Wilkshire Golf Course

Located along the beautiful Tuscarawas river, Wilkshire is just south of Canton where the temperature is always a handful degrees warmer. The sandy soil makes this the perfect winter course and I can't think of a more popular course in the offseason as players come from all over northeast Ohio to beat the winter blues.

Don Easterday designed Wilkshire in 1969. As an amateur architect, Easterday did a pretty good job. The course has a good flow to it, the greens are beautifully shaped, and the bunkering is well placed. I think it's a shame that several traps that protect the greens are filled in. I think they would be awesome if restored back to sand.

Easterday owned a nursery and he planted thousands of trees and shrubs on the property. In some cases he planted too many. Any kind of mishit will lead to tree trouble. The river holes 12-14 are very picturesque. They re the ones seen from I77 as you drive past Bolivar/Zoar exit.

Wilkshire has several good holes that make this worth the hour trip. I particularly like the third and sixth greens. While they are ample size, both have smaller back portions that are tiered several feet above the front and middle sections. When the pin is located in the rear, players will be forced to hit an excellent shot to get close to the pin. The last four holes are well thought out. All par fours that demand well positioned tee shots and precise executed approach shots. I'm fond of sixteen where the drive has to perfect to avoid the water left. Finally eighteen is a classic ending hole. The green is elevated in an amphitheater just below the clubhouse where those enjoying post round drinks can watch the action coming in.

I ve never played here in the summer. There are just too many really good courses. But when the winter months come, I'm amazed how dry the course is and I enjoy Wilkshire immensely. It's a solid a 3 rating (average).

 

A classic finish (18th hole)

 

 

Approach into 17

This sub 300 yard par 4 has a wide bunker protecting the entrance.

 

Wouldnt be great if they could reincorporate the left trap back into sand?!

 

The mighty Tuscarawas River.

It doesnt really come into play except on tee shot of 12.

 

Note the back upper tier.

Both 3 & 6 have this feature.

(this is the third hole)

NorthStar Golf Club

John Cook came into the Columbus golf scene when Hurdzan designed Cook's Creek for him. It was well received and received national acclaim, but truth was it was built on a flood plain, so every time it rained the course became saturated. Cook's Creek was eventually sold and the Cook family bought the property that has become NorthStar.

NorthStar did not receive the acclaim that Cook's Creek did, but Golfstyles magazine put it in their top 100 public courses for Ohio. This tidbit lead me to Sunbury to see if Cook had designed a better course than the one he had. It's neighbors with Bent Tree and makes for a favorable one-two punch. (To be honest, this maybe the only way I'd play NorthStar again.)

NorthStar is a big golf course. It is probably the longest public golf course in the state at 7516 yards. The front nine is relatively open with the wind having a large influence on how the holes play. This may explain why the fairways are so wide. I think they're too wide. My biggest gripe was the lack of interest off the tee. Most players will just blast away without any fear of where the ball lands. Coincidentally, the two best holes on this side are the par threes. The fourth is a nice slightly uphill par three where players can bailout short or right of the green. Any type of hook will find the hazard that guards the left side. The eighth is a very long par three hit over a couple water hazards to a wide expansive green. Plenty of bailout options and pin positions to make this a fun interesting hole. The other hole that caught my eye was par five third with its table top green. The earthwork was a little strange but the green was cool.

The back nine has more trees in play and has a more movement, but the overall width in several of the fairways remains disinterest. Ironically, the par threes on this side are not even close to being as good as the ones on the front. The par five tenth is a solid hole that is reachable in two shots if the player can judge the second shot up and over a ridge well. A trap directly fronting the green means hitting a high shot. The twelfth is a short par four that I thought was really good. It also had the only tight fairway which I believe added to the strength of the hole. Finally, the eighteenth ended the day with a long demanding par four. The fairway narrowed before curving around a natural hazard. The green lies on the other side and only a well struck ball will find the
green for a birdie attempt.

NorthStar is fine for central Ohio golfers. It gives them another nice course to play, but coming from Cleveland, it's not really worth the two hour drive. Columbus is stacked with plenty of good courses that are better. It's possible that this is a top 100 Ohio course but it's in the latter portion of that list. I give it a above average rating. (4)

Par three fourth hole

 

Par three Eighth

note the wide expansive playing field on this long one shotter

 

View from twelth green towards tee

  

Approach into 18th green

 

Tabletop green at the par five third.