L. C. Boles Memorial (Wooster, OH)

Owned by the College of Wooster, Boles Memorial is a nine hole course free to students and $12 for everyone else. With such a low price point, it’s hard to be overly critical of it. The bluegrass fairways are adequately cut while the bent grass greens are smooth and velvety. The property is a hillside bisected by a road. 1,2,9 are on one side while 3-8 are on the other. The course is decently routed with holes marching up, down, and even across the slope. The greens are deceptive, breaking much more than first glance. The hillside mutes them because the topography is rolling. 

The course starts off with a driveable par four. It’s only 251 yards but downhill and blind. The up and over second has a left to right cant. The third at 440 yards is the longest par four. The green is brutal as it slopes hard to the left. Four is the only par five playing uphill across the slope but short at 450 yards. It is my favorite hole as the green is perched on the very top of the hill. It’s tough to hit it with a wedge let alone a long iron in two shots. Five could be a good par three but growth of the brush and trees cramp the tee shot and the downhill view. The 312 yard sixth is uphill and blind. It’s a tough green with the front tipped but the rear pitched forward. Seven is then downhill, playing opposite of six and eight. Even at 364 yards, it’s driveable for the long hitters. Eight goes back uphill and plays very long for its 393 yards. Like six, the green is tipped in front but pitched forward in the rear. Nine is the only “eh” hole doglegging 90 degrees to the right. Shorter hitters will have a hard time making the turn. All in all, not a bad nine holer. The golf team at least will get good at hitting off a variety of lies. This is a standard 3 (average)(worth driving 15-30 minutes to play). The story of the local kid playing 5,500 holes in a single year originated here. He lived off the second hole.