Little Mountain CC (Concord OH)

Little Mountain opened in 2000 and was such an instant success that it hosted the Ohio Open six years later (Acacia also hosted but LMCC had two rounds). Danny Stahl won it in 2006, and Eric Frishette won it in 2007. Both men were Kent State golf products.

Hurdzan and Frye designed Little Mountain and for a while it was Ohio's only five star course. The bunkering is what most people remember. They're large, deep, and concave so they visually pop when you're looking at the green.
Aesthetics is highly valued on Hurdzan courses, from the bunkering, to the rocks lining the creek, to the presentation of the greens. You're looking at a design team that makes golf architecture into an art.

The strength of Little Mountain is the par fours. They have a lot of variety to them, and demand certain aspects of your game. 3, 8, 11, and 15 are short par fours. Three has a creek that fronts the green 40 yards short before guarding the right side. It's a very difficult green too so most players try to find a good yardage for wedge shot. Eight is the only possible driveable par four. Open in the front but littered with bunkers all down the left. A little ledge in back left is fun pin location. Eleven is a split fairway. It's one of the few that makes sense to me. Usually I feel the right fairway leaves the best angle but occasionally the left one is. It's a really good hole. Fifteen is a decent hole. Long hitters can carry traps in the elbow of dogleg for a superior angle.

5, 9, and 16 are midlength par fours. Five as a deep bunker guarding the elbow, and if you can draw it over then the reward is a short iron. Into the wind or if you block it right will leave a much longer shot. Nine is pretty much straightforward with a couple deep traps fronting the green. Sixteen is a well designed hole with a two tier green. The view against the dark green pines and white sand makes for a picturesque scene.

The best holes on the course are the three long par fours. Ten starts the back with a slight dogleg left. At 471 yards, a draw is needed to obtain the yardage and angle to reach this in regulation. With the ravine on the left, any ball that draws too much will be in the hazard. The false front of the green makes this such a difficult shot to gauge from the fairway. It's an excellent hole. Thirteen is 487 yards but this par four is so narrow the last forty yards that it's prudent to lay back unless you have an iron in your hand. The green is squeezes by a bunker right and the ravine on the left. Finally, eighteen is a monster 481 yards. A speed slot will help propel the ball down the slope if you're a long hitter. The second shot is over a scraggy gully with traps in it. There's plenty of room to bailout right with forty to fifty yards of fairway. Many interesting pin positions but any pin on the far left is terribly intimidating. This is one of the finest ending holes in northeast Ohio.

The par fives are the holes you have to feast on. They're probably the least interesting holes on the course with the seventeenth being the only exception. At 17 some cross bunkers come into play on the second shot if you're laying up. The long hitters should have no problem carrying them, tho anything in front of the green leaves a straightforward pitch.

The par threes all kinda make you scratch your head. Several of them seem like afterthoughts, almost as if they needed a hole so they dropped them here and there. 2, 12, and 14 all feel this way. The 4th is a good par three and 6 is a helluva shot for a 235 yarder. If these were better holes, then this would easily be in the top ten of Ohio publics. (twelve does seem to work the best. It's back edge ends at the ravine, and the front is guarded by sand and a mound. It's just 120 at most so it's amazing how many people miss the putting surface.)

Little Mountain is one of the areas finest courses and is a good course to play. I play here every year and I really enjoy myself. It's still one of the best in the state but I feel with a bit of polish it would really shine. Still a (6) rating iny book.

Tam O'Shanter Dales (Canton OH)

Tam O'Shanter for many years was the host site of the Ohio Open, and the final round was always played on the Dales course. It's not a long golf course, but it's only a par 70, and it has several long tough par fours that keep scores from getting too low. It also helps there's only two par fives.

Leonard Maycomber designed the Dales in 1928. An associate of Donald Ross, Maycomber understood how to take advantage of the rolling terrain. His best holes play to greens placed upon knolls, or ones that utilize the slope in ground to make the holes play much tougher.

Tam O'Shanter used to start with a great par four, but the driving range became the priority and one became a dull short par four. This is unfortunate since the par five second seemed like a place where a four was a must after such a difficult start.
The third is a wonderful one shotter played across a shallow valley to a green that is fronted by a large bunker. Into the wind, this is an elusive target to hit.

