NEW to golf - Cincinnati - what courses should I play?

[HoosierHacker89]

how is glenview? I have a coupon for there i am hoping to use.

[HoosierHacker89]

also which course is the good one to play there?

[ilikegolf26]

Are there any heated ranges in Cincinnati?

[Tarantula18t]

I personally am not a fan of Glenview. 25 years ago I was told it was one of the best around, but anymore, it's nothing special. If you play, definitely make sure it's the West and South. The East is part of the original 18, but the West (which is the newest), is much better. I am not sure what part of Cincy you're in, but probably the best ones are at Meadowlinks, which is north of Cincinnati in the Forest Park area.

[mikpga]

Meadow Links and Golf Academy.

Would be happy to give you a tour!

[somaplr]

[quote name='ilikegolf26' timestamp='1360519030' post='6400149'] Are there any heated ranges in Cincinnati? [/quote]

There is one in West Chester off Cin-Day Rd

[CincyCreech]

[quote name='HoosierHacker89' timestamp='1360276612' post='6383903']
how is glenview? I have a coupon for there i am hoping to use.
[/quote]

Dude glenview is solid. Do not.. Do not play east... Short always the worst shape out of the 3. Play west and south, alot of good solid holes. I think it's a pretty good course, lots of dog legs. Greens are always in pretty good shape, an has a decent little short game area with a couple of good practice greens.

Some other good course- Walden Ponds- right smack in the middle of a neighborhood but good course.
Hamilton Elks- great old school donald ross course. Course is private so the only way you can play is book on golf now.
Probably my favorite course. Great shape 24/7 greens are always good. Great bunkers
Elks Run- Fun course out in batavia. Greg Norman design good set up. Generally in great shape. Greens are cool they
have no fringe, just thick rough guarding the greens. Some good run offs on certain holes.

[Chris Condit]

Anyone know if Deer Run is in any better shape? I moved over to the west side of Cincinnati from Auburn, AL about a year ago and haven't gotten out to Deer Run because I've read about how bad it had gotten. They have a pretty decent rate for memberships which is something I'd like to do given that it seems a lot of the courses in my neck of the woods don't do them. And the ones that do are way too pricy for me.

I've played Neumann several times and it's always in good shape and when I played Aston Oaks last summer it was in decent shape (still some fairways that were struggling badly).

Any word I could get on this would be extremely helpful. Thanks!

[Tarantula18t]

My Dad plays Deere Run quite a bit (2 or 3 times already this year), and he says it's in good shape. Although I will say, my Dad is 72 years old, and anymore his idea of a well manicured course has gone way downhill. If it has any sort of grass in the fairway, he's ok with it. He could care less about good greens/sand/etc. He did mention that the cart paths are horrible. The fact that he plays it so dirt cheap, and they always seem to have fast rounds there probably influences his opinion.

Personally, I think the place is the pits. I have played there 2 or 3 times over the past few years, and won't bother going back. Last year being the final round. I have NEVER thought it was in good shape, except the greens were nice the first time I played there.

Unfortunately you live in a bad spot for good golf courses in the Cincinnati/Dayton area. There are a few good options on the east side of town, and a lot more well North of you.

[Chris Condit]

Tarantula... I will agree with you that this course was not that good. I played it after work on Tuseday evening and was not impressed. The fairways were in OK shape and the traps weren't too bad, but the greens were AWFUL and play was pretty slow thanks to evening leagues. I was hoping to get a Twilight membership out there if it were worth it but unfortunately it's not. I will stick to Neumann from time to time and finding good deals on Golfnow.

[mikpga]

Circling Hills in Harrison...

Just played today...

Greens were unbelievable!

Always dry as a bone out there!

[Chris Condit]

I'll have to look into that one, although it is still about 15 miles one way from where I live... Gonna go play Walden Ponds tomorrow, I've heard good things about it so hopefully it will be a good round.

[mikpga]

Walden Ponds is a nice Dr. Hurdzan design...Circling Hills is such a great story...Played there this morning, greens were awesome...It doesn't look like much, the routing is kind of goofy, but each hole stands on it's own...

[CincyCreech]

[quote name='Chris Condit' timestamp='1367007194' post='6923937']
I'll have to look into that one, although it is still about 15 miles one way from where I live... Gonna go play Walden Ponds tomorrow, I've heard good things about it so hopefully it will be a good round.
[/quote]

Walden ponds is a good track.. Generally in pretty good shape. They roll the greens quite often so they get pretty quick.. Only downside of the course is the sand traps an how inconsistent they are. 1 trap will have a half foot of sand, then the next will have 3 feet.

[Chris Condit]

Walden wasn't bad on Saturday, definitely MUCH longer than the courses I had been playing lately, so that was a challenge The course was in pretty good shape although the greens were a little bumpier than I was expecting but otherwise that was my only gripe so I was happy.

Hopefully I'll get out and about to some other courses throughout the area this year.

[Frohlich]

I enjoy playing Walden Ponds. Pretty wide open, good conditions, few cool holes but nothing special from a layout standpoint, and can usually get a good deal on golfnow.com Probably doesn't hurt that I score well on that course so I like to play it a few times a year.

