Signature of Solon (Solon, OH) [Updated]

Signature is a private course designed by Craig Schreiner in 2002. The fairways are broken by wetlands and low grass crossings at various points. While there is plenty of room to lay back, the skilled golfer who judges his distances properly can place it closer while the longer hitter tries to overpower the obstacles with his length. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only hazard one has to worry about. Red or white stakes line every hole with wild mishits quickly adding strokes to the card. Having a bad day means shooting a 100 plus losing a half dozen balls.

(The final hole of the day plays 405/385 yards  to a peninsula green. Two quality shots are needed to secure a par.)

Signature has excellent greens with good interior contouring. The mounding on the outer edges dictate the hole locations and is a good indicator where the approach should land. Most of the movement is here too. It has a very modern look to it, and I feel the greens are like a catchers mitt so the ball gathers towards the middle. Many of the front edges are tipped   It’s hard to see the bottom of the cup when the pin in in this location. 

(The 376/362 yard sixteenth is the epitome of the course. Off the tee, you’re trying to hit it far enough to get a good look, yet not long enough to find the gunk or get stymied by the tree. The pin in pictured is hidden by the slope. This is much of the strategy found at Signature.) 

The area has always been known for its wet conditions, and when you realize both Geauga Lake and Aurora Lake are very close by, then you’ll understand the difficulty Schreiner dealt with when he was designing the course. It also explains the abrupt transitions you encounter on the course. In my original post, I gave it a very harsh review, but I’ve soften that stance and I am willing to bump it up a couple. I give Signature a 4 (above average)(worth driving 30-45 minutes to play). 

(The massive clubhouse frames the last hole with the round rotunda a bar where folks can watch you finish the round. It’s a very exciting atmosphere!) 

Turkeyfoot Golf Links (Akron, OH) [Updated]

Turkeyfoot has not been immune to the rash of closings seen in the region the past several years. The third nine, also known as the Lake nine, was sold to developers late last season. The main course is still intact and will be celebrating its centennial anniversary in 2025. For area golfers, this is a wonderful place to learn the game. The lack of water hazards, except for the par three thirteenth, allow players to hit the ball without the fear of losing it to a poor shot. The sandy soil keeps the turf in fine shape and is always dry even at the beginning of the year. 

(Looking from the twelth green, the severe pitch of the thirteenth is boldly evident. Players know to keep below the hole to have an easy two putt par, but when the pin is in the front, like today’s, all hell breaks loose as you oscillate between being too precise, like the pin shot next to the hole, or ultra conservative to the middle of the green where a heavy hand can scurry the ball past the cup and down the fairway.) 

For me, Turkeyfoot represents a bygone era full of quirk and charm. It consistently challenges the single handicap player despite its short stature of 6300 yards. How is this possible? First, the par threes are all long. Two of the five play well over 200 yards. Second, the handful of short par fours, including a few driveable ones, have the most difficult greens. Birdies are not on the menu unless you execute a very good shot. Thirdly, OB makes its appearance, specifically on 10,11, and 18, in bold fashion. The white stakes are literally just a few yards from the action, all on the right. A mistimed slice is a legitimate fear. Finally, the par fives, which everyone views as birdie holes, are very long with a couple clocking in at 570+. Only a select few are reaching these in two shots. The rest of us must string three shots together. 

(The fourth hole plays as a par five from the regular markers but a par four from the back. It enjoys a great view of the Portage Lakes. The green is a simple one but the nuance breaks are difficult to read.)

Turkeyfoot also has my favorite drive. I love cruising through the Portage Lakes, peering at the canals and the homes that line them. There’s a seaside town vibe that permeates the air. The Upper Deck is directly across the street and is the perfect place to recap the round. The scenery isn’t too shabby either if you know what I mean. Everything about Turkeyfoot makes for a fun day. It’s an easy walk, the greens rival any in the area, and a good score is available for those playing well. I’d put it on the short list of best public courses in Akron. I give it a solid 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play). 

(View of nine green from the first tee.) 

South Toledo Golf Club (Toledo, OH)

From South Park to South Toledo, here is another example of a well respected greenskeeper designing a golf course. This time it’s William Rockefeller from Inverness. Before discussing the architecture, a quick history lesson. Originally, this was part of 36 hole Heather Downs Country Club. Rocky designed both courses in 1925. When the Great Depression hit, the membership couldn’t afford two courses so the South was auctioned off. 

