Hilliard Lakes Golf Course (Westlake, OH)

When I first started playing golf, Little Met, Big Met, and Mastik Woods were the three Metroparks courses that nourished my appetite for the game. Occasionally I would wander up to Ridgewood because my buddy lived off the second fairway, but those three were the primary places.

(As a beginning player, the carry from the tee on the par five sixteenth was very intimidating. It was my favorite hole for a long time.)

Hilliard Lakes was the first course I played where water was the prevalent hazard. I felt like I had "graduated" to that level of challenge, and for a several years, "Lil Augusta" as it is affectionately called, was my club of choice. 

(This canal plays throughout the course, cutting across fairways, guarding a particular side, and flat out being a continuous pest waiting for a mishit.)

As a young player, Hilliard Lakes had two things I thought were synonymous with good golf; sand traps and water. Almost all the greens were bunkered in the left and right corners, and the damn canal always seemed to pop up where I liked to drive the ball. A few times it would cross the fairway, and I would have to decide if I was hitting the ball well enough to risk hitting over it. 

(The ever present canal making one think on the second tee.)

Hilliard Lakes was designed by Matthew Zaleski in 1967. It's located at the end of Hilliard road in the affluent suburb of Westlake. (This is prime real estate. I wonder how many offers they get from developers.) Recently I played the course for the first time in fifteen years. My friend lives close by and this is his home track. It plays exactly the way I remember it, with the canal lurking at every corner. The course seems to be doing well, and the attributes that made me enjoy it when I was learning the game are still present today. The last three holes are the highlight of the round. Sixteen is 568 yards from a new back tee, and the pic above shows just how challenging the drive is. Seventeen is 213 yard par three. The canal is to the right of the green, waiting for a push or cut long iron/hybrid shot. Then the 428 yard eighteenth is a long par four with a bunker fronting the green. 

(The last hole is a challenging par four.) 

Next year Hilliard Lakes turns 50 years old. It s a wonderful anmenity for westsiders and particularly the regulars who call it home. I give it a 3 (average)(worth driving 15-30 mins).