The best sequence of holes at the Dales is 8-11. Eight is a wonderful par four!! It plays over a ridge before going uphill to the green. If you carry the ridge from the tee then the approach is from a sidehill lie. Nine is then a beautiful downhill par three tucked right next to the clubhouse. Ten is a monster 463 yard par four that doglegs right. The green is perfectly placed on a knoll. Finally eleven is 440 yard par four uphill to a small green. It's important to play this stretch well to shoot a good score.

The next two holes are both short par fours. Twelve is interesting because the green is two tiered, low left and high right.
The short iron approach must be precise otherwise you'll be struggling to negotiate the slope. Thirteen is in the 300 yard range but it plays uphill. Two large traps front the green making it very difficult to drive. The pronounce slope demands you be below the hole to make birdie.

Two par fours really standout on the way in. Fifteen is the first one. I might even say its the best hole on the course. From an elevated tee, the drive is hit across the hillside down to the valley. The hill tends to invite more golfers to favor that side, but the opposite side is wider and leaves a better approach up to the green. The green sits atop the hill, and in true volcano fashion, is a very small target to hit.

Finally, the eighteenth finishes off the round with a long uphill par four thar plays in the shadow of the clubhouse. It's a classic ending. Many great champions have walked off this green, having just knocked in a putt to win the Ohio Open.

The Dales is a solid golf course. When the NFL Hall of Fame is in town, Tam O'Shanter is besieged by all the players. The history that resonates from here makes this one of our more traditional courses. It's a solid (5) rating.

Crickentree (Blythewood SC)

I don't remember many of the holes at Crickentree because several of them were very similar in design. The course played in two parts, in the hills and in the valley. The holes in the hills were quite difficult. Downhill tee shots followed by uphill approach shots. I personally could not see the pin locations because the traps fronting hid them well, and the large rolls tended to block the view for the rear cups.

The holes that stuck in my memory are the ones in the valley. A creek is strategically used on two of them, and the lake form from damming it, is used on the other two.

One is a reachable par five where the creek fronts the green. And on ten the creek nearly forms an island fairway. Both holes are birdieable. Seventeen is a long par three across the lake with the green tilted towards the water. It's nearly a do or die shot. Recovery shots from the rear or sides is very difficult. Eighteen then uses the lake to good effect as another reachable par five. The water is in play on the layup shot too so shorter hitters must think throughout the entire hole. A good ending hole to be truthful.

As for the holes in the hills, the par three thirteenth is really the one I recall fondly. It's a beautiful shot across the valley to a left to right sloped green fronted by sand. Like all the holes here, it's an extra club to carry the hazard fronting the green. And that's one of my dislikes. It's the same shot on most holes. Tough as nails golf course, but not much fun. It was low on my list and not one I'd play again.
(4 above average rating)

Oak Hill (Columbia SC)

Oak Hill was my favorite course that we played in South Carolina. It has a lot of width to it. The player can be aggressive and attack or he can be conservative and play for angles.

The first six holes offer a good chance to get off to a fast start. A couple short par fours and a par five can be birdied. The only real difficulty can be found on the fourth where a creek comes down the right and fronts the green. It's still just a short or mid iron approach but a mistake will cost a stroke or two.

The middle six holes is where the course really shines and shows its teeth. The seventh is a 178 yard par three over the corner of the lake. Players instinctually will bail out left but the slope of the green will make it a difficult two putt. Those who choose to challenge the water and sand will be left with a good birdie chance. It's a great par three. Eight is a long par four whose green is elevated above the fairway. The green slopes away in the rear, so players need to high a high approach to hold it. Nine is a lovely par five that plays downhill to a green that is on a shelf with a creek short. Long hitters will have to hit an excellent shot to reach it in two. Everyone else had to decide where to layup to get the best angle. Ten is the best hole, in my opinion. The green is just a pedestal and the second shot needs to be hit perfectly. It's possible to up n down from the upslope short, but it's a difficult shot. Eleven is like ten as in the green is on a pedestal. It's well bunkered and is an excellent one shotter.

The last six holes can go either way. Some birdie holes mixed in with a few tough ones. Sixteen is the tree hole as a giant oak blocks out the right side of the fairway. A good drive can lead to a three. Seventeen is a well conceived par four. It doglegs left and a draw will stay on the higher level, leaving a good view and much easier shot. Blow it to the right or hit it straight and the reeds in the water short block the view and punish a mishit very quickly. Eighteen is a fine ending hole. Play it like a three shotter and it plays quite easy. Try to reach it in two, and the water short will need two strong shots to carry it.

Oak Hill is a great course. Melnyk n Love did a great job, and it's enough to make me want to see more Love's work. It's a six rating. (6 very good)