Glenmoor Country Club (Canton, OH)

Glenmoor is the third Jack Nicklaus design I’ve played this year. Like Barrington in Aurora, it’s a very playable and enjoyable course. Both were built in the early 1990s and I wonder if his style was more member friendly back in those days. 

(Glenmoor’s beautiful clubhouse backdrops the eighteenth green. Originally the Brunnerdale Seminary High School, it’s now the Beltram Inn which serves both the membership and guests.) 

Glenmoor is a gated community and upon arrival, I had to give my name and tee time to be allowed in. Driving through the neighborhood up to the clubhouse, I got the distinct impression that the course was merely one of the amenities used to sell homes. Obviously there’s nothing wrong with that, but it might explain the 50-80 yard wide fairways found on every hole. Besides being a buffer to avoid homes getting bombarded by balls, it gives members a reasonable chance to start each hole in good position. 

(The 530/490 yard par five fourth is protected by a pond short of the green. While reachable for the longer player, most would do well getting a favorite yardage for the third shot.) 

The challenge at Glenmoor are the approach shots. There are six holes where water fronts the green. The other twelve have bunkers guarding the front. The aerial approach is usually the only method of attack. The good to above average player will enjoy Glenmoor. 

(The 190/128 yard par three seventh is a beautiful hole over water. There’s a couple extra tee boxes to vary the length the hole can play.) 

(The 315/290 yard par four eighth is a pitch and putt hole over a pond. Long hitters could give it a go but it’s not advisable. Several good pin positions give it bite.)  

Everything is man made at Glenmoor with several lakes and ponds dug out around the property. It’s a lackadaisical design with greens fronted by water, and it gets a bit redundant hitting essentially the same shot. People call this difficult and exciting but I’m not one of them. In fact the holes I like the best have no water at all. And the best is the uphill eighteenth with a blind approach to a green sunken below a kick plate. Getting close to a front pin means hitting short and letting the ball trundle onto the putting surface. 

(The 403/380 yard ninth plays uphill off the tee before turning left to a green below the tree line. Multiple sand traps guard every angle demanding a precise approach shot.) 

(The 195/142 yard par three fourteenth is over water to a slender green angled left to right. The carry yardage to a left pin is shorter than the yardage to a right pin. Miss your line and you can come up short in the water or long in the back bunker.) 

Glenmoor has an assortment of greens that are long and slender. They’re angled too which places a lot of pressure on getting the correct yardage. It’s the first time I’ve seen Nicklaus use this feature. It should come as no surprise that all of them are over water. 

(The 376/351 yard sixteenth doglegs left to another well guarded green. The right side of the fairway is steeply sloped so hit down that side and let it come back to middle.) 

Glenmoor is a private course that I was fortunate to play thanks to the president of my golf association.  After playing Barrington for the mixed couple stableford tournament, I was curious how they both compared. I felt Barrington was more low keyed and blended with the property better. Glenmoor was more like a residential community course. I give it a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play). 

(The view from nine green looking back.)