Chapel Hill Golf Course (Mount Vernon, OH)

Located halfway between Mansfield and Columbus, Chapel Hill occupies the grounds that formerly housed the Mount Vernon Bible College. The chapel was converted into a clubhouse and is one of the more unique nineteenth holes. 

(The view of the eighteenth green and clubhouse. This 429 yarder can be quite challenging if the pin is stuck in the front right corner.) 

Chapel Hill was designed in 1996 by Barry Serafin. He mentored under Hurzdan and Kidwell, and much of his work is down in the Columbus area. Most folks in Cleveland aren’t familiar with him, possibly Black Diamond being the exception, but several of his solo designs have been listed in Golfstyle’s Top 100 Ohio Public list including Chapel Hill. 

(The 440 yard seventh demands a solid tee shot down the left which opens up the angle to the green. Laying up to marker and trying to save par from the hill is a viable strategy.) 

Chapel Hill demands strong solid driving. Even on the holes atop the hill to start the round, Serafin designed interesting and good driving lines for players to obtain an advantageous position to make birdie. The course starts getting good at the seventh, and by then one better be hitting it well. 

(The 437 yard ninth can be a round wrecker. It’s a very tough hole to make par. My

CGA buddies would love the patio! I can only imagine the ooohs and ahhhs as balls made or didn’t make the green.) 

(The 441 yard eleventh is a beautiful par four. The entire left side is guarded by a hazard and the elevated green makes par a good score.) 

The stretch of holes 7-11 is particularly strong. Par will be a good score on any of these. The course then crosses Johnstown road and holes 

13-17 are located over here.  Each one is a birdie opportunity, highlighted by the beautiful par five fourteenth. 

(The 581 yard fourteenth is every bit as strategic as it is beautiful. The golfer plays to a spot where he can hit an approach head on at the pin. Failure to obtain that angle can result in a problematic third shot.) 

(The 153 yard sixteenth is a lovely hole over wetlands to an open green.) 

The course crosses back over the road and finishes with a strong par four played under the shadow of the clubhouse steeple. 

(The view looking back from eighteen green. Note the beautiful rolling topography!) 

Chapel Hill is a course worth playing, and it is one of the better courses in the Columbus area. Granted, it’s thirty minutes north of the city, but most of the play comes from here. I did play with my girlfriend, and the lady’s tees at 4600 yards is well done. All in all, it’s a really fun course to play. I give it a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour). 

Pine Trace Golf Club (Rochester Hills, MI)

Pine Trace is located in northern Metro Detroit. It’s the sister course of Shephard’s Hollow and is also designed by Arthur Hills. (Now that my daughter lives in Detroit, I’ll be playing up here more.) 

(A great view of the bunkering style employed to protect the greens. From the fairway, one doesn’t see the sand but rather the shadow.) 

Pine Trace provides a nice challenge while being devoid of housing. The interior holes are somewhat reminiscent of northern Michigan with stands of hardwoods and tall pines. Sixty acres of wetlands are present and are incorporated on several holes as well. For a course still in the city, it’s a good golf experience. 

(The 609 yard par five third has an elevated green that demands the third shot to come in high in order to stop quickly.) 

Pine Trace has five par 3s and five par 5s. This leaves eight par 4s, and six of them are short iron approach shots. Hills doglegged many of the holes and employed an unusual tactic where the inside corner leaves the player in an inferior position. Often the view will be blocked or the green will be angled away. The outer corner sets up a great view and gives the best opportunity for birdie. 

(The 337 yard fourth is a good chance to steal a stroke if one can avoid the hazard down the left off the tee.) 

(The 375 yard par four sixth hole has a wonderful green with several exciting places to put the pin. The green is tipped in the front right corner with bunker guarding the front left.)

(The 183 yard seventh is a nice par three over the wetlands. A pine tree forty yards short of the green is the biggest challenge. A draw fits perfectly towards the pin.) 

Pine Trace boasts a stiff slope rating. Much of this is due to the lack of ground game available. Bunkers guard the front of most greens or they’re slightly elevated. Granted, many of the approaches are short irons, but poor tee shots are given little respite.  

(The 340 yard eleventh is a good birdie opportunity.) 

(The 376 yard twelfth showcases the beautiful hardwoods found throughout Pine Trace.) 

(The 543 yard par five fourteenth demands accuracy all the way to the green. Hit it a little crooked and you’ll be scrambling to save your par.) 

(The 363 yard fifteenth doglegs left around the wetlands. This view from the center of the fairway makes every pin accessible.) 

Pine Trace is considered one of the better courses in metro Detroit. I played it on a Sunday afternoon and it was crowded with people. As much flak as I give Art Hills, courses such as this are giving players an opportunity to play and enjoy golf. It has a nice practice facility too. I wish it was more walker friendly. There are some long drives in between holes. I give Pine Trace a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour). 

(Eighteen is the toughest hole on the course. It’s 428 yards uphill over wetlands. The approach is a long iron to a green guarded by water left, right, and short.  A four is a good score.) 

