Lake Forest Country Club (Hudson, OH)

For many years Lake Forest was thought  to be a Herbert Strong design. Then in 2013, the club was looking to renovate the course and Richard Mandell discovered, while looking through the archives of Hudson Times and Plain Dealer, that the architect was really Tom Bendelow. 

(The grand clubhouse at Lake Forest welcomes golfers before the round.)

Bendelow is an interesting character, and is considered to be one of the founding fathers of American golf, designing more than 800 courses. His pairing with A.G. Spalding & Bros during the turn of the century saw Bendelow "stake" out numerous courses for municipalities in an effort to bring golf to the masses. Tom eventually left Spalding and when he joined American Park Builders, his designs became more challenging and strategic as his clients had bigger budgets and more expectations. 

(Many of Bendelow's greens are simply extensions of the fairway.) 

Learning that Lake Forest is a Bendelow course answers some of the questions posed by the layout. Herbert Strong was such a well established player that his designs feature heavily bunkered greens with severe contours. Lake Forest doesn't possess greens or bunkering like that. Instead many of the holes have fairways that bleed straight into the greens. The bunkering is placed to the sides should the do anything except advance forward. 

(The view from the back tee shows the main challenge of Lake Forest. Look how narrow the fairway corridor is as players prepare to hit from the middle tees.)

The playing corridors are narrow, and in some cases, extremely narrow. On the 441 yard second, the fairway between the trees was no more than twenty-five yards wide! This places total focus on accuracy, and usually results in a very long approach shot. The fourth (pic above) is 450 yards from the back tee (388 from the middle tee where players are hitting). It's amazing how little room the player has to get his tee ball in play. 

(The short par four fifth is just a drive n pitch hole, but an approach from the fairway is needed to take advantage of the back right to front left slope.) 

Lake Forest is muscular in places where most golden age courses are subtle. It has three par threes that are well over two hundred yards. Ironically, the best one is the short one that plays downhill to a small green. 

It's also a blast to play! The bunkering allows the pin to be moved to several challenging hole locations. The longer par threes are simply shots where a ball in the middle of the green is cause for celebration. The third hole is nearly 240 yards! A ball even on the fringe is a good shot! 

(The par five eighth is a beautiful tee shot. All four five pars are reachable in two. It's important to take advantage of them, especially considering how difficult the one shotters are.) 

The tenth is the one hole that stands out! 

It's 338 yards from the back tee and is driveable if one can carry it 270+ yards. I think it's even more challenging trying to figure out the landing zone and carry distance. 

A perfect drive leaves this angle and view to the green. The fairway slopes towards the water, so the player must be able to hit a quality shot from a sidehill lie. It has to be one of the best holes in northeast Ohio! 

(Like most golden age courses, Lake Forest has been modified by other architects. The greenside bunkers are a different style here at the twelfth.) 

(The uphill par five fourteenth has a hazard that crosses the fairway, and makes this 500 yard par five a little bit more thought provoking.) 

(The 401 yard fifteenth reminds me of the NLE Aurora CC second. The boundary line is down the left with the green sloping towards the front right. Good golf hole!)

Lake Forest is one of the few courses that ends with a par three. As stated earlier, three of the four one shotters are over two hundred yards, and the last hole requires a well struck long iron to make par. 

(Eighteen is 214/180 yards downhill to a green that sits alone atop the hill. It's such a good hole that I think many are okay with it being eighteen. Notice the great views across the property. Lake Forest has taken out many trees.) 

Lake Forest demands good shot after good shot. There's not many breather holes, and the key to a good score is taking advantage of the par fives. Besides being tight off the tee, the greens can be vexing, both in slope and speed. I saw more short putts missed. Lapse of concentration can easily cost a stroke. In terms of the private club scene around northeast Ohio, it falls into the "B" category. I give it a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play). I thought it would be the best course in the ICPGA (Inter-Club Public Golf Assc) but that honor goes to Silver Lake down the road.