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Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Red Hawk Run Golf Club (Findlay, OH)

Art Hills dominates Ohio public golf, and rightfully so as both Longaberger and Shaker Run are routinely rated as two of the best courses in the state. I've always found this interesting because Red Hawk Run gets little fanfare, yet is easily as good, maybe better, than both courses. 
(The long par four second makes everyone nervous as water challenges the drive and approach.) 

I think one reason for the lack of love is it's location. Findlay is in the middle of nowhere! And getting to it means driving thru all the small towns like Bellvue, Fremont, and Tiffin. (Pure Americana if you ask me!) Also, the setting is rural with very little movement and flat topography, thus Hills moved a lot of dirt, and Red Hawk Run defies the minimalisic trend that has been the standard for several years. 

(The endless views of the countryside are beautiful, and the wind sweeps across with a good deal of force, making the holes play in a variety of ways.) 

What stands out at Red Hawk Run are the bunkers! This is the first time I've seen Art Hills use this technique. The fairways and greens are pushed up, and the bunkers are cut into the face, making the hazard play deeper than what it really is, especially if the ball advances further up. 
(Note how the bunkers are receptive to balls rolling into them. The high face is covered in whispy grass, adding an extra dimension of beauty and difficulty.) 

(This photo best illustrates my description of the bunkering. Thankfully the flat bottom allows the ball to find a gracious lie, and a possible down up down par.)
 
Red Hawk starts off with a nice mid length par four. The uphill approach has three bunkers that guard the green. 
A good drive down the right will leave a favorable angle and a good chance to start the round off well. The second follows with a very difficult par four that doglegs left around a lake. The green is awkwardly cut into the hill, basically sloping from left to right as if one was approaching from the right. This means people who challenged the water from the tee are hitting shots to a green that is shallow.  Going long means chipping to a green with water long. A par is a fine score.  

The third plays over a corner of the previous lake, and the strategy is a simple one: Don't be short. 
Depending on the tees, the hole can play over 200 yards! 

The fourth is the first of an excellent collection of par fives. This one entices the long hitter to cut over the edge of the fairway bunker and give the green a go in two. A small sinuous stream works across the fairway, just short of the green. 
The long player has a few options including hitting the ball into the fairway over the hazard. For the short player, finding an advantageous angle is key for a good third shot. 

Five and six head west into the prevailing wind. People don't realize how hard the wind can blow in this part of the state, and a short par three like five can play as much as three clubs longer! The long six can be a bear! The seventh is a very interesting short par four that is routed diagonally in front of the player. The split level fairway has a bunker between the upper and lower tiers. 
Laying back to lower fairway leaves a blind shot of the green with only the flagstick being seen. 
Taking the challenge and driving it to the upper fairway leaves an unhindered view. The long player can gamble and hit it just short or onto front of the green. It's a great hole!!

Eight is a beautiful par five and one of the few holes that play between the trees. It's straightaway, downwind, and reachable in two shots. It's a good opportunity to get a stroke back. Nine is a fine par four with a green set up in the hillside. The green slopes away the deeper the pin goes. 

The second nine begins with back to back long par fours. Both holes have trouble to the right by the green. 
This view of ten green from the eighteenth fairway shows how the terrain falls off into the high grass and sand. Twelve follows with a dogleg left, the raised fairway guarded by a long trap. Golfers must choose what section of the sand they want to carry. 
The sinuous creek reappears once again short of the green. The more aggressive shot from the tee, the better the angle into the green. This is a key three hole stretch where par is very good. 

Thirteen is a short par four with a centerline bunker. A good drive over it leaves a sand wedge and a good chance
for a three. 
Then the best par three on the course follows. The fourteenth is a beautiful two tiered green fronted by water. I've had good fortune here, twice hitting mid irons close for birdie. 
The back tier maybe a smaller area to attack, but a front pin brings all the trouble into play. It's a very good hole!

The Ohio High School Athletic Association plays the state regional final here at Red Hawk Run, and the last four holes setup for high drama since it's possible to birdie into the house, eagle being a possibility too. Fifteen is a shortish par four where the sinuous creek will make it's last appearance fronting the green. Sixteen is a reachable par five but it's a small target to hit with long grass long and a hazard right. Nonetheless an opportunity to get one or two strokes! Seventeen is shortish par three. I personally feel it's a little too bland to be a seventeenth hole, but it does play into the wind. Finally the eighteenth hole arrives with a long slightly uphill par five. 
Attacking this hole head on means hitting to a semiblind elevated green with bunkers fronting. Flanking to the left leaves this view.
A wide open shot offers a good chance for a birdie. That said, the new younger player is hitting the ball much further, so a frontal attack requires a high long iron or hybrid. It's a great ending hole! 

Red Hawk Run made the "Thrifty Fifty" list as one of the best affordable courses in the country. It's good to see it getting the recognition it deserves. I think it's one of the best public courses in the state, and should be on the top ten lists. I give it a 6 (great)(worth a two hour drive). 

(When I reviewed Shepard's Hollow last year, I commented about Art Hills. I play many of his courses, and many of them are sixes in my book. Red Hawk Run does not have the best topography, yet I think Hills got the most out of it. My gripe about his designs is with places like Longaberger and Bay Harbor which are in tremendous locations and should be all world courses.)








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