virtues at least once every two years if not every year even though it is a 2 1/2 hour drive.
The other public courses that have been ranked in past Top 100 lists are Avalon Lakes (#83 Last Rated in 2009), Stonewater (#71 Last Rated in 2007), Shaker Run (#82 Last Rated in 2003) and Eagle Sticks (#100 Last Rated in 2003). All the above courses were built by some of my favorite architects and are very solid designs. Avalon Lakes is an early Pete Dye design that was updated by Dye protégé, Tim Liddy in 2000. It is kept in very good condition and has a nice variety of holes. A parkland layout that does not have the wow power of Dye’s later high profile designs, but a course that you can enjoy playing over and over. Stonewater is listed on Golf Advisor incorrectly as a private club but it is a semi-private club and you can book your tee time online at a very reasonable price. This is a 1996 Hurdzan and Frye design that also has hole variety, great conditions and a very nice practice area. The only thing I did not care for was the number of holes (six) that have cross hazards. I don’t mind a few cross hazards but six is a little overkill in my opinion. Stonewater is a very nice facility that is fun to play. Shaker Run, an Arthur Hills 1979 design, has three nines and the Lakeside/Woodlands is considered the best combination to play. This course was originally built by the nearby Armco Steel company and has changed ownership more than once in the past few years. After a period where the conditions fell into neglect, the new owners appear to be bringing this course up to the standards that it deserves. When playing it last year, you could definitely see signs of improvement in the course maintenance. I love the layout as it is challenging but very fair. Hills created wonderful variety in the hole designs and there is just enough change in elevation to add to the character of the course. Eagle Sticks was built in 1990 by Dr. Michael Hurdzan and is another interesting and enjoyable track to play. Due to space constraints, it is not overly long but has great variety due to the hills, water hazards and interesting green complexes. This is another course that suffered during the economic downturn a few years ago but has fought its way back to becoming a must play when you are in central Ohio. It is a very good value and has a staff that works hard to be sure you enjoy your day at Eagle Sticks.
I agree with the Golf Digest rating panel that these four courses are no longer worthy of a Top 100 in the U. S. ranking, but they could certainly could fall into the next 100 and are a pleasure to play.
Share This:
