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Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Mohican Hills Golf Club (Jeromesville, OH)

Mohican Hills is not the easiest place to find. Coming from Cleveland, one gets off the interstate, and negotiates the twisting, turning road all the way to the course. Views include horse drawn buggies, cows, silos, and maybe the occasional hot air balloon. 
(The twelfth drops 100' feet from the tee.)

Jack Kidwell designed the front in 1972, and added the back in 1975. The clubhouse sits on the highest part of the property, the course flows out, and then down to the valley. While the holes play up n down the hill, the most interesting ones play across the slope. 
(The 493 yard par five second plays downhill and is comfortably reachable in two shots...
...but missing to the sides or long leaves a tricky up n down.) 

(The seventh is a good example of Kidwell's philosophy. This 404 yard par four plays uphill, with plenty of room to drive the ball, and hit a quality approach shot. All the trouble is at the green. A pronounced back to front slope with a tier in the rear will make four a very good score.)  

In my opinion, there are three holes at Mohican that stand out, 9, 12, and 16.  

The ninth is 387 yard par four. The player drives the ball into the saddle fairway, taking heed not to hit it far otherwise a downhill will compromise his approach. 
A mid to long iron shot across the valley must avoid the sand and find a difficult putting surface. 

The twelfth is 390 yards, but the 100' foot drop from the tee makes it a short par four. The drive is definitely the showstopper! It's gorgeous! The approach however is when things get interesting. 
The short iron, and for many a wedge, must contend with a slightly elevated green with a wicked false front. It's an excellent hole! 

Sixteen is a 376 yard dogleg left. The play is to find a good layup yardage for the approach. 
This view gives a good indication of the challenge. It's an uphill semiblind approach to a green that does not accept balls well. Anything short or even not hit deep into the green can be shed to the front right, and possibly back down the slope. A two, possibly three club difference to get to the back. 
This view back to the fairway reinforces the steepness of the approach. 

The common denominator in every hole description is the severity of the greens. The slope in them is unbelievable! What may be impossible to stop on a downhill putt can be aggravatingly slow to hit uphill. The false fronts, the saucer sides, and the pitch make these incredibly difficult. 
This view from the right of eleven green shows just how much it slopes left to right. In fact the bunker is above the putting surface! 
Look at the left side of the fifteenth green. You can see it literally sloping with the fall of the land! 

The last hole is a 374 yard par four. It plays up the same hill the twelfth hole came down! 
This is the view looking up the hole. There's not much to see! The long hitter may see the top of the flagstick. 
This is the view from behind eighteen green. Beautiful! 

The seventeenth is a downhill par three. Water should not be in play unless you're trying to bounce one in to a front pin position. 

I'd be amiss if I didn't comment on the horrible par five tenth. The hole is somewhat "C" shaped, and requires a 170 yard layup to a tree, and then a long second shot uphill over a valley. I feel an opportunity to build an awesome par three was missed. The green could've been by the tree, or in the valley with ravines on both sides, or even just above the valley with the ravines short!! As is, it's terrible. 

(The 561 yard par five thirteenth is a solid hole. The back nine is a bit unusual, as it boasts three par fives, three par threes, and three par fours.) 

Mohican Hills requires a few plays to understand all it's nuances. There's a lot of local knowledge and being aware of what pin positions can be attacked, and what must be given prudence is the only way to shoot a good score. It's been almost twenty years since I last played here. I'm not sure if that s because of it's location, or because of it's difficulty. Regardless Mohican Hills is a good course! I give it a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour). I'll be visiting more often. 





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