Yankee Run (Brookfield, OH)

I'm a little disappointed in myself that it took me so long to play Yankee Run in Brookfield. Every best public golf course list I've seen in the past twenty years has included it, and I'm not sure why I never "beat feet" over to see it. Well, a few Sundays ago, I finally took the time and I was so happy that I did! 

Yankee Run is the type of course that makes this game such a pleasure to play. It takes full advantage of all the natural properties the land possesses. Bill Jones starts the round off with an excellent par five and exposes the character of the course right from the start. The green is placed perfectly on a shelf above the valley and creek, and offers the golfer a great risk/reward opportunity. 

What I like is the creek is far enough back from the green to entice golfers to give it a crack with their second shot. Even if the second shot doesn't find the green, it's just a lob up into it. Of course, a mishit will be gobbled up by the hazard very quickly. I absolutely love it!! 

The second hole is a mid length par three uphill. It's another green perched on a ledge. 

The key is selecting the proper club since it plays slightly longer than the listed yardage and keeping the ball below the hole. It's a solid hole. 

The par five third is then a long "C" shaped hole that curves around the woods. It's possible to cut off some distance with an aggressive second shot over the trees. This green is tucked and slightly elevated. Like most holes of this nature, it can be a lil gimmicky, but more importantly, players really don't have to challenge anything and still have a good chance at birdie. Players cross over to the fourth and play a par four where the tee shot is laid up to provide a clear view downhill to the green. 

This is where Bill Jones did an excellent job with the design. As exhilarating as the view and shot is on four, the fifth hole will demand an equally challenging shot uphill to the it's green. On the scorecard five doesn't look too difficult, but when the player is in the fairway looking up to the pin, a par is a very welcome score. 

The walk over to six tee introduces a great par three across the valley. The green is atop the hill and there's no room to miss it. The day I played, the pin was in rear left behind the bunker. From the tee, you couldn't even see the flagstick. Plenty of great other pin positions too.  At seven, what looks like a letdown hole that's straightaway becomes more interesting as the green has a rise that makes front right and back right two distinct pinning locations. 

Then to my favorite hole, the eighth, another great par three played across a valley to a green benched into the hillside. 

The putting is so difficult since the green is severely sloped towards the front. Pulling the correct club and hitting a confident shot is most rewarding. The ninth is a solid par four that plays back to the clubhouse. It concludes a front nine that left me very impressed. 

The back nine starts with a mid length par four that plays downhill to a green guarded by water. 

Most golf courses that have such a strong front nine usually don't follow up with an equally strong back nine. Bill Jones had a really tough act to follow as I felt the front was one of the best I've played in a while. Ten picked up on that feeling and continued the round nicely. 

The eleventh follows with a long par three to a green fronted by a creek. With bunkers on both sides of the green, there's few places to bailout. Twelve and thirteen follow with par fours in the 370 yard range. 

The back nine is not blessed with the character of the front, so Bill Jones had to add a couple features. Twelve has a bunker guarding the right side of the green, but thirteen is a lil more interesting as the green is triangular with the narrow end in the rear. Back pin positions need very accurate shots to get close. 

Fourteen is a good par three followed by a solid par four where the player tees off high on the hill. The green is tough as some interior movement makes for some tight pin positions. The land down in the valley doesn't really offer much in terms of movement so the fairways lack depth. Sixteen is very much defined by that. It's a short par five that thankfully has a green that slopes away or it would be a bland boring hole. Seventeen unfortunately plays on the same parcel of property but the green lies in front of a wall of rough. 

It's two tiered and players must be careful not to be too aggressive towards a rear pin or they could find their ball on the wall. The gentleman I played with found himself in this predicament, and he was very fortunate to walk away with a five. 

The tee box for eighteen is atop the wall of rough which is really cool. This 445 yard par four requires a long drive over a shallow valley. Hopefully the drive is on the upper fairway leaving a long second shot in. The green has a big false front with some very tricky and difficult pin positions in the middle and rear portions of the green. It's an excellent ending hole and it solidifies the strength of Yankee Run. 

Having played many of the better courses in the state, I firmly believe that this is one of the best. I'm on the fence to put it in my top ten but it's in that range. It's affordability makes it one of my favorites. I saw families playing, youngsters, golf team, and hodgepodge of people playing. I think Yankee Run has it figured out. I give it a solid 6 (very good). 

Brookledge Golf Course (Cuyahoga Falls, OH)

Brookledge is fast becoming one of northeast Ohio's favorite golf courses. It has all the characters that people look for in a place to play including playability, conditioning, and variety. Art Hills is credited with the design when he added nine holes and tweeked the original nine. It s unlike the other Hills courses I've played. The tee shots don't have to carry hazards or play over diagonal landforms. It's a very classical looking course where most of the trouble is found in the interior contours of the greens. 

