Club Walden (Aurora, OH)

One of my favorite courses from last year was Bedford Valley in Battle Creek. It’s a William Mitchell design that has all the classic features one loves in golf. William Mitchell has two courses here in northeast Ohio, and I was curious to see if Walden was going to be more like Bedford Valley or more like Tanglewood in Chagrin Falls. 

(I’m a big fan of Mitchell’s green complexes. Look how the bunkers eat into the bottom of the pad. Note the rough above the sand traps. It gives a deep texture to the approach shot.) 

Walden has similarities to both courses but the biggest difference is the elevated greens. The pads are significantly raised above the fairways, and the bunkers are cut into the base of them. The greens are very large. The shoulders from the bunkers radiate into the putting surfaces and you can use the slopes to corral the ball towards the center. However that same slope defends specific pinning locations and pushes the ball further away.  

(The par three second hole is a lovely one shotter across the wetlands. Look how the slope arches from the water to the apex atop the bunker to the low side on the right.) 

 

(The twelfth hole is a great example of the elevated concave green pads Mitchell designed. One can’t help but feel a bit jittery hitting to it. Anything hit along the edge will kick away down into the rough or sand.) 

(The thirteenth is a beautiful short par three that has the same concave design. Note how the left and right sides are lower than the center. It’s amazing how you can see the bow in the pic.) 

Walden is part of a housing community.The homes border the course on a few holes where OB is in play. The terrain is flatter than both Tanglewood and Bedford, but it sports championship length that can stretch to nearly 7200 yards. If the Cleveland Open was being held today, Walden would be an appropriate host. 

(The reachable par five fourteenth has a naturally elevated green that sits atop the ridge. The bunker protects against players bailing too far out to the right.) 

Walden is one of several courses in the southeastern suburbs. It’s a very successful club and there’s no denying the strength of the golf course. It’s on the ICPGA schedule, and probably rates the same as Lake Forest. I give Club Walden a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play). As I said in the Tanglewood blog, this is a single digit handicappers course. Average players are going to struggle with it. 

(Eighteen is possibly the best hole at Walden. Water plays all down the left with an inlet cutting across. The large green allows a low runner but has some tough pin positions that can be pushed against the bunkers. It’s a beautiful ending hole for a tough course.)