J. E. Goodpark (Akron, OH)

I was reading a thread on golfclubatlas about courses with the most upside potential, and I firmly believe that Goodpark, with a tree renovation program and new bunkering, would instantly shoot up into Ohio’s top ten public golf course list. It would be the everyday man’s Firestone. It is littered with stout par fours and massive, ball busting par threes. The giant specimen trees that line each hole exude a character rarely seen on public courses. 

(The 222/205 yard par three ninth plays through an avenue of trees to a circular green with a lone bunker guarding the front right and a ridge that splits the putting surface into two distinct sections. Hitting it in regulation is often times a win, but beware against being complacent with the putting.) 

(The 413/375 yard opening introduces the course and its demands right away. A cut off the tee will put one in perfect position to start the day with a par. The white tees are left of the big tree and straightens out the hole considerably.) 

(The 395/379 yard par four third doglegs right to a green nestled between the trees. Any ball not in the fairway must navigate the trees that block the outer angles. The subtle putting surface does not give up three very often.)

(The 178/130 yard par three fourth has a dual green system where the pin fluctuates between the upper and lower greens. The lower one is used most of the time. It’s a small oval circle that slopes hard to the front. The upper green deserves to be used more as it’s a better shot and brings more of the natural features into play.)

Goodpark is a strong test of driving. The holes dogleg in both directions and the golfer is asked multiple times to control his lines off the tee. Many consider the fifth to be the start of Goodpark, and the next seven holes are all tough pars. It’s not unusual to see hybrids or long irons being the club of choice to reach these holes in regulation. Any misguided drive that goes off the fairway will automatically put one in scramble mode. The green complexes are rather simple and don’t overwhelm with complex challenges. This aspect allows players with good short games to salvage par more frequently. 

(The 429/417 yard par four eighth doglegs left in sweeping fashion. The drive must stay on the outside to have a straightforward shot into the green. Those who try to cut the corner might find a few limbs blocking their angle.) 

(This view from behind the forward tee illustrates the demanding nature of the tee shots at Goodpark. The 441/430 yard par four tenth often takes three shots to reach the green. The big tree on the inside corner tends to be prevents folks from cutting off any distance. It’s a beast!) 

(The 422/378 yard par four eleventh plays along the boundary line to a green on a slight rise. The two bunkers guarding the front left see a lot of action. After this hole, the next six all have short iron approaches to the green.) 

Historically every good player from northeast Ohio has walked the fairways of Goodpark. So many great tournaments have been played here! The Summit County Amateur is held here annually. The Junior PGA Championship was another one. It’s also the home course for Tiretown Golf Association, the largest predominantly African American golf league in America. 

(Akron keeps Goodpark in very nice shape, and the “walk in the park” feel makes this a must play for all northeast Ohio golfers.) 

(The 448/427 yard par four eighteenth is treelined all the way to green on both sides. A hard draw gain some extra yardage and possibly crest the plateau…

…usually it’s a long iron or hybrid approach shot. A bunker guards the front left. There is room to run the ball onto the green. Looking back from the green, one be can see all the gorgeous hardwoods that make this a unique experience. A four here will win many matches.) 

Goodpark was designed in 1928 by Bertie Wey. He also designed the South Course at Firestone before RTJ sr renovated it. One will find many similarities between both courses. It’s solid and can hold its own against any caliber of player. I give it a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play). With renovation work, it has the potential to bump up one point easily. 

Wheeling Country Club (Wheeling, WV)

Wheeling is is a well visited place for most northeast Ohioans. Besides dog racing and gambling, it sports a wonderful state park with two golf courses at Oglebay. Unbeknown to most is a hidden gem named Wheeling Country Club, the oldest golf course in West Virginia, halfway up the hill before one gets to Speidel. This private course does reciprocal play with guests staying at the resort. (Oakhurst lays claim to being the oldest in West Virginia but it laid dormant for many years until it was restored) 

Devereux Emmet designed Wheeling in 1902 on the sides of a large hill. With no heavy machinery to move dirt around, one is treated to a true lay of the land course. You will be stunned by the severity of the slope and the skill it takes to work the ball off the sidehill lies. The greens are small and you can see how they dug into the hill and dragged the dirt to create them. The bunkering is super cool and Devereux placed a trap on the high ground above the green to thwart players from bouncing it on from the side. 

