Springvale (North Olmstead, OH)

ISpringvale is one of the few places I've seen before I actually started playing golf. My father belonged to a league there and I caddied a couple times for him when I was a kid. It s always been known for the party center, where there is a huge ballroom, than it was for the golf.

 Well, things have been changing ever since the city purchased the course. The course is in very good shape and the word is getting out. Being in a prime location just off 480 by Great Northern Mall means more and more players are showing up to check it out. 

I went to check it out a few weeks ago. It was designed in 1956 and the two nines are very different from each other. The front is pretty much pitch n putt. There are many short par fours and it doesn't get interesting til the seventh, a short par five with a pond fronting the green. 

The back nine is much longer and possesses a couple long par fours. 13, 14, 16, and 17 are all in the 400 yard range and require solid play to walk away with a par. The two best holes on the course are also in the back, eleven and eighteen. 

Eleven is a wonderful par five that takes advantage of the valley that crosses the property. The valley is actually the only distinguishing feature on the course and it's no surprise the two best holes use it. 

Eleven is reachable in two shots but from the fairway it looks very intimidating. The green is quite pitched towards the left so the left bunkers are not horrible place to be. However, being long is a nearly impossible up n down. It's a terrific hole!

Eighteen uses the same valley off the tee as the fairway doglegs left around a lake formed by damming the creek that flows thru. What makes this potentially an awesome hole is the ability for the long hitter to drive the green! 

It's an incredibly crazy play, but it's possible! Most players will hit a nice drive past the dogleg and take a chance getting short iron close. Either way, it's a picturesque and memorable finish. 

Springvale used to be a par 72 but nine and seventeen were both shortened into par fours. 

Nine is a well bunkered hole. It doglegs right and the valley that I feel is the best part of the property is not used. Then seventeen is simply shortened. 

You can barely see the bunker in pic above but it guards the left side of the  green. Not bad. 

The par threes are the big disappointment at Springvale. As a whole they are pretty forgetable. Two of them are easy simple shots. So even tho the conditioning is much better, the design makes this a league type of course. Nothing worth seeing. I give it a 3 (average). Eleven and eighteen give it a nudge. 

Madison Country Club (Madison, OH)

Madison CC was designed in 1923 by Sandy Alves, and is probably one of his best preserved designs. Driving out there, I was wondering how it would compare to the three Alves courses I grew up on, Ridgewood, and both Highland Park Blue and Red. The three courses just mentioned are owned by municipalities, and have undergone changes besides not always being kept in good condition. 

Madison connects right away with a great clubhouse located on the main road. The ambiance is very welcoming, and the course looks fantastic when glancing across the road and seeing the first few holes. 

Now the best feature on the property is a valley that runs parallel to the road. Sandy takes full advantage and routs the course so the player is consistently hitting shots over or thru this valley on both the tee and approach shots. The photo above is of the second hole. Players can lay back to leave a 200 yard shot from a flat lie, or risk hitting it closer to the water and hitting a 170 from a downhill lie. It's a slightly uphill approach, so either shot must be hit perfectly to get on the green.  

Now I notice a couple things in the first three holes. On the first hole, the green was protected by a large crest bunker. A crest bunker basically has a flat bottom, but flashes up like a cresting wave. It hides the putting surface and makes it difficult to gauge where the pin is located. The second hole had a bowling alley where the bunkering is short and way off to the sides so the player can hit a long club into the green. This is seen on 9 & 18 which are both long wooden approach shots. The third has sunken bunkers where the traps are below the level off the green. The green looks inviting til the approach is a short. 

The other thing I noticed is when the holes are not by the valley, then the land is flat. The par three 4th above illustrates that fact. (I would put the left bunker in the crest category. It hides the putting surface and makes front left pin location difficult) This section of the course is not as interesting but there is plenty of bunkering to keep the player alert. (ie..par 4 fifth)

Six is a reachable par five. 

The water hazard in pic does not cross the fairway so hitting long right is definitely an option. I love the rear bunkers. They keep the long hitter honest. 

The seventh hole is similar to the first. 

As you can tell in the pic, the drive is over a valley to a tight landing zone. At 425 yards, it's a good poke to find a flat spot. 

The eighth follows with the best hole on the course, a twisting turning par five that uses the terrain excellently. The player drives it over the hill to find a sidehill lie that must be hit over the creek to the fairway. All the while, the hole doglegs to the right. The player who can control his swing and his shot will be rewarded with a good birdie opportunity. 