The key to Brookledge is getting off to a good start on the first seven holes. There's a couple reachable par fives and short par fours where birdie is a distinct possibility. The second is one hole where par is a good score. It doglegs left with the fairway going uphill bout 260 yards off the tee. The player either lays up to the turn and hits a semiblind shot or tries to carry the drive to the upper level. Either way, the green is very difficult to hold as it's elevated and slopes to the left.  The third is then a 300 yard par four that plays in a valley before sweeping to an elevated green. It's all carry if you're trying to drive it. Most golfers hit to a favorable yardage to set up a short iron approach. The green slopes severely to the right so it takes good touch to hit it close. 

The eighth thru the fifteenth is the toughest stretch of holes here and the three one shotters lead the way in extracting strokes from the player. Each one gets progressively more difficult.  Eight is a long 220 yarder but plenty of places to bailout and salvage par. Twelve is not so forgiving as it plays 196 yards over a marsh to a green with nowhere to miss. Sometimes the ball can be found in the hazard and played onto the green. I've made par this way before. Nonetheless, the severe green is a testing par even if you hit it in regulation. Then fifteen has water, sand, and wind combining to defend another tough green that slopes away in the rear. Play these three holes even, and you're gaining strokes the field. 

The par fours in this stretch can be real card wreckers. It starts with the ninth and  this 438 yarder has a creek fronting the green which really punishes indecisive and indifferent approach shots. Ten has a tiny green that is severely sloped. It's very easy to three putt. Thirteen is one of my favorite short par fours. It's a long carry to the fairway, especially with the knowledge that a large oak tree guards the left side and a poor tee shot will be partially or fully blocked out. The green is literally three saucers inverted. Talk about crazy putts!! Fifteen is a long par four that is beautiful and filled with classic architecture. The tee shot must carry a shallow valley to be in a good place for the approach. The green is atop a flattened ridge. It's a great approach!!

The last three holes are all birdie opportunities. Sixteen is a par five that double doglegs. Art Hills is known for his use of trees to defend particular lines to the green, and on sixteen the second shot must be hit to the left half of the fairway to have an open shot to the green. Seventeen is even worse as a tree sits in the middle of the fairway. I'm not a big fan of this design feature. Too gimmicky I'm my opinion. But if you drive it past then it's a very simple approach. Eighteen is 390 yard par four that doglegs right. With the hill and trees on the right, the proper play is straight or left of the 150 pole. The green is nicely placed in the bowl of the hill with a bunker guarding it. Since it has been lengthened, my appreciation for it has increased. No longer is it a simple par, but a hole that requires well struck shots. 

I feel Brookledge is one of the best courses in the state. It has plenty of variety to keep a person playing here on a regular basis. It's a fun course. I give it a 6 (very good)! 

Tot Hill Farm (Asheboro NC)

Raleigh is one of several places we go for the spring golf trip, and Tot Hill Farm usually kicks off the year we when head to NC. Mike Strantz used plenty of imagination when he designed the Tot, and there are shots and holes that just overwhelm and excite the senses. Granted not all holes are great, but overall it's a ton of fun to play. 

The first hole is a good introduction to the ideas that you'll see here. The tee shot drops dramatically downhill before requiring the player to hit over another hill where the green lies just beyond. It's an intriguing shot because it's viable to run the ball down the hill as well as fly it completely over it. Other architects would have put the green atop the hill for a more classic look, but Strantz went further for the dramatic shot. 

Strantz loves the buttonhook hole where the player decides the angle and line that bests gets him a par. Tot wastes no time incorporating this as the second hole crests the hill and curves into a hollow. Keep in mind a rock field is in the rough and a creek protects the entire left side. Then at three, the par three plays downhill where the right side of the green is hidden behind the hill. This seems to be another template of Strantz which I seen at Royal New Kent too. This one has a creek behind it which forces you to bailout to left half of the green or play a shot either bouncing off the hill or carrying the hill. 

The fifth and sixth are two of my favorite holes. Five plays high up on a hill and the player decides how much of the valley he is willing to cut off as he hits to a diagonal fairway. A bold drive will give an opportunity to reach the green in two. The green however is one of the coolest I've seen as it basically sits among the rocks. Six is a par three set right next to the a fast moving creek. It's all carry except to the right where you can play off the hill. These are two really fun holes. 

The back nine starts off with an interesting twist. A stone wall must be carried if the player is hitting it atop the hill to the right. A valley to left doesn't require that, but the approach is longer an blind from that side. 

Twelve and thirteen are another pair of holes that "pop" into your head. Twelve is a true buttonhook hole that curves around a lake. Options range from  driving it as far as you can straight, to laying up 200 yards as close as possible the water hazard, to even possibly driving the green. Option one takes water carry out of play. Option two brings water into play but leaves shortest approach. Option three is just a bold decision that makes 2-7 possible on the scorecard. 

Thirteen is another dramatic beautiful par three set in a rock field next to the creek. It's a short iron so it's not over the top but the view is unforgettable. The rear portion of the green is atop a granite wall.

One thing bout Tot Hill Farm is it made me realize my love for classic golf course architecture.  Recovery shots are a big part of golf, and here that is often not possible. Missed shots will add up quickly here into bogey or worse. 

