Buhl Park Country Club (Sharon, PA)

Formerly known as Sharon Country Club, Buhl Park is one of four courses owned by Avalon Resort. Tom Bendelow designed it in 1907, and if pressed to describe it, I’d say it’s like Joe Pesci in Goodfellas, short, mean, and no personality.

(The 221 yard par three eighteenth is a no nonsense hole that is all carry to the green with a tad bit of fairway just short. No round is concluded until one hits the tee shot and has avoided the water. A par is a really good score.) 

Buhl has tight treelined fairways and small well protected greens. The word small may not accurately describe just how tiny some of the putting surfaces are. They’re difficult to hit from the fairways, and if one starts spraying it, they can become downright maddening to approach. This theme is consistent throughout the round, and the lack of real movement in the land makes the design repetitive, and in a way, unimaginative. I kept expecting more, but it never came. The par three fourth was the only hole with a shot over a significant landform. 

(The 143 yard par three fourth is over a valley between a narrow gap in the trees…

…the small green is guarded only by a single trap in the front right. The gap between the trees is more of an influence as certain pins may be inaccessible for those who can’t work it both ways.) 

The emphasis on accuracy makes Buhl Park a difficult course. From the tips, it’s rated a half stroke over par even though it’s less than 6400 yards. It reminded me of Findlay Country Club. Many of the entrances are open, but there’s false fronts, and even significant slopes that guide the ball away from the green. Ironically, it must be pointed out, I saw more fronting bunkers here than on several Bendelow courses I’ve seen in the past. Getting an angle or an alleyway to run the ball on is the strategy of choice.  

(The 410 yard par four second has a sliver of fairway to chase the ball on. Most of the green is behind the left bunker, and it’s on a upper tier.) 

(The 437 yard par four eleventh is a little wider yet anything not advancing from the proper angle will likely find one of the green side traps.) 

One of my favorite features of Buhl Park were the tee boxes. Each one was beautifully landscaped and added a touch of ambiance to the holes. With the flat terrain, additions like this go a long way. 

(It’s not just the flowers and shrubbery that stand out, but the woodwork too…

…I wish more places took the initiative to bring color to their course.) 

Avalon keeps Buhl Park in nice shape, however, I’d like to see the greens running at a faster pace. This would make it really come alive, and the little greens would have some serious bite to them. It would also be a huge improvement if they could thin out the trees, or at the very least, cut back the branches. 

(The 190 yard par three sixth is a very narrow target with a severe back to front pitch…
…meanwhile the 153 yard par three fourteenth has one of the smallest greens I’ve ever seen. Par on either of these is holes is well done.) 

I imagine Avalon bought Buhl Park because the owner is from the Shenango Valley. The park, which the course resides in, is a beloved amenity that the whole community takes great pride in. Bringing the country club back to prominence had to be an undertaking that Ron Klingle took as a challenge. 

(The 312 yard par four thirteenth is a good birdie opportunity. Note how there is no opening for a running shot. The two bunkers force a high spinning shot. In today’s world, the longest hitters can reach those traps and some I’m sure could reach the putting surface.) 

(The 343 yard par four fifteenth is arguably the best hole on the course. A shallow valley cuts across the fairway and the player must decide whether to lay back or hit it short of the creek. The green is offset, so the approach must be pinpoint.) 

Avalon has four courses and Buhl Park is the most affordable. One can make their own conclusion from that fact. It’s a solid course even if it’s recurrent. I give it a 4 (above average)(worth driving 30-45 minutes to play). 

Fox Den Golf Course (Stow, OH)

Northeast Ohio golfers are fortunate to have so many municipal courses to play and it seems like the eastern communities all have their own. Cuyahoga Falls has Brookledge, Hudson has Ellsworth, Twinsburg has Gleneagles, and Solon has Grantwood. Together, these four courses are a mainstay on many traveling leagues schedule. That list however might expand to five since Stow is investing in their course Fox Den.