If we were to look at both courses, I think everyone would agree that Heather Downs possesses the best topography. The northern part of their property has a beautiful valley with good elevation change. South Toledo has none of that. It’s flat as a pancake! If it wasn’t for the beautiful specimen trees and a narrow little crick, it would be completely devoid of character. It also doesn’t help that the back nine is totally encased by the local community with houses lining the left side on every hole except the par threes. Thankfully, the greens are very well done.  They’re pushed up with a strong back to front tilt with a rolling center that creates a variety of interesting and challenging pin positions. Putting across the middle, especially long putts, can be very difficult. 

(Look how steep the bunker is and the slope of green pitching forward! Cool architecture like this adds intrigue to a flat site.) 

The bunkering is very good too! You can tell Rocky took Donald Ross’ style, and flawlessly executed it here. Ross visited several times to prepare Inverness for a couple US Opens, and worked exclusively with Rockefeller who was the superintendent. The sweeping face bunkers guard the sides and really punishes the player who has missed his target left or right. Some of them have steep lips that require a shot get up quickly. Foreshortened bunkers are used too. 

(The 414/406 yard par four third doglegs left around a pond before playing to a green fronted by a creek. Playing safe off the tee can unintentionally leave a much longer than approach. Note the winter flag only three feet tall.) 

South Toledo tips out just over 6500 yards but don’t for a minute think it’s going to be a pushover. Seven of the par fours play over 400 yards. On the front, the dangerous third gets your attention with the creek crossing short of the green. Then the back nine finishes with four of the last six holes 420-453 yards. The flat terrain, especially when it hardens up from the summer sun, shortens the distance that they play, but the elevated greens tighten the mid to long iron shots needed for the approaches. Hitting to the front of the green will leave you below the hole but the aforementioned roll in the center is a vexing feature to putt or chip over. 

(The 140/133 yard par three seventh is the signature hole at South Toledo. The horseshoe shaped water hazard guards almost the entire green. It takes nerve to shoot at a flag anywhere in the edge.) 

William Rockefeller only designed a few courses and his work here proves that he learned a lot from Donald Ross. I personally love the backstory to Inverness. It’s a solid course that serves the golfers in Toledo well. I give it a 4 (above average)(worth driving 30-45 minutes to play). I give it a slight nod over its brethren across the street. 

[Toledo received two inches of rain a couple days before I arrived so I was only able to play the front nine. I could not believe the amount of water that was still sitting on the back. It makes me wonder if the housing that surrounds the course prevents it from draining as quickly. Hmmm. I shot 39] 

South Park Golf Course (Pittsburgh, PA)

South Park was designed in 1929 by Emil Loeffler with advice from Oakmont founder William C Fownes. Allegheny County had a sprawling piece of land with rolling hills and desired to build one of the finest municipal golf courses in the country. Their ambition was recognized five years later when the course was awarded the 1934 USGA Amateur Public Championship. (David Mitchell 5&3 over Arthur Armstrong) 

(The banked fairway on the 423/400 yard par four fourth plays downhill before climbing steeply uphill to a strong back to front sloped green. It is rated as the most difficult hole on the front nine.) 

South Park is a dramatic golf course that plays across heavily sloped land. The holes angle across the ground, cambering left and right while tacking up and down the hills. The golfer is trying to access the proper line that will keep his ball in the fairway while gathering additional yardage. The ascending approach shots are none too easy, with a variety of lies and stances to play from. This doesn’t take into account the extra yardage the elevation adds. The greens are thankfully not too difficult. The round or oblong putting surfaces pitch forward with a simple strategy that allows keeping the ball below the hole an acceptable ask. More challenging are the subtle rises that can make chipping or putting formidable. All these characteristics give the course a distinct personality. 

If one had to nitpick, the overwhelming use of the uphill approach shot, often playing two clubs longer, is used on multiple holes (3,4,5,9,11,12,14,18). Besides being tedious, this repetitive shot makes one wonder is the best routing was employed. Granted, Loeffler’s lay of the land philosophy culminates in such holes, but there was an opportunity to use the ridgelines differently. As is, the best holes are the ones that play along the ridge, like the par three sixth, par four seventh, and par five tenth. The one shotter across the valley at eight is probably it’s more recognizable hole. That leads to another quirk that is enjoyable. Both eight and twelve have dual greens that alter the holes playing characteristics significantly. Each one has its own strategy and there’s definitely a sense of wonder as you arrive at the tee box in anticipation for which green the flag is on. 

