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).