Millstone Hills Golf Club (New London, OH)

This past summer, when the CNCGA visited Ridge Top, I commented that we needed more courses like this, specifically as a referendum on the price point, as it seems $65-$70 is fast becoming the norm for a Saturday morning tee time. Millstone Hills is a mom n pop do it yourself course that precisely fits this description. It’s location in New London, 15 miles south of Wakeman on route 60, places it just on the line of acceptable driving distance. 

There’s always a few awkward holes that either make or break one’s perception of these countryside courses, and at Millstone, the par five third and fifth holes are the culprits. The third has a pond bisecting the fairway that forces a silly layup (from the white tees) unless you can carry it 210 yards. From the back tees, it’s a more respectable hybrid/long iron tee shot.  Easy fix is playing the gold tees short of the water and making it a 340 yard par four. I might add that it’s a damn good hole from here too. The fifth is a reverse C 120 degree dogleg left par five. Getting the proper angles is the key. The square green atop the hill is severely pitched forward. Both my playing partner and I had decent par attempts but had to squander a shot getting there. If you can overlook these two holes then the rest of the course is pretty solid. 

(The 485/430 yard par five third has a saucer like green that demands an exact approach shot. Since one is forced to layup off the tee, this could mean anything from 160-120 yards.) 

(The 407/396 yard par four sixth has a turtle back green that will prove to be difficult to hold in regulation. Thankfully an open apron allows a shot along the ground to run on. Four will be a good score.) 

Owner Frank Cooke designed the first nine holes in 1968 and his son Stuart designed the second nine in 1972. I love how they used the old pushup method to make greens, injecting them with false fronts and slopes on the side. The key to a good round are the five short par fours (7,9,10,12,15). All of them have fun greens that reward strong short iron play. Get a little careless on them and you’ll find yourself with difficult two putts. The island green par three sixteenth is the hole everyone looks forward to playing. A covered bridge on the right adds to the charm as anything short will clang off the roof. 

(The 141 yard par three sixteenth is a gorgeous hole…
…be careful not to be too aggressive as the back of the green comes up quickly. The bridge is definitely in play and so is the one coming over the water…
…my playing partner’s ball carried over the bridge and clanged loudly off the metal guardrails. I couldn’t help but chuckle.) 

Millstone must be becoming more popular because they’ve extended twelve, which is now played to a peninsula green, created a new par three at thirteen, and seemed to be adding a lot of stone work to shore up some of the greens against the water, eighteen being the biggest project. It maybe a sleeper course now, I’ve never heard of it, but improvements like this might start resonating with golfers further away than Norwalk and Ashland. I definitely enjoyed the course and give it a firm 4 (above average)(worth driving 30-45 minutes to play). 

(The 176/143 yard par three eighth is all carry over a pond to a two tiered green. Note the beautiful stone wall that lines the green.) 

[we played the white tees at 5,950 yards. It was a brisk Saturday morning in the high 40s and the dew drenched greens made the putting hard to gauge. By the time we made the turn, the putting surfaces had dried up and we’re running a bit quicker. Both Al and I had good birdie chances but we never were able to get the speed and lines matched up.]

(The 370/352 yard eighteenth hole has a semi peninsula green where the front half is completely surrounded by water. The biggest challenge is driving the ball far enough up the hill to get a view of the green. For the shorter player, it is a blind uphill shot. Four is a good score.)