I first saw Elyria CC when I was playing in a tournament out at Forest Hills which is just down the street. (Both courses have one thing in common; they have holes on the Black River. Other than that, not much else.) From the street you can see the elevation changes in the property and I have always wanted to play it ever since. It took twenty years.
Walking onto Elyria, I was somewhat disappointed because the holes by the clubhouse were relatively flat. When I mentioned it to a member, I was told the land had a lot roll once you got away from the first hole. The first is a short par four. The one thing I learned very quickly are the huge shoulders coming off the greenside bunkers. You cannot short side yourself here because the ball will not stop from the trap. There is an opportunity to work the ball from the fairway and use the shoulders to feed it close to the hole. However putting across these slopes is difficult.
The second hole is an excellent par five and the first view of the valley that cuts thru the course. Long hitters have a chance to reach the green in two shots but big deep traps are located both short left and right to catch balls not quite hit far enough. Shorter hitters must decide tween laying up atop the hill or challenging the creek at the bottom. The green is severely pitched so the closer the approach shot, the bigger the advantage.
After the tough long par four third, the first par three is encountered. If there's a complaint bout Elyria, then it's the fact that the one shotters have too similar length. However, they're all good par threes. Here, the green sits above a shallow valley with traps guarding the sides. It's a tiny putting surface but a good birdie opportunity if you hit it.
After another long par four, the course offers up a pair of short par fours. Both holes have difficult greens. Six is a hole you layup for a wedge shot. Seven is a hole you may wanna consider going for the green. The only trouble is trees on the left. Otherwise plenty of room to give it a rip. Eight is a reachable par five but the fairway pinches in before playing uphill. If you can hit it to the top then by all means do it. The result will be a chance to reach it in two. If you can't get to the top, consider hitting a hybrid to the narrow It's a relatively easy three shot hole. The front concludes with a long par three.
The back nine starts with four holes that I really I liked a lot. Ten is a mid length par four that fools you into hitting left but really the play is down the right. The green is precisely placed in a little nook with hazardous drop on the left. Right leaves a tricky chip to a green that slopes to the hazard. Eleven is a beautiful par three over a pond full of lily pads. It's a short iron but the elevated tee shot needs to be precise. Twelve is a par five that's somewhat similar to the second hole but it's shorter and the drive is uphill to the fairway. Long hitter who finds the fairway can hit a hybrid or iron to the green. Shorter hitter must find the fairway so he can hit over the creek. There's really no room to layup atop the hill above the valley. Thirteen is a beautiful par three over the Black River. It would be an excellent hole if it was longer, but as a wedge or nine iron shot, it's too easy.
The course loses steam over the last five holes. No hole really stands out as very good. The fifteenth does have a good drive over the river. However, the river holes tended to be void of any real definition. Main reason is the river floods and these holes get ruined or left in a less than desired state. The eighteenth is a long par four that doglegs right. Like the first hole, it's on flat terrain and is solid in its defense of par but it's not memorable.
Elyria CC is a nice course and has plenty of good holes to make the members happy. The long par fours only challenge was length. And the short pars lacked the variety that great courses have in this category. It was fun playing my first William Flynn course and seeing how the bunkering and it's shoulders made the shots and greens interesting. I give it a solid 5 (good) rating.
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