The back nine starts off with a par three that I nearly missed. Eleven tee is just up past eighteen green so I assumed it was ten. The pro pointed to behind the clubhouse....where sure enough there was a little 160 par three. It sorta reminded me of a fill in hole. 

A three hole stretch is the highlight on the back nine here, 12-14. Twelve is a mid length par four that doglegs left around a valley. 

A tree at the corner reinforces the need to be right. It's then a beautiful second shot into an open front green. It's just a classic par four. Thirteen follows with a driveable par four that doglegs left. 

A stand of tall trees persuade players to attack the hole the conventional way via a ball down the right side, but the long hitter could take his chance carrying them. Sandy Alves always seems to have one really good short par four in his design. This is a very exciting hole! Then one of the longest par fours follows at fourteen. 

Uphill, OB right, and trees left makes this a dangerous hole. The green has the most tilt on the course which adds to the difficulty of making a four. It's a great three hole stretch! 

The last two holes provide a good finish to the round. I love seventeen!

This is the type of hole that can be birdied or bogeyed. It's only 330 yards, but the green is small and pushed up. The front bunker makes the green look even smaller. And going long is no good either. Great hole! 

Eighteen is a 440 yard dogleg left par four. The valley bisects the fairway bout 280 off the tee. The approach shot is backdropped by the rear portion of the cart shack. It is one of the ugliest shots I ve seen. (Lol)   It's too bad since this is a very strong ending hole. Like two and nine, the fairway flows into the green so being short is not a bad leave. 

Madison CC is the top public course out in the far eastern suburbs. There's not much out here to play which surprises me considering the explosion of the winery business that has attracted plenty of tourists. It's a definite place to play should I make my way out. I give it a very solid 5 (good) rating. 

Bucknell Golf Club (Lewisberg, PA)

Coming back from Philliadelphia, I stopped off in Lewisburg and played nine holes at Bucknell Golf Club, home of the Bucknell University Bisons. It was designed by Emil Loeffler in 1930, and plays over some interesting terrain. A couple holes are quite challenging with extensive length that reiterates how  architects in the 1930s followed the lay of the land and didn't let "par" define how they designed a golf course. 

I played the front nine. The first three holes are the ones that stand out. The first is a 329 yard par four, a simple looking opener on the scorecard, but in reality, it plays straight uphill before doglegging right and cresting at the green. The opening tee shot must be well struck to have an unhindered short iron in otherwise it's a very difficult shot over the trees. 

The second is a long par three well positioned on the side of the hill. 

It has the kind of length where hitting the green requires for the average man a full blooded three wood. Hitting to the fairway just short of the putting surface is possibly the best option. Just a very tough par three. 

The third hole completes the triumvirate with a 605 yard par five. 

It plays over a hill, curves left, drops downhill, and then swoops up to the green. Three full wood shots makes this an incredible three shot hole. Talking to one of the members, I was told three is the toughest hole on the course. It's a source of pride so par is well earned and a well respected score. 

After a nice little downhill par three at four, the fifth thru ninth played across the street. These were fine holes but there was a redundancy to them as five, six, and seven were parallel to each other. When I was playing the first three holes by the clubhouse, it looked like the back nine was more interesting. Or at least the greens looked more interesting. 

The main reason I ended up playing Bucknell was it's Emil Loeffler background. Being a superintendent at Oakmont afforded him a chance to design golf courses, and he designed a fair amount especially in Pennsylvania. I wish I could've played the entire course. I'm giving it a 4 (above average) rating, but it might very well be better than that. 

Glen Mills Golf Course (Glen Mills, PA)

Glen Mills school has been in existence for over 100 years. In 2000, they opened up Glen Mills Golf Course in an effort to not only raise revenue, but to give young men a platform to learn the value of hard work, and an opportunity to acquire a work skill in the golf business. 

A story like this should make the golf course irrelevant, except Bobby Weed designed what many consider to be the best public golf course in Phillidelphia. It is laid out over a pretty rugged stretch of property highlighted by a creek, severe elevation change, and beautiful views of the countryside. 

I have never played a Bobby Weed course before so I was quite excited to play Glen Mills. The holes that I liked the most were the ones in the open. The first five holes and several holes on the back fit this profile. The ones that were forced into the tight corridors lacked options and were inferior. 

