Hudson has done a remarkable job with Ellsworth. In my original write up, I noted a handful of holes that needed specific changes, and doggone it, they went out and did it. On both 3 and 8, they widened the playing corridors and took out trees that strangled the drives from being anything other than perfect. Forward thinking led to the par three ninth being shortened (for safety reasons) and the old green is now used as a short game pitching area. It has a great driving range with an abundance of targets, two putting and chipping greens, all sorts of landscaping, and an absolutely wonderful new clubhouse. There’s so many good things to comment on. It has become a stalwart of every traveling league and association in the surrounding counties.
The 469/443 yard par four third is a very strong hole. The best drive favors the right to obtain an angle past the trees…
…no sand is needed for the approach. Most play short and let the ball run onto the green. The water behind comes into play quickly. Par is a very good score.)
The course was originally known as Big Springs and was designed by R. Obert. When Hudson took it over, they changed the name and had Brian Huntley renovate some holes and design new ones. The par five seventeenth is probably his best addition featuring a classic do or die second shot over water. He also did ten and eighteen, two tough par fours that bookend the back nine.
(The 176/146 yard par three seventh is a picturesque hole over water. The green is pitched forward with a slope guarding the front right. Hitting it does not guarantee a two putt par.)
(The 209/183 yard par three ninth closes things out on the front. The hole rarely plays this distance as the forward tee box is generally used at 157 yards. Check out the old green in the background. The hole was originally a short par four in its Big Springs day.)
We’re blessed here in northeast Ohio with really good municipal courses and Hudson possesses one of the strongest ones. Ellsworth is not for the feint of heart with a lot of strong par fours and a quintet of tough par threes. I was lukewarm about it ten years ago but it is now one that I look forward to playing twice a year in the CNCGA. I give it a 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play).
(The 521/493 yard par five seventeenth plays straightaway before carving around Lake Komar. The tiger player will relish taking on the second shot over water. The new stonewall outlining the hazard is a lovely touch.)
(The 414/397 yard eighteenth is a slight dogleg right par four. The back left and right quadrants of the green are separated by a mound. Two water hazards well short of the putting surface inexplicably come into play for those who miss the fairway.)
(This is the second in a series of three updated blogs from 2013-2014. I bumped it up one notch from my write up from twelve years ago. Hudson has Lake Forest and and Country Club of Hudson, both private courses, within the city limits, and this place compares very well. I would expect no less from this affluent suburb.)
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