(From the middle tee, the par three eighth plays either 135 yards or 198 yards. While the shorter green is below, the longer one is above. This can be two completely different holes.) 

Loeffler’s love for the long par three is seen a few times. The 192 yard sixth and 240 yard thirteenth are two examples of this. Seeing how idolized Oakmont’s drive and pitch par three eighth is, this template is seen at every course Loeffler designed. Mercifully, there is plenty of fairway short of these greens, and the player with a good short game can layup and save par. On both eight and fifteen, the greens are benched on a hillside and are reasonable distance. (Reading the pamphlet for the hole descriptions in 1934, neither the upper green on eight nor the back tee on fifteen are original. Since I’m down this rabbit hole, I ll also note a few other things. The course started on what is today’s seventeenth hole. The first hole on the nine hole course was actually the third. The sixth was an astounding 245 yards, still a par three. And the ninth hole was 441 yards, playing to the practice putting green. The addition of the clubhouse in 1938 initiated the changes including the nine hole course across the street and the new first hole used today. The clubhouse was designed by Pittsburgh’s own Henry Hornbostel. The classic two story brick building has a geometric shape opening in the middle and is his homage to the pyramids he saw while visiting the Yucatán in Mexico.) 

(The 192/187 yard par three sixth is ringed left, right, and behind by traps. Note how the C shaped bunker in foreground is above the putting surface while the others are below it.) 

South Park was a most worthy course to visit! It’s history fascinated me when I was researching it and it was an added bonus to find great material allowing me to look back on its beginnings. Presently, it is a very strong course, and the new superintendent has it in excellent condition. Even though I played in the late winter months (March) the course still played beautifully. The county keeps the price point very reasonable, and I would say value wise, it’s excellent. Tee times are difficult to get for good reason. I give South Park a solid 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play). 

Wheeling Park Municipal (Wheeling, WV)

Wheeling Park is an Emmet Devereux designed executive course. It’s on a quaint piece of property that occupies the very end of a hill. A creek cuts across at the bottom and the rugged landforms create several fun and engaging holes. The first few par fours have long par three length but they reverse camber across the tree line. You’ll be enticed to reach them in one blow but a wild shot will cost you. The third is 309 yards but the green is hidden, dropped below the ridgeline. A giant Sycamore rises from the creek bank, giving away its location. The long hitter who can carry it to the downslope can drive the green. Of course the creek will capture shots that roll too far. Its a very fine hole! 

#3

The next one is a short four that curves slightly atop the bulbous hill. Getting the correct curve on your ball is key, but realistically, a mid iron followed by a little pitch is the correct play. The fifth is our first par three. It’s a cool hole that I’m surprised isn’t replicated more often. There’s a hill between the tee and the green, and only the back half of the putting surface is visible. Fly it or let it carom off the downslope. Nice hole! Then my favorite hole is tackled and it is a real charmer! It’s only 220 but the green is left of treeline from tee. Any golfer worth his salt will chomp at the bit to drive this in one shot. The creek crosses diagonally and will penalize a poor shot. I hit a beautiful three hybrid that finished pin high on the green. What a great hole! 

#6

The seventh is an average par three followed by the short par four eighth who’s sole purpose is to climb the hill so golfers can experience a gorgeous view and an exciting downhill tee shot on the ninth. The last hole also is the longest at 365 yards. Truthfully, if you can par both eight and nine then you’ve done a good job. 

Wheeling Park is a fun little course that takes just over an hour to play. There’s a few amenities associated with the park including an ice skating rink next to the first tee! It’s the type of place that brings varying sports to a central spot. (The tennis dome is on site too). For those interested in Devereux’s architecture philosophy, know that there are three courses within forty five minutes of each other; Wheeling CC, Belmont CC (it went semi private last year), and this little beauty. Definitely worth stopping if you’re pressed for time. I give it a 3 (average)(worth driving 15-30 minutes to play). 

