East Liverpool Country Club (East Liverpool, OH)

As recently as five years ago, I would not have had an opportunity to play East Liverpool, but things change fast in rural America, and here, the club has fallen below 100 members making outside play a welcome addition. This is not a new phenomenon and for architecture enthusiasts like myself many of these places are designed by the golden age architects. This one is a nine hole Willie Park Jr design dating back to 1920.

Park’s decision to route every approach shot uphill, including the par threes, makes East Liverpool a very challenging course. There are no flat lies, so one is constantly trying to judge the trajectory and shot shape into the putting surface. Park once said “any man who can putt is a match for anyone.” Trust me, these are greens where you don’t want to be above the hole, and yet those tough sidehill lies don’t always allow such conservative play.

(The 341 yard par four third is a reverse camber dogleg right where getting the proper line off the tee is key…

…the more aggressive shot brings the trees inside the elbow into play but will cut off significant yardage if successful. The green sits on a small shelf benched into the hillside. With no view of the green, it’s very difficult to ascertain the pin position. It’s a sneaky difficult hole.)

(The 541 yard par five fifth plays downhill before turning slightly right and sliding back uphill. A meandering drainage ditch wiggles across the fairway at a diagonal placing pressure on the second shot…

…the green is carved out of the hillside and is semi blind from the fairway…

…this view looking back shows just how much movement this hole has. The green is subdued with mostly back to front tilt. The back third has some flat spots for easier pin positions. It’s an excellent golf hole!)

(The 144 yard par three sixth looks like it possesses only a sliver of green. Note how the bunkers are hidden with only the rolled down grass faces and front mounding giving away their presence.)

(The 612 yard par five eighth is a monster that plays downhill until it reaches a small drainage ditch that creases diagonally across the fairway. The green is fortress-like with a steep slope in front and a fall off into a bunker left…

…looking back reveals just how much one should drive it down the higher side of the fairway. It’ll take two all out blows to get it over the hazard. The green is two tiered with good internal contour. It’s another excellent hole!)

(The 362 yard par four eighteenth has two distinct greens with the one atop the hill playing the hole’s full yardage while the one on the left playing forty yards shorter…

…the shorter green receives the most play. I reckon the aging membership and the opportunity to end on a good note is the overwhelming reason. It’s also a nicely designed green complex that’s crowned on the sides. The one further up the hill is harder to hit with only the top of the flagstick visible. For a nine hole course, it distinguishes the last hole for those making a second loop to play eighteen.)

With the membership dwindling down to two digits, East Liverpool finds itself making do on a shoestring budget. The overgrowth of trees has hindered proper play on the par three fourth and taken away aggressive lines on a couple others. Park’s insistence on making every approach uphill has me wondering if a couple downhill shots would make this a better, more enjoyable experience. Besides the shorter green on eighteen and the opening hole, I would contend there are no true birdie opportunities between 2-8. It is one of the toughest nine hole courses I’ve played. I give it a 4 (above average)(worth driving 30-45 minutes to play).

(I played to both greens on the last hole making a twenty footer for birdie on the short green and a up n down sandy on the long green. A 39/40 depending on what score I took. Blog 489)