The Cleveland Open was held at the Blue in 1964 and 1965. Tony Lema won the first year, holing a 15 foot birdie putt on the first extra playoff hole to edge out Arnold Palmer. The following year Dan Sikes fired a final round 66, canning a 35 footer on eighteen to best Tony Lema. Back then the Cleveland Open had the largest purse on tour, a whopping $100,000! (My how times have changed) The best players on tour showed up and the Blue more than held it’s own.
(The 385/379 yard par four opening hole plays down to the creek before climbing uphill to a semi blind green. Only the top of the flagstick is visible, and the player is best advised to hit one more club. A par is a good way to start the round.)
I would guess the Blue does a half the rounds that the Red sees. Besides not being able to play nine holes, it’s length dissuades many from even attempting it. The city needs to invest in new tee boxes to make it shorter and more enjoyable. During my round, I hit three wood five times on my approaches to par fours. I hit my hybrids on five others, and only three times did I hit an iron. There are very few birdie attempts and often times a good short game is needed to salvage par.
(The 377/365 yard par four fourth has a cool grass depression fronting the green. Sandy Alves elected to leave the hole bunkerless and let the golfer attack accordingly. The grass is very thick in this natural hazard, and recovery shots are daunting should one find himself in it. I think it’s a cool hole.)
The Blue does have a nice feel to it. While the Red took up most of the property by the creek, the Blue inhabits the open, gently rolling field in the middle. (Highland shares the land with a cemetery) Many of the greens are open in the front with the fairway extending into them. The large putting surfaces have subtle breaks as well as a back to front pitch. It has a classic look that many associate with older courses.
(The 544/515 yard par five seventh plays from an elevated tee box to an elevated green. The creek crosses the fairway ensuring this is a three shot hole. The main danger is being above the hole on the approach. The putts are very quick.)
For recent history, the PGA National Minority Championship was founded at Highland in 1987. It started off with eight teams fighting for the championship and has grown to over thirty competing each year. Before the PGA took it to Florida, Highland hosted the tournament for ten years. How appropriate considering the first black man on the PGA tour, Charlie Sifford, called Highland home.
(The 195/189 yard par three eleventh is terrific. There’s plenty of fairway to hit a low running shot onto the green, but the left side is covered by a deep bunker…
…this side view reminds me of Langford and Moreau. The green is pushed up with a near vertical bank guarded by a bunker at the bottom.)
It seems like the pandemic has pushed the city to invest more into Highland. The Northeast Ohio Sewer District renovated the creek that flows through, and took out the stone retainment wall before widening it with a buffer zone. The end result is beautiful, and golfers are privy to a wide array of wildlife that calls the new habitat home.
(The eighteenth on the Blue can compete with Pine Hills as the best ending hole in the city. It’s a 448/433 yard par four that has a creek crossing the fairway at a diagonal…
…at one time the creek was just ten feet wide, so long hitters had the option to carry it at its shortest distance up the right side, but now that the buffer zone has widen it, the player has to layup off the tee…
…the approach will play between 175-210 yards. It’s all uphill to a back to front pitched green. A large mound short of the green will propel balls onto the putting surface. It’s an excellent way to end the day!)
If the city can continue to improve Highland, then maybe it’ll start to enter the consciousness of local golfers outside of its immediate area. For now they’re more content on giving people an opportunity to play the game. The Blue is championship caliber golf course, and if the city ever got it to Metroparks level, I think they’d see an explosion of new players. I give the Blue a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play).
(Note the course rating from the blue tees is over par. Considering it’s slope is only 120, I think that’s quite impressive.)
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