My buddy moved to Columbus and I am from NE Ohio. We want to play some golf, but we don't know where to go. Any suggestions?

Columbus Courses

Just a few to consider.

muirfield village is pretty good...


that was a joke, it is actually awesome and good luck getting on (i know i never will be able to)

what part of columbus? and how far are you willing to drive?

Yea Muirfield would be sweet and so would the Scarlet Course, but fat chance... Thanks for the link to the local muni's, but that doesn't help me when telling me which are worth playing. How far are we willing to drive? Doesn't matter, we were talking about playing Eagle Sticks, so maybe an hour in either direction... He lives on the eastside, but it doesn't matter what part of the city.

Dublin Golf Club and Cooks Creek are great public courses in the Columbus area. See if you can get on Scarlet-great Nicklaus changes have been made to the bunkers and layout of the course. The Par 5 4th is a great example of the changes made, great hole!!!

in ostrander is ben curtis dad's course, mill creek. it is really good.
also, marysville has darby creek and buck run which are both really good.

I used to play a lot of golf in Columbus. Haven't in about 6 years though. My choices:

Darby Creek is a little out of the way but a great staff and fun course. Don't miss Der Dutchman on the way back in Plain City for some great food and even better pies.

BlackHawk: avoid like the plague. I never felt welcome and the course was not that great.

Royal American: Over priced for the condition it was in. Nice layout though. I hope it is in better shape.

Bent Tree: Way over priced...darby creek is much nicer.

Indian Springs: a little out of the way but if your are up to the drive then it is a fun course. It was 27 holes...don't know if it still is.

Links at Echo Springs: Interesting layout..hilly. Was fairly new the last time I played there so it was still growing in. Had a ton of potential.

Cooks Creek: Pretty good course when it is dry. It used to have pretty bad issues with water and drainage. Hopefully they fixed that.

Mill Creek (Ben Curtis) is also a fun layout a little off the beaten path.

There is a municipal course in Pickerington that was pretty flat with smallish elevated greens that was a pretty good track and very easy to walk. I walked it one day when it was about 100.



Private Courses:

I got the chance to play York Golf Club and The Lakes. both are great courses with completely different design characteristics. If you ever get the chance to play them do not pass it up.


The one course that I ended up going back to time and time again even though it was out of the way was Darby Creek. The course is fun but the staff is what kept bringing me back ear after year. They remembered me every year...it might have been the east TN accent. If I went back to the Columbus, OH area now I would go back to Darby Creek without a second thought.

This information is a bit dated since it has been a while since I played there but I hope it helps and I have forgotten some of the names of the courses I have played. If I remember more I will share.

Here are a few you might want to take a look at:
Deer Ridge- hour north on I-71, great course, short but can be brutal.
Clover Valley
Westchester-play in the afternoon, better rate, some reason they want to charge and arm and a leg to play in the morning on Sat/Sun
Cook Creek
Darby Creek
New Albany Links-nice course, again could cost up to $45 to play on weekends
Turnberry GC in Pickerington, usually in great shape, good greens, fairly inexpensive
Links at Echo Springs
Granville GC
Royal American

And...our famous landfill course...Pheonix Golf Club...suprisingly a good track.

Hope this helps.

You ready to go hit your MP60's with the KBS Tours

Great list, I'll add John Cook's new course Northstar Resort. It's like 7400 from the tips, great course. Granville GC as mentioned above is a Great Donald Ross course.

If your buddy lives on the eastside then try Blacklick Woods. It is a municipal course that I really enjoy playing. Nice layout and usually in good condition.

Also check ohiogolfguide.com, they list most courses in Ohio.

I'm from NE Ohio as well, the courses that I've played near columbus can be rated as follows.

1. Longaberger (by far the most beautiful public course I've ever played) check out their website, their accolades and awards speak for itself. About 45 min. drive east, but well worth it 5 Stars)

2. Scarlet (gorgeous, if you find an OSU student willing to take you your rates will be cheaper)

3. Bent Tree (fairly difficult, great upkeep, semi expensive, very close to Columbus)

4. Eagle Sticks ( very close to longaberger distance wise, but another great track)

5. Deer Ridge (Hour North of Columbus right off the freeway I71 in Mansfield, gorgeous gorgeous )

I joined a private club in Powell a couple of year ago, but I would recommend the following courses:

Longaberger - must play once a year to enjoy the atmosphere, well maintained and a great staff.
Cook's Creek - fun course, just don't play it after a heavy rain as it is in a flood plane and can get messy.
Darby Creek - one of the best courses as mentioned above, lay out is fun and staff is great. Play early of later, though.
Clover Valley & Links at Echo Springs - kind of out of the way, but still fun - make sure you hit it straight or have plenty of balls with you as the fescue off of the fairways at Clover Valley is pretty nasty.
Cumberland Trail - some of the best public greens in Central Ohio, can get backed up on the weekends.
West Chester - again nice layout, well maintained go in the afternoon to avoid the back up.
Golf Club of Dublin - fun to play for a change of pace, it's a links style course, but way OVERPRICED!!
Royal American - good course, play in the evenings to get a better rate.
Oakhaven - extremely different nines, front is wide open, back can get really tight. (Plus the pro is my buddy).

Places to avoid like the plague:
Blackhawk - overplayed and not well maintained - greens are rock hard and your feet will hurt like hell.
Shamrock - bring your hard hat, really tight and way too many golfers on the course at one time. I know people who have been hit by balls on the course.
The Phoenix - its build on a old garbage dump need I say more? God only knows what carcinogens are in the soil.
Bent Tree & New Albany Links - they have way too high opinion of themselves in terms of the course and staff members.

Private Courses to play, if you can get on:
Scioto
Muirfield Village
Tartan Fields
The Golf Club
Double Eagle
Wedgewood
Brookside
Pinnacle - after the first three holes its an awesome course - golf porn.

I will probably get hammered for this, but I played OSU a week before the Nationwide event and was not overly impressed. A lot of the holes seemed the same to me. Its crazy long from the Buckeye tees, though.

Good Luck and play well!!

It is really sad what they let Nicklaus do to Dr. Mackenzie's course there.

Clover Valley, Cooks Creek, North star, and Cumberlain trail are the best non private tracks around c-bus IMO.

Side Note: Scarlet is my home course I play it two or three times a week. The Nationwide boys call it their Us open week. Very tough track. Some hate it, some love it. If you get a chance play it.

If you wanna play Scarlet ill get you on. Im a member. Pm me if your interested.

I second Deer Ridge. Outstanding value and course. Also Hawk's Nest OSU/ATI (my home course) is outstanding. Both are pretty much equidistant from Cleveland and Columbus.

Played Longaberger golf course--great course layout, was a lot of fun and great staff/food. Pay to play and you can play all day, about an hour drive outside Columbus, but all highway so not bad trip at all, well worth it!!!

New Albany Links

I have played there and thought it was very good. Staff was fine but price might be a little high but it is a good track. Check it out on google.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe...sa=N&tab=wl