Pine Lakes Golf Club (Hubbard, OH)

Pine Lakes Golf Club is a throwback. The small greens insist the approach comes from the fairway, has the proper angle, and is hit the appropriate distance. Usually small greens play larger because the surrounding terrain funnels balls onto them or one is able to putt their ball from off the green. When I played Harbour Town a few years ago, a tour stop noted specifically for small greens, those two features were prevalent. At Pine Lakes, the small greens play small! 

(The false front at the fifth makes the green play extremely small! With a short iron or wedge in your hand, it's very common to see the ball spin off the front and down the fairway.)

Pine Lakes came highly recommended from my league president who grew up in Youngstown. He was the one who prodded me to play Oak Tree, a course I really enjoyed playing this spring. His eyes lit up when he talked about it, so I knew I had to check the place out! 

(The opening hole is a par five that is reachable in two...

....the green is steeply pitched forward and the only place to miss is just short. Anywhere else and a five is a fortunate score.) 

There's an ambiance as soon as you pull into the parking lot. The clubhouse is a small little building with a metal bag stand out front, but it's offset, so one and ten are directly in your vision. The course is in great shape so it pops out at you. I was chomping at the bit before I stepped out of the car. 

(The second hole is tighter off the tee. It's a severe green too so be in the fairway.)

(Um...the third hole is a short par three, but I'm not sure how I feel bout the "lane" to the green. Water is short right, and the pine trees block your view of the left side. It's unnerving.) 

(As you can tell in the pic, not only does the fourth green slope to the front, but it sheds balls off to the sides as well.) 

(The sixth is a long par three whose green is framed by trees and sand. The front entrance is open to a running shot, but it's not very wide.)

Brian Huntley did some remodeling on a few holes. A couple of them stood out since the greens are so large, but there were a few that I couldn't tell. 

(The eighth is the longest par four on the front nine. The best drive draws around the pine in fairway....

...the green is hour glass shaped with the lower portion in the rear. Being on the left side of the fairway will give the player an angle, otherwise the approach is hit directly over the wetlands.) 

(The ninth is an uphill par five. It's one of the new holes, but the green looks similar to the other complexes throughout the front.) 

The back nine was altered the most by Huntley. It flows beautifully until it gets to what was suppose to be an addition to the housing development, then there's an awkwardly green to tee walk. But the tenth starts it off with a fun par five. 

(The reachable par five tenth has water fronting the green. The fairway short of the green would be a great way to attack the pin in the pic!) 

(Twelve is one of my favorite holes on the course. The natural vegetation frames the moment as the player hits to possibly the smallest green on the course.) 

Thirteen is the only green elevated above the fairway. I'm not sure if it is new, but it's a very fine hole!

(The hazard fronting the tee continues down the left side at the thirteenth. A good drive leaves a mid to short iron approach.) 

(The view from the driving zone into the green at the par five fourteenth....

....the green is tiny and the bunker fronting doesn't leave the player much room to land it on. Pitch shots are just as difficult as the ball has to be nipped perfectly to bite by the hole.) 

(The new sixteenth replaced the old punchbowl green. It's a beautiful hole with several good flag locations. All the original greens have been little oval targets, and then here it's just a massive one. It doesn't blend in.) 

(The seventeenth is new too. It's actually driveable, but playing corridor is narrow. Laying up leaves the best odds of making birdie. Note the old green just in front of the tee box. This used to be eleven and played the other way.) 

(The longest par four is saved til the end! It plays uphill and requires two strong shots to reach in regulation. No sand is needed to defend par as a false front and  a tricky green combine to make this the toughest hole of the day!)

Add Pine Lakes to the list of places to play in Youngstown! This region of the state continues to impress me with it's public golf. (I think the course is so good, I wish the CGA would put it on the schedule. It's perfect for the players in our association.) The architecture is so simple, it's beautiful. The course is in great shape too. I give it a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour). This place is a hidden gem. With Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Akron all being within an hour, it deserves to be better known.