I really wish they’d stick to the spirit of what is actually a public course.
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It seems we reignite this conversation around the same time of year but the lack of “top end” public golf in Ohio is perplexing.
State-by-State
- California (11)
- Florida (9)
- North Carolina (9)
- Wisconsin (9)
- Michigan (8)
Now, most of the places in the Top 5 are resort or resort-adjacent golf offerings (except California which is way more individually organic than I expected) so it makes sense.
When I think of “public golf” Streamsong isn’t exactly the first thing that comes to mind
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Keep us out of the rankings. Its hard enough to get a tee time. We dont need the notoriety. We know what we have. Dont let other people in on the secret
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Shocked that Sycamore Springs did’nt make the cut again this year.
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Just spent way too much time looking for the Ted Lasso “Shrink the Game” GIF that I apparently don’t have saved anymore.
Here’s a reply for saying something so brave and so true
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I’ll hop on the top five courses that I’ve played at least
- Sycamore Creek country club
- NCR
- Springfield country club
- Park mammoth
- Stillwater or Snow Hill
Haven’t had the privilege of playing a whole lot of top tier courses but I’ve enjoyed all of these even manakiki was great but i think I need a few more turns around it to appreciate it more.
On a side note I believe @flanwilder made the towels for the Cincy vice event, if so would there be any interest or would you be able to make a red, white, and blue tye dye towel that we could do our colored OATW logo on? Thought that would be sweet and we might get a group order out of them if possible.
Towel is in the works
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Is it? Limited golf season and lack of premium land for golf make this very believable.
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I wouldn’t say that there is a lack of premium land, I believe most land in Ohio would be great for courses with a little bit of ground work the problem is the most populated areas are already pushing up against farm land and farmers aren’t going to sell their lively hood for cheap.
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I am enjoying this trend of the best courses everyone personally played this year!
Mine for Ohio are below!
Moraine CC
Springfield CC
Mercer County Elks
Piqua CC
Turtle Creek
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I have always struggled to understand how Michigan has so many more “destination” type golf courses compared to Ohio. Their season is even shorter than ours
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Sandy soil as opposed to clay heavy soil. Just easier to build up there than it is here, and less oppressively hot in the summer
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Yeah, we have some land with good movement to it, but Ohio has zero sand, even along the lake.
I doubt Ohio will ever have huge destination courses like Forest Dunes or Arcadia, but can we follow the model of places like Diamond Springs and Pilgrim’s Run to create affordable, quality golf for the average American? Absolutely.
It makes me sad that the majority of good golf in Ohio is private (with the exception of all you lucky Clevelanders), but it’s probably going to stay that way for a while.
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Pretty sure this is true of the entirety of Lake Erie. It’s a shame since it makes it impossible for a great lakeside golf course.
I’ve heard there are a few pockets of sand in Northeast Ohio near Kent. I never played it, but knew people who played Oak Knolls in the winter because it drained really well. Sadly that course is now closed along with several other courses in the Kent area.
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This is exactly the comparison I’m making when I say “top end” so to speak.
This is a weird confluence of interests but I read the most recent Ohio soil survey and there’s a good amount of “sandy soil” in Ohio especially up around Toledo. Plenty of clay deposits too but I have a suspicion the lack top end golf development has more to do with the market than the soil. Michigan also had devoted millions to advertising golf tourism. Ohio’s got…whatever ‘The Heart of it All’ is meant to say.
Ohio’s has nearly 2x the population of Indiana (more people than Michigan, too), certainly better overall topography, and yet there’s more “top end” golf there than Ohio. Indiana has four courses on that Top 100 Public List.
Whether or not Ohio needs that top end golf is a fun discussion.
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Except for the premium sand the high end clubs use almost exclusively.
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Was oak knolls that nine holer across from the high school on route 43?
I think that’s the location, but pretty sure it was 18 holes and maybe even 36 holes at one point in time. Davey Tree bought it for a new corporate HQ and use the remaining acreage for testing/research? I don’t know much about it, but that’s what I can piece together from limited internet sleuthing.
Agreed. Moraine gets a lot of grief for holes 10-12, but Inverness seems to get a free pass for some of its shortcomings. I like both courses a lot, but would rather play Moraine. I’d also put Kirtland, Canterbury, Country and Canton Brookside in the conversation for best in Ohio.
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