Tam O'Shanter Hills (Canton OH)

The Hills course opened in 1931 three years after the Dales. Paul Merle, who was an associate of Leonard Maycomber and engineer of Donald Ross, designed it. The Hills has small contoured greens and the traps that defended them are several yards short. Merle designed the course to play like the old Scottish style where hitting short and letting the ball run onto the green was the play. So those bunkers ten yards short are all in play if you're trying to bounce the ball in. 

The Hills is a couple hundred yards shorter than the Dales, and I think golfers tend to give it the "B" course designation, but I firmly believe it's a better course than the it's older brother. The first six holes are all really good, and the first three in particular set the mood very quickly. 

The first hole is 416 yards and the golfer is immediately startled when he sees the size of the green he is hitting to. It is very small!  While the best shot skirts the trap and bounces on the green, those who try the direct route straight to the flag will pay the consequences if the ball leaks just a little left or right. The second hole is about 400 yards and it slightly doglegs right with the green guarded by a trap directly in the front right corner. The third at 413 yards demands a good drive over the hill and a well struck second shot. The second shot is usually from a side hill downhill lie that you have to manipulate to hold the green. It's a tough green and apparently management put a second green in to alleviate the severe pitch of the original green. 

After that opening three hole stretch, the course offers a few birdie opportunities. Four is a short par three, followed by the only par five on the front. The fifth flows downhill with OB on the right menacing both the drive and second shots. Hit a couple of bold, powerful shots, and eagle is a possibility. Six is a short uphill par four. The green sits on a hill and the traps are cut near the base rather than next to the green. If you misjudge the approach, the ball will tumble down into the sand leaving a very difficult recovery. 

The next good sequence of holes starts on the thirteenth. This 418 yard par four plays downhill before sweeping uphill to the green. The green sits high atop, and with the wind plus the elevation, can play two to three clubs longer. It's a great par four. Fourteen follows with a similar look but it's less dramatic. No bunkering and thirty yards shorter, it's a little easier to get the ball close to the flag. Fifteen is 430 yards and much like the eighth which is parallel to it (448 yards), can play quite long unless you hit a good tee shot which catches the slope and propels it another 20-40 yards. The sixteenth finishes this stretch off in fine fashion as it's 535 yards rolls and tumbles it's way to an elevated green. It's my favorite hole on the course. The small green and the bunkers cut at the base of the hill stay true to Merle s strategy. 

The Hills course is a wonderful test of golf. The USGA chose it to host the women's amateur publinx championship back in 1994. This definitely tells you just how good the course is!! It's a 5(good) rating.