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.