(The 498 yard par five first hole plays to rounded fairway…

…the green is reachable in two shots although a couple traps guard it. It’s a benign start that gives one a chance to snag a stroke early.) 

(The 290 yard par four second is downhill and blind off the tee. A roping draw can ride the hill all the way down…

…the two traps guarding the high side stop any ball from meeting the putting surface. The staircase style feature is a cool look.) 

(The 382 yard par four fifth plays across a severely sloped fairway. My drive hit up top and rolled all the back to the left, losing distance as it did…
…the approach is then uphill to a spacious green. I had 200 yards in for my second shot and never came close to hitting it. Note the upper land above the green is bunkered like several other holes.) 

The course has undergone some reworking. The clubhouse was originally what is now the Stratford Springs Restaurant. (One sees it on the thirteenth and fourteenth holes) A land swap in 1980 is responsible for where the new clubhouse is today. Fred Garbin did the work when the course had to be altered. Devereux‘s greens are small and Garbin’s are larger. Garbin did a lot of work in the tri-state area of Ohio-PA-WV. 

(The downhill 195 yard par three sixth is one of five par threes, four over 190. Hitting long irons or hybrids is key to parring these holes. Left is a big no-no.) 

(The 165 yard par three ninth has one of the smallest greens you’ll see anywhere. A steep falloff on the left almost forces you to err towards the bank on the right. This is the shortest par three on the course but plays the hardest. The water on the left is more in play than you think.) 

(The 206 yard par three twelth plays downhill in a corner of the property. The ladies tee is directly to the right where it’s only 140 yards. The men’s tee is actually backwards from eleven green and makes me wonder which part of the course was changed to get that walk, especially since most of the Devereux design had tees just yards from the previous green.) 

Wheeling Country Club has hosted several big events including a few West Virginia Opens and even a PGA Tour event. In 1936, it held the Wheeling Centennial Open won by Billy Burke at 206 (-4). There were five eventual major champions at that event. In 1948 Wheeling held its first West Virginia Open won by Slammin’ Sam Snead with a 268 total. It was Snead’s fourth West Virginia Open victory. His 268 (-12) featured a first round 63. (For the record, Snead won 17 West Virginia Opens!!) It held another West Virginia Open in 1982 won by Zanesville CC pro Scott Davis with a 212 (+2) total. His final round 67 was enough to overcome Linden Meade for a two stroke victory. 

(The 495 yard par five thirteenth originally was the finishing hole. A roping draw off the tee will ride the slope to bring the green within range…

…a cross bunker forty yards short of the green prevents balls from bounding onto the putting surface…
…this view from fourteen shows how the terrain drops off from the side of the green into the bunkers. This is a nice view of the former clubhouse.) 

(The 368 yard par four fifteenth plays downhill to a bulbous fairway. The long hitter can get to the top but most will be behind it…
…the green is crazy small especially if your approach is blind. Thankfully the house serves as a good aiming point. Note OB left and long.) 

(The 330 yard par four seventeenth is a short dogleg left. After laying up to the turn, one has a pitch into a small green. The concave surface has a false front and is well bunkered.) 

Wheeling is just over 6000 yards but it plays much harder than the slope and course rating supposedly say.  The long par three by themselves will prove to be tough pars. Overall the round is about the topography and how one handles the variety of shots in such a setting. Being on the same mountain as Oglebay, comparisons will undoubtedly be part of that process and Wheeling compares favorably. It’s a good golf course. I give it a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play). 

(The 365 yard par four eighteenth doglegs right in a cape style fashion. It’s only a hybrid or metal wood to hit the beginning of the fairway…

…if one wants a short iron approach then they must challenge the trees off the tee with driver…
…the green is very receptive with a short iron in hand. A conservative tee shot leaves a considerably longer yardage and is a really tough approach.)

[I played with my friend Missy who is the golf coach for John Carroll’s women’s team. Rich, the GM, is the golf coach of the mens team at Wheeling University. It was fun listening to them talk since they knew many of the same people. In fact, half of his team was from Mentor, and they played baseball with her son. Small world! I shot a respectable 79 but couldn’t keep up with my playing partner who carded a very good 76. It reminded me of the old days when she was the number 1 at Michigan and routinely shot mid to low seventies!]