I’ve never heard anyone talk about this course until I seen it on the Suburban Ladies Golf Association schedule, the league my girlfriend plays in. She commented that it was the type of place that I would like, so it made my list of courses to check out. What a pleasant surprise it turned out to be! It reminded me of a mix between Maplecrest and Skyland Pines. It’s a fun course with a good blend of easy holes and hard ones. 

(There’s nothing like a well landscaped tee box and a short par four to make one smile on the first hole. The old Maplecrest (NLE) was the best at this. Every tee box was beautifully done. Fox Den does a nice job here.) 

Like three of its brethren courses, Fox Den plays to a par 71 and has five par threes. I find this tidbit fascinating because I think most municipal courses have a limited amount of land, and this possibly allows the best routing. At Fox Den, they’re the strength of the course. From the back tees, the shortest is 181 yards and the longest is 217. Golfers will find the fifth, twelfth, and seventeenth to be particularly engaging. All have really good green sites that require long irons or hybrids. 

(This view from the sixth tee shows just how narrow the opening is on the 197/167 yard par three fifth. The proper shot is a high draw that comes in from the right and doesn’t tangle with the traps.) 

(The 217/193 yard par three twelfth has a shallow swale just short of the green. The long hitter who can flight his ball to the putting surface has an advantage over the player trying to run it in…
…the crowned nature of the front is fickle, and can shed the ball as easily as it can accept it…
…any type of hook is in the water unless one is fortunate enough to catch the sand. A par on this hole will gain a stroke or win a match more times than not.)

(The 196/164 yard par three seventeenth is my favorite hole on the course. The elevated green has two bunkers guarding the front with a tongue of fairway between them. It’s all carry as the golfer tries once again to hit a quality long iron or hybrid. It’s a first rate hole!) 

Fox Den has plenty of easy holes to ease the burden of the par threes. All the par fives should be birdie opportunities and the longer player can even get an eagle putt on one or two of them. The par fours however have a lot of variety with short ones and long ones combining to give the player different looks. My favorite was the eighth which plays 443 yards from the back tees. The downhill tee shot is followed by a long iron over a rolling fairway. I like that most of the fairways bleed into the greens. Bouncing it in or running it on from a distance is ideal for the juniors, seniors, and lady golfers who frequent Fox Den. This keeps a quality pace of play too. 

(The 371/334 yard par four sixteenth has a demanding drive over a valley to a rolling fairway. The approach shot has several options as both high and low will be accepted by the green.) 

(The 414/397 yard par four fifteenth has a lovely green situated on the other side of the valley. While the low handicap can flight his ball to the green, weaker players are still allowed the benefit of running it up the hill. While bunkering would make this a more demanding hole, the architect declined for the sake of simplicity and playability.) 

Fox Den was designed by Frank Schniedel in 1966. Stow took over in 2006, and invested some money into making some additions. Having just seen it, I cannot say exactly what was changed. However, what is there now looks good. My only complaint is the width of the fairways. The city needs to bite the bullet and expand them. They’re too narrow in my opinion and making them wider would make the course more enjoyable and the pace of play faster. 

(Between the ninth and eighteenth green are two man made ponds separated by the cart path. I felt they were out of place. The one on eighteen is behind the green on the right. They’re both outlined by raised bricks and a ball rolling in can actually carom off and go towards the green.) 

Fox Den fits the municipal profile well. It has a driving range and a good practice facility. I wouldn’t  be surprised to hear more about this course in the next few years, especially if Stow continues to make improvements. I know in the Cuyahoga Golf Association, new places to play are always being looked at, and I believe Fox Den is worthy of consideration. I give it a 4 (above average)(worth driving 30-45 minutes to play). 

Highland Park Blue Course (Highland Hills, OH)

Two years after the Red, Sandy Alves returned in 1929 and designed the Blue. It’s a continuous eighteen holes, and has thirteen par fours, two par fives, and three par threes. I would compare it to the Scarlet Course at Ohio State as one of the longest I’ve seen from the white tees. Seven of the par fours play over 410 yards! 