Sailfish Sands (Stuart, FL)

After writing about The Park, America’s newest super muni, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss what I believe municipal golf should really be; an opportunity for everyone to learn, enjoy, and play golf at an affordable price. Sailfish Sands does that but with a cool twist that every golf aficionado would love. John Sanford took an eighteen hole course, and trimmed it into a nine hole reversible course. Every other week, they change the direction of play, so the course consistently alters it’s characteristics. This concept allows the county to shrink the environmental footprint of the course, helping them maintain a smaller acreage of land while distributing the divot pattern to allow the grass to heal. 

As you look at the diagram, you will notice eleven greens. The two that finish the round are only approached from one direction. Every other green accepts play two different ways. The eighth hole plays as a par five both on the black and red routing. While there’s plenty of water, notice how both routings avoid carrying it into the green. One quirk I noticed is how much shorter the Red loop is (2868) compared to the Black (3368). Granted, the Red has three par 3s compared to the Black’s two, which coincidentally, are both over 220 yards. 

I didn’t play Sailfish but did stop by during our annual Ryder Cup week. The novel concept had me chopping on the bit to see this unique course. Ever since Tom Doak designed The Loop up in Michigan, it seems more architects are looking at this possibility. Combined with their TopTracer driving range, a tip of the cap to TopGolf’s business model, Sailfish is positioning itself as a next generation golf course. Although it’s foreign to me and many in my generation, this may very well be the best way to grow the game, a catchphrase that seems to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue nowadays. (No rating since I didn’t play it, but felt it deserved to be spotlighted) 

PGA National - Estates Course (Palm Beach Gardens,FL)

PGA National has five 18 hole courses and the Estates Course is the only one off property. It was designed by Karl Litten in 1984. From my research, Litten was one of Gary Player’s design associates and had a hand in multiple golf courses. He was also instrumental in designing courses on the Arabian Peninsula, with a couple of them hosting the European Golf Tour. 

(The 478/440 yard par five fifth is my favorite hole on the course. The tiger golfer can take on the challenge and reach it two. The casual player will need to hit a solid shot to carry the pinch point and place it in the fairway before the water.) 

Overall, the Estates course is relatively nondescript.

It’s your typical Florida course, a combination of water, sand, and OB stakes. The only thing of interest was the way Litten crowned the greens near the edges so the ball spun off and away from the hole. Of course the greens are well bunkered with shoulders poking into the putting surface. I found them to be difficult to read. I wish there was more to discuss, but the course possesses several things that I don’t like, mainly the soft soil under the fairway grass. The ball splatters as soon as it smashes into the ground. Definitely not a course to play in the rainy season. The greens did roll beautifully which is why I give it a higher rating than my review suggests. I give it a 4 (above average)(worth driving 30-45 minutes to play). 

(I didn’t seen any gators here but when we played the Champion Course, there were several 10-12! footers.) 

[Weather always has an impact on my game, and when there’s no roll, and the course is playing 10-15% longer, I will struggle. I shot 83, my buddy Joby shot 83, and our host Ed drained a 12 footer on the last hole to shoot 82 and win the money.]

West Palm Golf Park (West Palm Beach, FL)

I’m proud to have my 425th review open the 2024 golf season. It thrills me to write about West Palm Golf Park, also known as The Park, one of the most anticipated new courses to debut in the past year. This world class muni is being touted as an instant top ten course in Florida, and judging by the green fees, they think they belong in the same category as Bethpage and Torrey Pines. It’s walking only before noon and a  caddy is a must to secure a time before 9am. I paid $230 for an 11:24 tee time, a staggering amount considering North Palm Beach Country Club is thirty minutes down the road and one of the top 20 municipal courses in America, is considerably less expensive. ($170 for the same time). 

As you approach the course, two sets of nets dominate the skyline. It looks like TopGolf but it’s actually the driving range and a lighted par three course. (How cool is that?!) There’s also an eighteen hole putting course complete with a cabana and a wonderful sitting area. If you’re an after the round soak it in kind of guy, like many of my buddies in the Cuyahoga North Coast Golf Association, then you are in for a treat. It also possesses a great short game area and every station at the driving range has a trackman to help hone in your game. All these things push The Park’s agenda to make golf cool, fun, and family oriented. Date night anyone? 

(The lighted par three course is located between the two nets. The holes are modest length but the sand traps and crazy green contours make it a blast to play. Note how there is an avenue to putt the ball all the way to each green. Beginners can enjoy it just as much as serious players. A+ for this addition!) 

