Granville Golf Club (Granville, Ohio)

Recently I came across a list I wrote many years ago regarding courses I wanted to see, and as I perused it, one course stood out, Granville Golf Club. 

(Arguably the most famous finishing hole in Ohio, the eighteenth plays from a tee box elevated 145'. The town of Granville, it's church steeples, it's old mason brick buildings, and the rolling hills of central Ohio make for an amazing view!) 

There are six Donald Ross golf courses in Ohio that are public, and Granville is the one that gets the most recognition. The relationship it has with the town is the reason behind that. It's located in downtown Granville, so if you're staying at the Inn, you can walk over with your clubs. If you're going to Denison, you can walk over from campus. It's very similar, I suspect, to the relationship courses have to the towns in Scotland, where an identity is associated with the course. 

(The opening hole is just a short drive n pitch hole. Note the push up green and the bunkers short left. The sand is typically not visible but the shadows and mounding let you know where they are.)

(The second hole is 444 yards and is well defended. This is one of the better holes on the course. The green has a step-like feature on the right which is a flat spot, and everything else slopes away.) 

Granville lost four original Ross holes when the ridge line that the sixteenth played along was developed into housing. The clubhouse was moved to it's present day spot, a driving range was installed, and holes 10, 15, 16, and 18 were lost. Hurzdan and Kidwell designed four new holes, 14-17. The sequence of the other holes were changed. The second hole was originally the ninth hole, and the clubhouse was the building overlooking the green. The significance of this is, the present day third hole was the first back then. Three is 422 yards and a creek cuts diagonally down the left side of the fairway. It's an intimaditing tee shot! And I can't imagine how difficult a hole this was when that carry off the tee was the first shot of the day!! (Wish I had a pic of it)

The par three fourth continues the round. From the back tees, it plays 233 yards while the men's tees it's only 160 yards. With crossbunkering forty yards short of the green, I would gather the back tee was the original. The fifth is 396 yard par four. 

(The uphill fifth doglegs left from the tee before climbing the slope. Note how much pitch is in the green. Compare it against the lake in the background. Reading putts correctly takes skill here.) 

(The par five sixth is 501 yards, plenty reachable for today's golfer. The green however is elevated so holding it is problematic. Note the slope in the fairway. For most golfers, the ball will be below your feet, making the green tough to hit even with a wedge.) 

(My favorite par three at Granville is the seventh. The green is well defended and is severely sloped. Staying below the hole means challenging those two front bunkers.) 

(The uphill 434 yard eighth is a cracker of a hole! Not visible are the crossbunkers forty yards short of the green. From the fairway, if you can just carry the traps, then the ball can be chased onto the green.) 

(The ninth is a solid hole and one of the few greens at Granville with internal contouring. Note the big trees. Putting the ball in play is a must here.)

The old tenth was a grand uphill par three. The green is still there, but it is now the practice green in front of the clubhouse. The old eleventh is now ten, and it's a solid par five. Like six, the green is elevated, but this time the golfer will have a pitch with a ball above his feet. 

(The par four eleventh is the only hole with trees this much in play. I felt the other holes had plenty of width to them, while here I actually had to play a low runner just off the fairway.) 

(The green to the par five twelfth. The hole played very similar to six and ten, though I was relatively close to the green, so this could be best chance to reaching in two. That said, all three played in the same direction, and all three had elevated greens, and all three had pitch shots with ball  (1) below your feet and (2) above your feet. They were solid holes, but too similar in my opinion.) 

(The reverse cambered par four thirteenth is only 323 yards, but the play is to the far corner of the dogleg so you can have an uphill approach to this green. Note how short the bunkers are from the green, punishing the typical miss from an uphill lie, a fat shot.) 

The next four holes are Kidwell/Hurzdan, and they're very different than the Ross holes. From what I read, the long par four that played along the ridge line was the best hole on the course. The eighteenth was a strong par four too. 

(Sixteen plays uphill through the mounds. The view from the green is beautiful, and probably similar to the view from the old Ross holes.)

(Seventeen is a decent par three. The tee plays atop the ridge that separates fifteen and sixteen. The big house behind the green is an indication how valuable the land is on this portion of the property. Thankfully Denison University owns the course now, and it can be enjoyed for a long time to come.) 

Then we have the eighteenth. If you show a picture of it to any golf affianado, he would know you're at Granville. However, he might not know it was originally the seventeenth. At 368 yards minus the 145' elevation, the green is driveable. Of course the green has a little trick up it's sleeve, a lower shelf in the back left. A pin back there requires a very deft touch. 

Granville is one of the top public courses in the Columbus area. It has Donald Ross' nuances and strategies. It takes a keen eye and knowledge of architecture to attack the course appropriately. The four Kidwell/Hurzdan holes are obviously different, however my biggest complaint is the Kentucky blue grass/bentgrass mixture they use. The fairways are thin and don't provide the best lie to hit from. It's a course I would definitely play if I find myself in Columbus, but I'm not willing to drive two hours to exclusively play it. That said, the town is very cool and is worth searching out. So if a weekend away is what you need, then Granville is the place. I give it a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play). 

(The Granville Inn) 

Painesville Country Club (Painesville, OH)

Painesville Country Club was designed in 1928 by the head pro of Kirtland CC. This was not an unusual practice as many fine players teaching at prestigious country clubs found themselves being asked to design courses local to them. 

(Painesville's gorgeous clubhouse greets players at the start of the day.) 

