Country Club of Ashland (Ashland, OH)

Public golf in Ohio just got better! Ashland is now public, and this Willie Park design should soon find itself sliding onto many of the golf publications top ten public course list for Ohio. Back when it was private, the Ashland Am-Am tournament was one of the premier events of the summer, and I found myself playing in it a few times. The best players in the state would show up, and the course was always in superb shape. 

Ashland begins with a very fine short par four. What makes this hole stand out is how the ridge cuts across the fairway, effectively making the drive a decision tween being short of it, or driving it up on top. Anything in between leaves the player in an awkward stance with the ball below his feet. With the severely pitched green sloping to the front right, such a lie and stance makes for a complicated approach. 

The second follows with another excellent par four. This one plays downhill into the valley before going back uphill to a sneaky tough green. 

The rear center of the green is slightly raised, a tough pin to find from the fairway. It also is a tricky chip or putt across this half of the green. A par is a good score. 

Ashland has a good quartet of par threes, and the third is the first. Playing bout 184 yards, the shot is downhill over the creek n sand. The excellent contoured green is what makes the hole. A little mound back center and front left influence the putting. A rear pin can be quite testy. The next two holes are good birdie opportunities. Four is bout 360 uphill. When you're at the green looking back at the tee, you're amazed how much uphill this is. Then five plays downhill, making this a reachable par five. I like how it tumbles as it gets near the green. A flat bout 100 yards short is a perfect spot to layup. Long hitters tho will only be hitting an iron. Short hitters can possibly get lucky, and get a favorable kick off the back side of the hill. 

(Can you see the roll of hill in pic?) 

Six is a short to mid iron par three. The small green is well bunkered, and only gives up a birdie for well struck shots. The seventh is another excellent par four, and arguably the best on the course. The hole doglegs left, the fairway turning in a way where the right side is the higher ground, and the left half is lower. A well executed draw will take the slope and leave a mid to long iron approach. 

The green has no bunkers protecting it, just a fairway ramp that propels ball forward onto the putting surface, while fall offs on the sides kick balls away. The  forward pitched green doesn't give up many one putts. Excellent hole!

I'm not a fan of eight since you cannot see the green unless a big drive gets you to the top. Average players will have a blind uphill shot, a very tough proposition to be sure. Any way to make a four is a winner. Then the ninth tumbles downhill, turns left, and rumbles to a green that sits high above the fairway on top of the hill. 

A short iron is the only way to get close to the hole. The green is so high above the fairway, anything more is going to have a hard time stopping on the putting surface. 

The back nine begins with a good par three. The tee is on the hill, thirty yards away from nine green, and plays downhill to the green. 

When it was private, the clubhouse was directly behind this tee. Members would watch players practice swing, then bets would be placed on if they would hit the green. It was fun!! 

Eleven is a sleeper hole. While hitting the ball up n over the hill seems simple, the left side is the only way to have a clear view into the green. 

I love the way the creek bottles up the drive from being blasted with impunity. It actually resonated very much with me. Just a very natural hole. 

Twelve is a short par five that plays up the hill. Right is death on the hole, so as long as the player stays left, he should have a decent birdie attempt. Then thirteen follows with a shortish par four. The tee shot is visually awkward as the   fairway disappears from view, narrowing tween trees and sand, before descending downhill to a green on a knob. 

It's possible to drive it, but many places to make a big number if the drive veers offline. Then fourteen goes the opposite direction, another mid length par four. Fifteen follows that with a par five whose green is guarded by water. Architecturally there's a lil lure in the design. Solid shots should get pars. 

Sixteen is a 230 yard par three. Like most holes of this nature, just getting there is a win, and there's plenty of room to run the ball into the green. 

The seventeenth hole follows with an uphill drive flanked by OB to the right. 

The fairway runs right into the green, giving the player plenty of options to attack the pin. Anything long will go down the hill and leave an awkward recovery. With the final hole being 330 yards, there is a lot of pressure to get past seventeen with no damage on the card. Obviously with eighteen being a short par four, one can take a chance on getting a birdie there. 

From the tee, the player wants to carry over the shallow valley by creek and get to the flat between the bunkers. From there it's just a wedge or so into a green surrounded by sand. These type of holes are common on old courses because the architect wanted the player to finish with confidence. This particular hole however requires some execution. It's not just a simple drive and pitch hole. 

Ashland has some great greens, that is the strength of this course. The topography is rolling, transversing over hills, and a creek flows thru the valley, and is present on many of the holes though usually it's not in play. It's a beautiful old course and I believe it's one of the top 10 public courses in the state. I give it a 6 (very good). I expect as the news gets out more and more golfers will be making their way to Ashland.