Links at Firestone Farms (Columbiana, OH)

Firestone Farms is one of my favorite Brian Huntley courses. 

(The par three fifteenth illustrates the wonderful views and natural features at Firestone Farms.)

I feel that the holes along the marsh and by the lake connects the player to nature. I personally think this is most important quality a golf course can have. Obviously golf shots are important too, but when the architect can combine both, then it becomes very special. 

The property by state route 14 is the least interesting, and unfortunately, the first four holes play in this space. Homes occupy this portion of the property, and so the golf is ordinary. 

(The short par four opener. I've always felt Huntley did a poor job designing holes in this type of landscape. It's bland.)

Things change at the driveable par four fifth. The hole plays downhill towards the marsh, and the player is given the option to play aggressively as he wants. 

(What a grand view! In the spring and summer, the wildflowers frame the green in a multitude of color.)

The marsh makes the hole. The player must think twice about firing at a back pin, and with sand guarding the front, what looks like an easy birdie on the scorecard is anything but. 

The sixth follows with an excellent par four. The intimidating drive over the marsh can be avoided by bailing out right, but it leaves an approach that is over 200 yards to the green. 

(Two excellent shots are required to make a four on six.) 

(The seventh continues the demanding shots required to make par.) 

The seventh is a par five. The marsh again demands a well struck drive. It becomes a birdie hole once that challenge is met. The eighth is a good par three notable for the silo one drives thru to get to the tee. It's an original structure that was used by Harvey Firestone. The ninth finishes the front with a hole that Pete Dye himself would have been proud of!

(How much of the water do you want to carry? That is the question, and the approach is wildly dependent on how aggressive the drive was off the tee. The green is next to the water with sand short  fronting. Par is a very good score.)

The back nine starts out by the road, and once again the golf becomes bland. Of the first four holes, only the twelfth is notable. The green is backdropped by the lake. 

(Typically a short pitch, the third shot is to a green that slopes away.) 

The fourteenth starts the home stretch, and like the front, some very good holes ensue. 

(The fourteenth green is at a diagonal angle with water fronting.) 

The fifteenth follows with an excellent par three over a corner of the lake. Then sixteen demands two long accurate shots to make par. The green has an unusual slope as the right half tilts away towards the hazard on the right. Maybe this was suppose to be a par five. My favorite hole, seventeen, is a wonderful par three played across the marsh. I love the look of the green contrasted to the surroundings. 

(Great penultimate par threes really stand out since par picks up a stroke.) 

The last hole is a long par five even the big hitters will be hard pressed to reach in two. Most will lay back short of the water hazard and hit a mid to short iron up the hill. 

(The last shot of the day. It takes two long pokes just to reach the flat sixty yards short of the green. Most folks won't have this view for their third, instead hitting a blind uphill shot.) 

Firestone Farms is blessed with some great natural features. Unfortunately, the eight holes near the road bring the course down. Ironically, this is the only Brian Huntley course to be in Golf Digest's Best New Public category. (This is my eighth Huntley course, and I feel The Quarry, Sanctuary, and Deer Ridge are better.) While Firestone Farms is off the radar for most northeast Ohioans, it's widely accepted as one of the best for folks from Pittsburgh. I give it a 5 (good). It's closer to Pittsburgh anyway, so it's perfect for them.