Medina Country Club (Medina, OH)

The next course I want to discuss from the past is near and dear to my heart. Medina Country Club was the home course for Cleveland State University when I was on the golf team. We were required to break 80 from the tips, something that I was never able to do. The coach gave me a yardage book, and I studied it intently thinking I could plot my way around, but 81 was the best I could do. 

(The 220/180 yard par three fifth is a demanding hole. The left half of the green was always my target as a miss to the right brought  double bogey into play. The hole itself is in a beautiful setting, and is first class.) 

Medina Country Club has 27 holes with the Blue and Green nines making up the championship course. It has 5 par fives, 5 par threes, and 8 par fours. The par threes are arguably the best set of one shotters in the northeast Ohio. They have a wide range of yardages, each one is memorable, and each has its own particular challenge.

(The 185/160 yard par three eighth plays to a two tiered green. It’s imperative to find the proper level in order to have a stress free par. That tree on the left ruined many a round knocking good shots into the water.) 

The key to my strategy was to par all the par fives. As a group, they’re pretty innocuous. At the very least, the shorter ones are good birdie opportunities. The fourth was my favorite playing between 475-505 yards with a pond fronting the green. There was always an outside chance of reaching it since the water was well short. The fifteenth on the other hand  flat out sucked. From the very tips, it played 605 yards with a lake cutting across the fairway. You had to cover 410 yards in two blows to get across the hazard. Any type of bad drive meant laying up and taking an extra stroke to get to the green. Thankfully the tees were usually pushed forward.  

(The 175/160 yard par three fourteenth has a narrow hazard crossing short of the green. It wasn’t really in play, but often times you’d find yourself above the hole because of it. It was never an easy two putt.)

If I accomplished my goal on the par fives, then I only needed six more pars to break 80. With short par fours at ten and eighteen plus the short par three eleventh, that left just three more. Unfortunately, the other nine holes were plenty tough, and bogey sometimes seemed like a good score. The 250 yard par three third rarely was reached in regulation. A good short game was a must to make three there.  

(The 465/450 yard par four sixth is one of the most demanding on the course. The tee shot plays downhill but the approach is uphill to this square shaped green.  Note how the edges of the green are rounded off. Any shot hit slightly offline will likely shed to the side.) 

The par fours were solid with the long sixth the toughest. One hole I always liked was the sixteenth. It’s a 395/365 yards par four with an uphill drive that I found interesting. The short par four eighteenth with its green in front of the clubhouse was a classic finisher. I birdied it a few times. 

(The ninth is a solid 410/400 yard par four. The tee shot is uphill before leveling out at the green. A good drive is the key shot otherwise an awkward stance will test your ability.) 

I don’t know who designed Medina. Several of my sources for such information, including “The Architects of Golf” by Geoffrey Cornish and Ron Whitten, were no help. The course is well routed and rolls effortlessly across the terrain. I like how long holes absorb much of the mundane topography. The greens are slightly raised with the edges sliding away or falling off. This puts a premium on iron play. If there’s one shortcoming, then it would be the bunkering. A low key style that is flat and shallow. Several are at the base of the green below the slope. Getting out is not difficult and a good player should be able to get reasonably close. 

The Red nine is considered the relief nine but it has several holes that would be right at home on the big course. The most memorable that I recall is the ninth, a 240 yard uphill par three played below the side of the clubhouse. I’m not sure who in their right mind thought such a length was a good idea but it fits in perfectly with Medina’s collection of one shotters. I give Medina Country Club a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play). 

[Medina was bought this offseason. It’ll be interesting to see if it becomes open to the public, or will remain a private club. Back in the old days, this place was known more for its poker games in the clubhouse than the golf itself.]