Pilgrim’s Run Golf Club (Pierson, MI)

Several of my objections were answered when I read Pilgrim’s Run backstory. The owner let six of his employees each design three holes, and then had Mike DeVries piece them together for an eighteen hole course. If he only knew DeVries was going to be one of the hottest architects in the world twenty years later, then maybe he would’ve let him come up with his own ideas. As is, the course only has three par threes which saddles it with a par 73 and the last two holes are short par fours. 

When I pulled onto the drive, I was taken aback by how wooded the property was. It instantly felt like I was looking at Forest Dunes in Roscommon. It had a spacious clubhouse, an excellent driving range (the short grass extending from the tee for short shots was new to me!) and was beautifully manicured. My friends and I have talked before about that vibe you get when you know you’re somewhere special. I was getting that here. The few holes I could see looked awesome. It was a great first impression. 

(The 550/519 yard opening hole is a serpentine par five that reminded me of Blackwolf Run River’s par five that plays on the water. Here, a few well placed trees and a second shot through the gap over sand is the challenge…
…if you’re not careful then a view like this will make you wish you’d been more aggressive off the tee. This pine tree is a huge nuisance but it’s skinny enough where you can still hit a shot onto the green even if you can’t aim at the flag.) 

(The 434/366 yard par four second doglegs left and plays to a green set against water. A ridge coming off the rear right separates the green into two sections…

…this view shows just how divided the two areas are from each other. A draw can use the slope to release to the left side.) 

(The 498/483 yard par five sixth is a great risk reward hole. The central bunker gives players multiple options off the tee. Driving over it or even by it gives a player a chance to reach it in two…
…the remaining fairway curves around the sand so the longer hitter must still challenge the difficult line to reach it in two shots…
…a mound and upper shelf makes this a testing pitch. It’s a good birdie hole!) 

(The 225/191 yard par three seventh is guarded by wetlands to left and a bunker to right. It’s elevated enough to force a flighted ball onto the putting surface.)

(The 369/331 yard par four eighth has an elevated “L” shaped green who’s back left pin has sucker written all over it. Not one bunker is needed to defend this small target. It forces players to control the spin of their wedges.) 

Every hole at Pilgrim’s Run is isolated in its own corridor. It has a real up north look to it. There is plenty of short grass to keep it in play, but DeVries has some contoured greens that rewards getting the right angle. This is very evident on the front and  a pair of excellent par fives showcases this philosophy. I love the playability of the course which keeps play moving even when it’s adding strokes to your scorecard. While the front nine has some really good holes that require well thought out shots, the back nine loses the pressure of obtaining those angles with a less emphatic routing. There was less pressure to drive the ball well and more pressure on putting. I was disappointed in the ending. Seventeen is a mediocre short par four. And the eighteenth is a driveable short par four that reminds me of Golden Tee where all the finishing holes have eagle possibilities. One really can’t put that on DeVries because he was just coagulating the the hodgepodge designs of six amateurs. 

(The 560/526 yard par five thirteenth gracefully doglegs left off the tee…

…a well placed layup will leave this view to an elevated green. The slope left of the bunker will funnel the ball onto the green. A far right pin is a tougher proposition to handle.) 

(The 173/155 yard par three fifteenth is preened on the top of a spine with bunkers guarding every miss. A swale in the middle is a bit much for the author’s taste. In my view it’s a little too precise a shot…

…this view shows how steep the terrain is should one miss it pin high to the right.) 

(The 454/412 yard par four sixteenth is a long two shotter with water pinching in at the bunker line…

…the approach is hit to a green surrounded by short grass and a bunker to the right. I’ve read national pundits critique the decision not to push it against the hazard.) 

(The 358/322 yard par four eighteenth is an interesting hole. For the shorter hitter, the only true option is laying back behind the bunkers. The longer player can take it straight at the green as long as he make the carry. When it’s firm, driving the green is in play. While fun on paper, it gives too big of an advantage to the long hitter.) 

Pilgrim’s Run is often times seen as a top twenty public course in Michigan. The conditioning is top shelf! It’s a great value and cements the southwestern region of Michigan as an affordable guys trip. I wish it finished stronger and had that extra par three. Obviously that’s a personal preference. I give it a 6 (very good)(worth driving two hours to play).