Red Tail Golf Club (Avon, OH)

Red Tail is a residential golf course built in Avon, a western suburb of Cleveland. Robert Von Hagge designed it in 1999 and I remember it having difficulty getting members, so it was semiprivate for a while. 

(The short par three seventeenth has a penisula green that can accommodate several testing pin placements.)

Red Tail is a better player golf course. There are very few opportunities to run the ball into the green, and many times the aerial game is the only way to the pin. Water is used often here, and the par threes all feature a carry over it. Von Hagge does a lot of artistry architecture where he "paints" a setting, and then the player has to fit his shot into it. 

(The par three fifth where the options are carry the water to left pin placements, or carry the front bunker to right pin placement.)

(The par three eighth requires a fade.)

The housing community is doing well at the Red Tail development, and the golf membership is strong, so the course is back to being private. The houses are in play on a few holes. And the double dogleg fifteenth is possibly one of the most awkward par fives I've seen. After doglegging left around water, the hole doglegs back to the right between trees. There's very little opportunity to hit it in two, so the second is typically a short or mid iron.  

A good layup will leave this approach to the green. It's a beautiful approach shot, but the hole itself is not well designed.

There are two par fours I remember quite vividly, ten and eighteen. Ten curves alongside the water, producing a very exciting second shot. 

(The stone work edging the green is visible on several holes. Ten is an excellent hole.) 

Eighteen doglegs left to finish the round. The green is fronted by a stream and guarded by several bunkers. 

It's a wonderful ending hole.

Red Tail is one of the few west side courses I would like to see again. It's visually attractive, and consistently demands well struck shots. I'm not sure how well Red Tail treats high handicaps, or if junior, senior, or lady golfers can enjoy it. It's a demanding test. Nonetheless, it's a good course. I give it a 5 (good). 

(Water water water everywhere! The par three twelfth is all carry including deep grass bunkers for balls that come up just short.)