The Park is built on a sandy, scrubby piece of land. Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner designed it to be a links/sandbelt style course that plays firm and fast. The fairways intertwine between waste areas and play to greens that are surrounded by short grass. There are no water hazards, no out of bounds stakes, no rough, and more importantly, no homes. It is a pure golf experience. In fact, the caddy who was looping for my playing partner and his son, said it was very much like Streamsong. That is high praise indeed. Of course, insiders are comparing it to the world famous Seminole which is close by. The property has some elevation change on the western half and the superb routing uses this feature very well. The entire back nine plays on this side, and the 12-17 stretch is as good as it gets. 

(The 477/456/386 yard par four fourth plays straightaway before doglegging right with the waste area guarding the inside line. A waste area all down the left makes this a difficult driving hole. The green thankfully is wide open and tilts to the front left. If you can successfully navigate the drive, you should have a reasonable birdie putt.)

(The short 395/359/324  par four sixth has a very cool lions mouth bunker that guards the center of this two tier green. The left is lower while upper is on the right. The fairway is incredibly wide but todays pin, in my opinion, was best attacked from the higher fairway on the right. One could hit it short and let it trundle on. Getting too far right made the green narrower, and brought the falloff to the lower half into play.) 

The front nine plays on the flatter part of the property, and there are some good birdie opportunities to start the round. The first thing you’ll notice is the width of the fairways. In fact, you will not lose a ball the entire day. The second thing, and I appreciated this the most, was the putting surfaces are not overly contoured. Some of the newer courses tend to have crazy greens and I’ve come to have complete disdain for these type of putting surfaces. Here, Hanse and Wagner put one or two features in them, tilted them a certain direction, and let the golfer decide how best to attack the pin. 

(The punchbowl green on the 474/444/403 yard par four twelth is complete hidden from the fairway. The hole doglegs left while climbing up and over the hill. The key is getting it just over the ridge twenty yards short so it funnels down to the putting surface. The front pins will be difficult to get close. My playing companion nearly holed his second shot!) 

The back nine is fantastic and a big part of that is the curve of the doglegs. They beg and ache for aggressive lines off the tee. The reward for daring play are shorter irons, better angles, and more options. There’s the punchbowl green twelth, the crowned green at thirteen, the boomerang par four fourteenth, and everyone’s favorite, the double dogleg uphill par five fifteenth where you take on the bunker complex to get a perfect view for your third shot, or you bail out straight and fidget with a semi blind pitch over a large mound. It’s a great collection of holes with varying yardages. Toss into the mix the driveable par four sixteenth with its fall-away green followed by the ridgeline to ridgeline par three seventeenth with a gnawing waste area eating into the putting surface, and you’ll be hard pressed to find cooler holes in south Florida. 

(The 174/164/144 yard par three seventeenth sets diagonally from the tee with the carry getting longer the further left you hit it. The green pitches to the front thus it’s hard to be underneath the hole. It’s very fast from above. It’s a beautiful penultimate hole.) 

I love the line Golfpass’ Tim Gavrich used when he described The Park as America’s newest super-muni. By establishing $250 as the starting point for their winter rack rate for out of state golfers, $300 will be in play the next five years. When I wrote about North Palm Beach several years ago, I point out how it did 70k rounds before Jack Nicklaus redesigned it and questioned if it even needed redone. West Palm is a different story because the course was losing money every month. They raised 55M dollars to renovate this course through private and public donations. To think the best they could do was build a $250 per round municipal course is disappointing. I will say that Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner did a phenomenal job and The Park will easily make America’s Best Municipal Course list when the newest version comes out. If you come down in the summer, the price tag drops under $150. I give the The Park a solid 7 (great)(worth driving 3-4 hours to play). 

[My playing partners were Class A teaching pro and his son. We all played different tee boxes. He played the black (6,640), I played the blue (6,111), and his son played the green (4,757). (The course tips out at 7,145)

It was cool seeing all the different variances from each tee. Listening to their caddy speak gave me insight into several holes that I’m not sure I would’ve picked up on. I hit 12 fairways and 11 greens, a recipe that generally produces a very good score, but I only managed a 78. My biggest concern was trying not to three putt, and trust me, you will three putt here. There are several misses around the green where making a bogey will be a good score. Price aside, I had a great time and would love to see it again. There are several pin positions I’d like to see in action.]