The Cleveland Open was held at the Blue in 1964 and 1965. Tony Lema won the first year, holing a 15 foot birdie putt on the first extra playoff hole to edge out Arnold Palmer. The following year Dan Sikes fired a final round 66, canning a 35 footer on eighteen to best Tony Lema. Back then the Cleveland Open had the largest purse on tour, a whopping $100,000! (My how times have changed) The best players on tour showed up and the Blue more than held it’s own. 

(The 385/379 yard par four opening hole plays down to the creek before climbing uphill to a semi blind green. Only the top of the flagstick is visible, and the player is best advised to hit one more club. A par is a good way to start the round.)  

I would guess the Blue does a half the rounds that the Red sees. Besides not being able to play nine holes, it’s length dissuades many from even attempting it. The city needs to invest in new tee boxes to make it shorter and more enjoyable. During my round, I hit three wood five times on my approaches to par fours. I hit my hybrids on five others, and only three times did I hit an iron. There are very few birdie attempts and often times a good short game is needed to salvage par. 

(The 377/365 yard par four fourth has a cool grass depression fronting the green. Sandy Alves elected to leave the hole bunkerless and let the golfer attack accordingly. The grass is very thick in this natural hazard, and recovery shots are daunting should one find himself in it. I think it’s a cool hole.) 

The Blue does have a nice feel to it. While the Red took up most of the property by the creek, the Blue inhabits the open, gently rolling field in the middle. (Highland shares the land with a cemetery) Many of the greens are open in the front with the fairway extending into them. The large putting surfaces have subtle breaks as well as a back to front pitch. It has a classic look that many associate with older courses. 

(The 544/515 yard par five seventh plays from an elevated tee box to an elevated green. The creek crosses the fairway ensuring this is a three shot hole. The main danger is being above the hole on the approach. The putts are very quick.) 

For recent history, the PGA National Minority Championship was founded at Highland in 1987. It started off with eight teams fighting for the championship and has grown to over thirty competing each year. Before the PGA took it to Florida, Highland hosted the tournament for ten years. How appropriate considering the first black man on the PGA tour, Charlie Sifford, called Highland home. 

(The 195/189 yard par three eleventh is terrific. There’s plenty of fairway to hit a low running shot onto the green, but the left side is covered by a deep bunker…
…this side view reminds me of Langford and Moreau. The green is pushed up with a near vertical bank guarded by a bunker at the bottom.)

It seems like the pandemic has pushed the city to invest more into Highland. The Northeast Ohio Sewer District renovated the creek that flows through, and took out the stone retainment wall before widening it with a buffer zone. The end result is beautiful, and golfers are privy to a wide array of wildlife that calls the new habitat home. 

(The eighteenth on the Blue can compete with Pine Hills as the best ending hole in the city. It’s a 448/433 yard par four that has a creek crossing the fairway at a diagonal…
…at one time the creek was just ten feet wide, so long hitters had the option to carry it at its shortest distance up the right side, but now that the buffer zone has widen it, the player has to layup off the tee…
…the approach will play between 175-210 yards. It’s all uphill to a back to front pitched green. A large mound short of the green will propel balls onto the putting surface. It’s an excellent way to end the day!) 

If the city can continue to improve Highland, then maybe it’ll start to enter the consciousness of local golfers outside of its immediate area. For now they’re more content on giving people an opportunity to play the game. The Blue is championship caliber golf course, and if the city ever got it to Metroparks level, I think they’d see an explosion of new players. I give the Blue a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play). 

(Note the course rating from the blue tees is over par. Considering it’s slope is only 120, I think that’s quite impressive.) 

Highland Park Red Course (Highland Hills, OH)

It is really exciting to see Highland Park back to its old self. The city of Cleveland had been neglecting its stewardship, which is a shame considering Highland is in one of the best locations a municipal course could ever want. It’s surrounded by a residential community with a main thoroughfare chocked full of white collar businesses. The massive green space accommodates two courses named Red and Blue. The Red has the advantage of possessing two nine hole loops while the Blue is a continuous eighteen holes. Since most folks are only playing nine holes, the Red absorbs most of the play. 