Being a protege of Pete Dye, I knew the bunkered side of the fairway was usually  the best angle into the green. The first five reaffirmed that notion and I loved the width given to the player. One had a tilt in the fairway from right to left. The bunkers were edged into the hillside on the right, and if the player could turn his ball over then the tilt would run the ball down to a a very short distance from the green. The second had even more advantage. The line over the far left trap, which was more manageable than I knew, left an unhindered shot into the green. I was on the right side, and a cluster bunker blocked my view, forcing me to hit over it and judge the distance to the flag. It was a great hole. The best on the front in my opinion. 

Four was a serpentine par five that went straight, turned left, and then went back right. From tee to green, it was basically straight, but Weed felt that was too simple. The guys in my foursome praised it, but I wasn't fond of it. It made the second shot more interesting for the modest hitter, but the longer player is playing it straight regardless. Five is then a nice looking par three downhill with a large bunker fronting the green. The trap is elevated above the putting surface, so the key is to just carry the sand, and let ball funnel to the hole. 

Now this is where things get a little weird. Six is flat out not a good hole. It's too tight and the land is too severe. The hole doglegs right with a tree guarding the inside corner. If you can't carry the tree or cut it around, then the play is to the left up on the hill and hope it comes down. The second shot is even crazier. Anything even slightly right kicks into the hazard. And if the ball didn't kick off the hill, then that's most likely where the ball will go on the second. The options are really limited. 

The seventh is then a 220+ yard par three uphill. 

The kick plate on the left looks like a great place to aim, but if the ball stays up then there is no chance to up n down for par. Hit short and play for a chip or pitch is a viable option, or flat out hit right over the trap. It was a really good par three. 

The eighth followed  with a grossly poor short par four. I didn't understand it, and being in the rough in the right was better than the fairway. I was asking myself where are these holes coming from?! Great holes interspersed with some lousy ones. 

The back followed that same trend. Ten was an awesome par downhill par three. 

Gorgeous views of the valley, a large green with a couple tiers, and a exciting tee shot. This is what you want to find! Great hole!!

Then comes eleven.... This is a love/hate type of hole. It's beautiful, tough... and very very tight. 

Options are really limited on eleven. Where the 150 marker is positioned marks the widest part of the fairway. Hit it here and hit the approach. Players who try to get too much are the ones who make double and triple bogey. The sad part is this hole gets a lot of attention as being one of the best at Glen Mills, yet I find it to be over the top. Twelve is pretty much just like it. The fairway is literally only ten yards wide, if you choose or can't carry it up and over the fairway traps. 

The player who can carry the traps is hitting into a wide fairway. 

And if you look closely at the pic above, you'll notice what I call the wall, where a long ball (or my second shot) can tumble down onto the green. Maybe my partners didn't explain the hole very well to me, or I would have chosen to drive the ball over the sand, but the layup option is ridiculous. 

13-16 are the best holes on the back. Thirteen was a wonderful long par four. 

Not for the faint of heart, the drive is right over the bunker. The longer player can take it left and try to carry more of the hazard. The approach is then straightforward with a single trap guarding the right side. Along with ten, my second favorite hole on the course. Fourteen is then a beautiful par three with rhe green elevated at an angle atop a rock ledge. 

I read where someone called it a Redan, but it is not. There's little slope on the right to propel the ball left. I felt the play was an extra club hit at the hole. My ball hit into the slope and spun off. Fortunately I was able to up n down for par. I played a simple chip with an open wedge. I think that settled my opinion. Redan it is not. 

Fifteen is a great par five with one crazy green. Well, I guess a barritz on any hole would be labeled crazy. The front and back tiers are divided by a deep, and I mean deep, swale. Putting from out of the swale is very difficult. I was in awe because I never seen this type of green. I wish I could ve played several balls. It would've been fun. Sixteen is the last of this sequence of holes. 

It's a beautiful setting, played across the only pond on the course, and was fun shot to hit. Being a short iron, I thought it was a birdie opportunity too. 

The last two holes went back to the very narrow tactic. Seventeen is a sub 500 yard par five but the fairway has got to be less than twenty yards. It was just boring in my opinion. And eighteen followed up with a hole that didn't incorporate all the qualities found in the previous ones. Nonetheless, it's a long par four and the drive has to challenge the bunker to gain the best angle to the green. 

Off the top of my head, I didn't think Glen Mills was better than Olde Stonewall which I just played a few weeks beforehand. I liked individual holes much more, but overall, the poor holes stood out at Glen Mills. As a course said to be Phillidelphia s best, I still thought it was a very good golf course. I would not hesitate to play it again. I give Glen Mills a 6 (very good) rating. 

(Golfweek has it rated as #5 in state of Pennsylvania.)