Ashland Brookside Golf Course (Ashland, OH)

Typically any drive to play golf in Ashland would lead straight to The Country Club of Ashland, a place I feel is one of the Ohio's top ten public courses. However, a very good golfer who I play with on occasion was raving about the greens at Brookside and suggested playing it. So I took a chance and went to see it. 

(The par five thirteenth rolls beautifully towards the green. At 566 yards, it takes three precise shots to set up a birdie.)

Admittedly, I was a little hesitant because Jack Kidwell designed the course, and I've never seen or played a great Kidwell course. He s called the "father of Ohio golf" because he designed many tracks throughout the state, but usually his work is average or slightly above. When you're building courses to promote the game and grow it, then you have to make sure people are enjoying themselves. 

(The green on the par five first illustrates Kidwell's biggest strength, a well bunkered, well contoured putting surface.)

The back nine at Brookside occupies the better part of the property. The front nine slopes towards the clubhouse while flattening out by the road. 

(The green of the par four second.)

Most of the front nine was bland with the uphill par four third being the best hole on this side. The green actually sloped away and to the rear. 

(The tee shot on the 397 yard seventh is set behind the pond...

....the approach to a green open in the front. A rear pin is the toughest to attack.)

The back nine was more rolling and had better holes. Besides the aforementioned thirteenth, the sixteenth is a really good uphill par three, similar to the third at Sylvania CC. 

(The 165 yard sixteenth plays nearly two club lengths longer, more depending on the wind....

....the view of the par four fifteenth from sixteen green.)

The only other hole worth mentioning is the eighteenth. From the white tees it's only 298 yards with this view

(The valley in front of the tee is really not in play and the green is possibly driveable...

....from the back tee it's 379 yards with a big carry over water and rough to reach the plateau. The valley that wasn't in play from the whites looks pretty good from the blues!) 

Ashland Brookside's best attribute is it's commitment to junior golf. The Ashland high school team plays here too. As much as I knock Kidwell's designs, they do promote golf, both playability and affordability. For the serious golfer, the country club is the place to go, but Brookside is a nice anmenity for the locals. I give it a 3 (average)(worth driving 15-30 min).