(The 380/372 yard tenth is a wonderful par four that flexes its muscle. A creek crosses the fairway at the bottom of the hill forcing most to layup and hit a long iron uphill. The long hitter does have the option to carry the hazard but the fairway starts making its ascent at that point. The green is large with a good deal of slope. A four is always a winner here.) 

Sandy Alves designed the Red course in 1927. Like it’s famous neighbor, the topography is undulating with rolling hills found throughout. The rolling hills gives the course it’s identity, and Alves varied the distances, so one is constantly playing over or into them at various lengths. Blind shots and semi blind shots will keep you guessing the amount of weight needed to trundle the ball onto a green or climb a hill. For the club level player, it’s a fine examination of golfing skill. 

(Similar to the tenth, the 341/315 yard par four second has a downhill tee shot followed by an uphill approach. This time however one is abled to carry the creek and hit a short iron. One of my favorite stories happened here during my time playing with the Night Train, a group of guys who played a daily afternoon skins game. A particular gentleman claimed to have driven the green the previous week from the white tees just over 300 yards. Our other playing companion didn’t believe him, so both men gave me $100 to hold as the bet was ten balls to drive the green…

…as this picture shows, the key is hitting the drive short right and letting the firmness propel it left towards the green. The grass gets a little thicker the further up one hits it, which is exactly where the gentleman was landing his balls. He lost.) 

The Red has an unusual routing and sports only two par 5’s and three par 3’s. While birdie is there for the taking on the par fives, the player is not so fortunate on the par threes. The second is 211 yards while sixteen is a bulky 223 yards. On both holes, a hybrid or even a three wood is the club from the tee. For a course that tips out at 6322, these two holes will shun any notion as this being easy. 

(The 396/386 yard par four twelfth has an upsweep in front of the green. Coming up short will stymie the ball, and send it scuttling down the hill. It’s a terrific hole.) 

(The 374/361 yard par four thirteenth has a green that lies just over the brow of the hill. The play is to land it thirty yards short and let it run down to the putting surface. Being long is ok since that leaves an uphill chip, but being short is a very challenging.) 

The variety of par fours the Red possesses is actually impressive. The shortest is 272 yards while the longest is 407 yards. With thirteenth par fours, you’d think they would become repetitive, but they never do, and that is a credit to Sandy Alves. The routing uses the terrain beautifully, and the ability to drive the ball over the hills or a creek makes it engaging from start to finish. The greens slope both towards the player and away from him. At the short 272 yard sixth, it pitches from front right to back left. You would be amazed at how testy the pitch is and how often you get a cranky sidehill putt that makes four a satisfying score. 

(At the 407 yard par four eighth, the player needs a solid drive to the crest of the hill to have a view of the putting surface. The green is in a shallow bowl with a false front. The player can use both the left and right sides to kick the ball on but the ball needs to be working with the slope. It’s a first rate hole and the author’s favorite!) 

I have a soft spot for the Red. In my early 30s, it was my home course for a few years. I’d go there a little before 8pm and would get in nine holes often times with the last two playing in the dark. It was therapeutic hitting the ball and knowing where it just by the sound and feel of it. 

(The 352/345 yard fifteenth is a fine hole with the creek down the right and crossing the fairway. Typically just a short iron approach the green is tilted enough to make birdie a good score.) 

I’m hesitant to vouch for Highland. The city just doesn’t consistently maintain it at a high level. That may be changing since the pandemic has brought a whole new group of people to the game. The numbers were up last year, and the course looks good. Regardless, the architecture is top notch. I give the Red a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play). 

(The 407 yard par four finishing hole plays slightly downhill. The bunkerless green is pitched back to front  and requires one to be below the flag. There’s a lot of tricky putts especially near the edges. It’s a classic eighteenth hole.) 

* For those wondering who is Highland’s famous neighbor, Canterbury CC is a block away.