Apple Valley Golf Club (Howard, OH)

Apple Valley is a no frills golf course that simply challenges players to hit the fairway, and then the green. Pencil and scorecard type players (typically single handicaps) are drawn here because it's all about getting the ball in the hole in the fewest amount of strokes. There's a couple great holes, but overall, Apple Valley is just a rigid test of golf. 

(The fifth is one of the few holes that stands out. The shot across the water to the green benched in the hill is very exciting, especially since it's a short iron that players can hit aggressively.) 

William Newcomb designed it in 1971, I believe the same year he did Seven Hills, however, Apple Vally is more open and has several long par fours plus a couple par threes over 230 yards. It's not the type of course that elicits the word fun! 

(The above pic is a good representation of what golf looks like at Apple Valley.)

(The par five tenth is reachable in two shots, however, sprayed balls will have trouble getting on in regulation.) 

(The best hole at Apple Valley is the eleventh. It's a short par four where a good layup leaves a testy approach to a green banked against the water.)

If Apple Valley was a course I played a couple times a year, I wonder if I would like it as much as I do Seven Hills, another William Newcomb course. The answer is probably no. It's a nice course, it's in good shape, but besides five and eleven, it's a pretty ordinary. It's get a lot of accolades for this part of Ohio, but not worth a trip from any significant distance. I give it a 4 (above average).