Link to Shephard’s Hollow

https://golfingwithshawn.blogspot.com/2016/08/shepherd-hollow-golf-club-clarkston-mi.html?m=1

Grover Cleveland Golf Course (Buffalo, NY)

Grover Cleveland was the site of the 1912 U.S. Open. John McDermott won with a score of 294 (-2) on what was known as the Country Club of Buffalo. 

Grover Cleveland is the first course I’ve planned a trip around but failed to play. The conditioning was so poor, and the course looked so banal that I decided to skip it. 
A part of me was disappointed but I really couldn’t get over the dirt bunkers, burned out patches in the fairway, and spotty greens. There seemed to be plenty of people playing it, but judging by their swings, they were probably new or very high handicaps. 

Grover Cleveland has the distinguish of having both Walter Travis and Donald Ross as architects. It is said that the Travis holes are still pretty decent. 

The present day Grover Cleveland is a far cry from the past course that held the national championship. Today’s course measures 5621 yards with a 69 par. The original course was

6326 par 74 which included the 606 yard par 6 tenth!! [Btw the only par 6 ever in U.S.Open history]

Sylvania Country Club (Sylvania, OH)

Sylvania is a terrific course that flies under most people’s radar. Inverness is obviously Toledo’s top gun, and Highland Meadows is receiving plenty of attention for hosting the LPGA, but this Willie Park Jr gem can hold its own, and is an example of the depth and quality of the golf in Ohio. 

(The view looking down the eighteenth hole with the par three tenth off to the right.)  

Sylvania is blessed with wonderful topography. The land is rolling, and several ravines and dips give the course much of its flavor. The Ottowa River flows through the northern part of the property, and it inspired three beautiful par threes. 

(The 168 yard third plays uphill to a green that slopes back to front. It plays at least one club longer and sometimes two. Being short is very common.) 

The front nine is a bit unusual, and it’s sequence of holes is such that one is never playing the same par twice in a row. (4-5-3-5-4-3-4-5-3) The three par fives make this feel like it’s the scoring side, but only one is reasonably reachable in two, and the 438 yard fifth sports the number one handicap. 

(The 390 yard seventh is a fine illustration of Willie Park Jr’s bunkering. Placed to the sides and often times much shorter of the greens, they were meant to trap players trying to run the ball into the green.) 

(The 556 yard eighth is a gorgeous par five that bobs and weaves it’s way to the green...

...the journey ends with an elevated putting surface. Setting up a good yardage is the proper play. The bunkers are placed precisely where a nonchalant three wood would land. It’s a great par five!) 

(The 185 yard ninth plays downhill to a small green...

...looking backwards one can see all the work done to clear the hillside underneath the tee box. Just a beautiful par three.) 

The back nine doesn’t give up much with the four hole stretch of 11-14 being the muscle. Of course back to back par fives at 16 & 17 makes for an exciting finish as birdie and eagle can change any complexion of a tournament or match. 

(The 161 yard  par three tenth looks similar to nine except the green is benched into the hillside. A false front and a couple bunkers protect it though the wind is often the biggest challenge in deciding club selection.) 

(The 382 yard eleventh demands a long drive to be able to carry to the upper level of fairway. This picture shows the dip and ravine that guard the green. For shorter players, this hole plays plenty difficult since the approach is usually blind.) 

(The 476 yard par four twelfth is the most difficult hole on the course. The drive is over a hazard to large hill that demands a right to left shot that can take advantage of the slope and roll to a flatter spot...

...if one hits a great drive then the green is reachable in two. For most people, this plays as a three shotter, and originally it was listed as a par five, but today’s equipment makes this a very demanding long par four.) 

(One of my favorite holes is the 230 yard par three fourteenth. A peek a boo slot in the ridge gives a glimpse of the pin. Besides being long, this hole possesses one of the most difficult greens on the course. A swale divides the green in half with a higher left and higher right. A three is always a good score.)

Sylvania also has a bit of history attached to it. The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America was born here in 1926.  The Ohio State Open was won by Byron Nelson in 1940. And the most famous was Arnold Palmer’s 1954 Ohio Amateur win. He would go onto win the U.S. Amateur later that year. 

(The 517 yard sixteenth is a long solid par five. The green falls off into the sand both left and right. It’s a beautiful hole and water tower in background is a nice touch.) 

(The approach to the 395 yard eighteenth is uphill. There’s plenty of room to fly it to the hole or hit it low and let it run on. Long hitters have a decision to make with the Ottowa River  crossing the fairway.) 

Sylvania is a private club but it allows access to Toledo Golf District Association VIP Card holders. It’s a great pleasure to be able to play here once a year. It’s one of my favorite courses. I give it s solid 6 (very good)(worth driving two hours). 

[A sidebar to add to Sylvania. Architect Drew Rodgers did some bunker, tee, and green work back 2015. He recaptured the dimensions of several greens, brought the flat bottom rolled face bunkers back, and reintroduced some tees.]