I wonder how similar Painesville and Kirtland are to each other. Kirtland was open for several years and I'm sure Charles Alison's masterpiece had to have some influence. 

(Laying back to 130 yards leaves this view into the par five first hole.) 

The greens are small, open in the front, and slope away on the sides. The routing is simple as it basically goes up and down the hill. The front nine was designed several years before the back. It has three par fives, three par fours, and three par threes. 

(The par five fourth plays uphill to a green offset from the fairway. The slope short will keep most balls from reaching the putting surface.) 

(The short par three fifth is a lovely hole.)

(The third par five on the front is reachable in two....

...there's plenty of room to land it short and run it on.) 

(The par three eighth is a testy 175 yards)

(The short par four ninth uses the hill perfectly. The fairway meanders around it, drawing ones attention towards the bunker atop. The green is elevated with a false front, so obtaining the best angle and stance is imperative. There's many different options, thus making this an excellent hole.)

The back nine was designed several years after the front. Unfortunately, the terrain on this side of the property is very severe, and the golf isn't as good as it is on the front. 

(The new tenth added fifty yards to the scorecard. It looks pretty good too.) 

(The 240 yard par three eleventh drops bout fifty feet downhill. It's a neat hole but notice how the green is basically a shaved circular surface. Missing is the dramatic bunkering found on the front.)

(Twelve plays uphill (yes like eleven but in reverse!).....

.....the approach is to a beautifully bunkered green. It's the only green on back defended like that. The real concern is how much longer it plays.) 

(The short drop shot par three fourteenth is just 113 yards. It's amazing the architect found it in this cudesac of trees. A stream is just off to the side.) 

Fifteen sixteen seventeen.....   These three holes are terrible. The property ran out of room, that is basically what happen. It's a shame because up to now, I felt that Painesville could make my hidden gem list. 

The last hole ends the round with a bang! 

(From the back tee, the drive is very intimidating as you carry a ravine and between thick treeline on both sides...

....the 574 yarder transverses and climbs uphill to the green. It takes three strong shots to reach it in regulation. A five is a very good score.)

I like Painesville Country Club but it's hard to recommend or give a high rating to a fifteen hole course. Eighteen tee is just a few steps away from fourteen green, so maybe it's not such a bad idea to skip 15-17. Painesville does have some really good holes, and if you find yourself on, you ll have a blast. I give it a 4 (above average)(worth 30-40 min drive)

The Tanglewood Club (Chagrin Falls, OH)

"Set the tees back, grow the rough, and you have a US Open course here."

                      -Fuzzy Zoeller

Tanglewood always had a reputation for being a very difficult course. In the 1972 Cleveland Open, David Graham shot six under par to win. Then in 1976, the LPGA played the Babe Zaharias Invitational, and Judy Rankin won with a score of one under par. 

(The view behind the par five tenth green. Usually the third shot is from the valley below. It is reachable if the player can position the drive far enough down the right side.) 

William Mitchell designed Tanglewood in 1966. He had a formula for his golf architectural. Depending on the length of the second shot, the width between the bunkers guarding the green would be narrower or wider. 

(The par four ninth doglegs left up the hill. Cutting the corner is an option, but conservative play leaves a long approach into the green. Originally it was the eighteenth hole.) 

(The short par four eleventh is one of my favorites. The green has a false front and a fall away in the rear, thus making it a very small target. This part of the property is the most dramatic, and the views back towards the tee and across the valley is beautiful.) 

(The par three twelfth illustrates the bunkering and the width of the opening to the green. Look how the green is built up and the bunkering is cut into it base, making it somewhat a low profile.) 

(This is a better view of the bunkering. It's flat bottom so the most visible part of the it is the edging.)

(This pic shows the width between the sand. Note how difficult depth perception is from the fairway. Just being slightly elevated changes the sight line significantly.)

New management is spending a lot of money to bring Tanglewood back to it's former self, including a bunker restoration project that should be completed by 2017. The money is also going into the clubhouse and it's huge reception hall so banquets and weddings can be held there too. It's a financial plan that seems to be working. The course's difficulty however is the true weakness of the property. As golf forges ahead into the new millenium, pace of play, enjoyment, and affordability are the keys to surviving. Tanglewood has issues with all three. 

(The reachable par five fifteenth is fronted by this massive bunker. As the pic shows, only the top of the flagstick is visible. With the green sloping away, it's a very difficult shot to hit this 40 yard pitch close to the flag.) 

(The par three sixteenth is a short to mid iron. OB is literally just left of the photo. It's another complaint I have of Tanglewood. All 18 holes have OB. The view from the green is the hole's best feature.) 

(The signature hole is the par four seventeenth...

....unfortunately the fairway is too narrow and too canted to hold a drive unless you tug it left and get a good kick forward like I did from this view. Note the bunker restoration. The pro told me his draw holds the fairway, but I'm still skeptical.) 

(The finishing hole plays uphill to a green laid across a plateau. A good drive typically ends up by the hillock coming from the left, so the approach is uphill from a ball below your feet. A four is a good score.) 

I think Tanglewood needs to build a membership. I just don't think it can survive on daily play from average golfers. Quite simply, it's a single digit handicap course. It has tennis courts, a swimming pool, a fishing lake so there are plenty of amenities to attract people. I give it a 4 (above average)(worth 30-40 min drive). With the golf landscape changing, Tanglewood has an opportunity. 

(View from behind eighteen green)