Oddly enough the last three holes come out and play in the field. They are pedestrian compared to the previous fifteen holes and Strantz once again takes some flak for his ending holes. Eighteen is a 470 yard par five that plays uphill along side the road that is marked OB. It's a good birdie hole, but get careless and a seven can be put on the scorecard too.  6 (very good) 

Royal New Kent (Providence Forge VA)

Mike Strantz became a household name when he designed back to back Golf Digest best new public golf courses with Stonehouse in 1996 and Royal New Kent in 1997. 

I played Royal New Kent bout ten years ago on a spring trip to Virginia. It was the first time I planned a trip around one particular course as opposed to going to a destination and playing golf. Royal New Kent is like playing "Golden Tee" in real life. Some of the holes are unlike anything seen on a course before. And the fact that Stranz takes you on a two to three minute cart ride after each hole to get to the next hole cements the video game feeling. 

#1 418/396 par 4; 

The first hole gets things started off with a bold and intimidating tee shot. It's important to take the correct line and trust ones swing to carry over the hill and high grass. Once in the fairway, it's a more traditional approach as the hole goes uphill to a two tier green. 

#2 557/537 par 5;

One of the craziest par fives I've ever seen. It's basically a C-shaped hole curving around a ravine. There's many playing options as the lines differentiate on a daily basis pending ones game brought to the course. It might be one of the few times that a layup off the tee leaves the best chance to get home in two. Gimmicky? Maybe. But very exciting nonetheless. 

#3 191/176 par 3;

A partially hidden green across the ravine makes this a tough par three to get aggressive off the tee. Anything to the middle is the best option as the slopes funnel it there anyway. 

#4 452/431 par 4;

The fairway is hidden off the tee by a large hill on the left. Kinda have to trust the yardages and the white stone that short grass exists on the other side. I guess this is what they mean by Ireland experience. There is a lot of room and bailout area by the green to salvage a par on this long par four. 

#5 590/576 par 5;

This is a great par five! The spectacle bunkers cut into the ridge makes this such a daunting par five especially since a good drive is needed to be able to carry them on the second shot. Once that's accomplished, then a simple third shot should give a reasonable chance for birdie. 

#6 427/404 par 4;

This is a tough uphill par four. The green has several tiers and a severe false front. No green side bunkers are needed here. It's a very difficult two putt unless you knock it close with the approach. 

#7 197/186 par 3;

Three tier green has water left and sand right. The green is 51 yards deep so it's much more important to know the pin location so the correct club can be hit. 

#8 418/403 par 4;

This is one of the best holes on the course. The tee shot must be squeezed between water left and sand right. The approach,however, is the real gem as the green is uphill situated in a hidden vale. A perfect tee shot will leave a partial view, otherwise it's a blind second. 

#9 407/379 par 4;

There's a ton of fairway to drive the ball into but at 100 yards the hole narrows considerably. An aggressive tee shot will leave just a sand wedge to an uphill bunkerless green. 

#10 567/537 par 5;

This is a little more traditional par five that plays downhill before dogleg left around a large waste bunker. The second shot is key as you try get an angle to the pin. Layup short of sand, hit past it, or carry it. Good chance for birdie. 

#11 417/401 par 4;

Tough uphill par four. Drive has several bunkers to contend with before hitting to elevated green. No room to miss with flag on the right. 

#12 221/202 par 3;

Wow what a par three!! It's 86 yards deep and there are some real beauties when it comes to the pin location. A flag in the rear right might actually be blind! This is one of my favorite holes. It s really cool. 

#13 366/346 par 4;

Strantz has been showing his imagination throughout the round and thirteen is a classic strategic par four. Challenge the bunker on the right and the entire length of the green is open to the approach. Steer away and it's an awkward angle. 

#14 344/333 par 4;

This is another beautiful par four. The plays are to either layup to where two hills narrow or to try to clobber a drive over the hills just short of the green. It's a birdie opportunity regardless which way you play it. 

#15 249/229 par 3;

Elevated tee to elevated green. If you come up short the ball will roll down the hill twenty or thirty yards. I hear there are bunch of homes surrounding it now which is too bad. It's the least interesting par three on the course. 

#16 476/459 par 4;

This is the real bruiser of Royal New Kent. The drive must be hit well to have any chance of hitting the green in regulation. If I remember correctly, the fairway is sloped with the ball above you. A par is a great score. 

#17 562/537 par 5;

This par five gets a lot of flak because the green is tucked behind a grove of trees with a creek fronting it. Reaching this in two is unlikely and that's the complaint. No fireworks on a hole that could really provide them. Still it's a good birdie chance. 

#18 418/403 par 4;

This is another hole that gets a lot of flak. It's the only hole with a pond fronting the  green and this is a penisula green to boot. It's a contrived par four and kinda a downer after some really good interesting holes. Plop a few in the water and your round could be ruined. 

I thought this was a great course when I first played it but looking back I ve toned down my opinion. I'm not a big fan of the large gaps tween green and next tee. It makes a cart mandatory and takes away from the flow. It's definitely a fun course to play. I give it a 6 (very good) rating.