[Chris Condit]

Anyone played Beckett Ridge? I've heard it is a pretty decent course and I got a really good deal on golfnow to play it tomorrow around noon time. Just curious if anyone had any thoughts about it.

[somaplr]

[quote name='Chris Condit' timestamp='1367588294' post='6963440']
Anyone played Beckett Ridge? I've heard it is a pretty decent course and I got a really good deal on golfnow to play it tomorrow around noon time. Just curious if anyone had any thoughts about it.
[/quote]


Ummmmmmmm what time are you playing tomorrow? I'm teeing off at noon.

We'll be in for a longggggggggggggggggggg hall. It's not a bad course, it's really not. They biggest problem I have with Beckett is the speed of play. It's atrocious.

[Frohlich]

[quote name='Chris Condit' timestamp='1367588294' post='6963440']
Anyone played Beckett Ridge? I've heard it is a pretty decent course and I got a really good deal on golfnow to play it tomorrow around noon time. Just curious if anyone had any thoughts about it.
[/quote]. I am not crazy about the layout at Beckett. The conditioning is fine just nothing stands out to me about the course. One of the par 5s on the back nine is very odd to me and feels Mickey mouse ish

[pu_golf88]

[quote name='somaplr' timestamp='1367588470' post='6963460']
[quote name='Chris Condit' timestamp='1367588294' post='6963440']
Anyone played Beckett Ridge? I've heard it is a pretty decent course and I got a really good deal on golfnow to play it tomorrow around noon time. Just curious if anyone had any thoughts about it.
[/quote]


Ummmmmmmm what time are you playing tomorrow? I'm teeing off at noon.

We'll be in for a longggggggggggggggggggg hall. It's not a bad course, it's really not. They biggest problem I have with Beckett is the speed of play. It's atrocious.
[/quote]

I full heartedly agree. I played there once after work on a weekday and it was horrendous. I refuse to go play there anymore because of that.

[somaplr]

My wife and I just moved to W Chest from Dayton. I live about a 6 iron from the course.

I stil belong to a private club in Dayton but don't have the time to do that whole dance b/c of dinner plans. If it's bad tomorrow, like 5 hour bad, I'll just leave. I think my green fees were like $20.

[somaplr]

[quote name='Frohlich' timestamp='1367589502' post='6963556']
[quote name='Chris Condit' timestamp='1367588294' post='6963440']
Anyone played Beckett Ridge? I've heard it is a pretty decent course and I got a really good deal on golfnow to play it tomorrow around noon time. Just curious if anyone had any thoughts about it.
[/quote]. I am not crazy about the layout at Beckett. The conditioning is fine just nothing stands out to me about the course. One of the par 5s on the back nine is very odd to me and feels Mickey mouse ish
[/quote]

That would be #14

[Chris Condit]

[quote name='somaplr' timestamp='1367588470' post='6963460']
[quote name='Chris Condit' timestamp='1367588294' post='6963440']
Anyone played Beckett Ridge? I've heard it is a pretty decent course and I got a really good deal on golfnow to play it tomorrow around noon time. Just curious if anyone had any thoughts about it.
[/quote]


Ummmmmmmm what time are you playing tomorrow? I'm teeing off at noon.

We'll be in for a longggggggggggggggggggg hall. It's not a bad course, it's really not. They biggest problem I have with Beckett is the speed of play. It's atrocious.
[/quote]

My tee time was 12:24 and got it for $13 on golfnow. For the price, the course was pretty solid. Nothing special but it was in pretty good shape but I can imagine as it gets more & more play this summer it will start to go down hill some. The pace of play wasn't awful, but it was pretty slow. No starters anywhere to be found (not even at the 1st tee) which just adds to the slow play.

But, as I said for $13 I would definitely play it again. Just prepare myself to spend 5 hrs out there.

[mikpga]

[quote name='Chris Condit' timestamp='1367716523' post='6971718']
[quote name='somaplr' timestamp='1367588470' post='6963460']
[quote name='Chris Condit' timestamp='1367588294' post='6963440']
Anyone played Beckett Ridge? I've heard it is a pretty decent course and I got a really good deal on golfnow to play it tomorrow around noon time. Just curious if anyone had any thoughts about it.
[/quote]


Ummmmmmmm what time are you playing tomorrow? I'm teeing off at noon.

We'll be in for a longggggggggggggggggggg hall. It's not a bad course, it's really not. They biggest problem I have with Beckett is the speed of play. It's atrocious.
[/quote]

My tee time was 12:24 and got it for $13 on golfnow. For the price, the course was pretty solid. Nothing special but it was in pretty good shape but I can imagine as it gets more & more play this summer it will start to go down hill some. The pace of play wasn't awful, but it was pretty slow. No starters anywhere to be found (not even at the 1st tee) which just adds to the slow play.

But, as I said for $13 I would definitely play it again. Just prepare myself to spend 5 hrs out there.
[/quote]

So sad....

13.00 to play a former CCA Private Club designed by Kidwell/Hurdzan...

No starter, no ranger...

Just sad...

[somaplr]

[quote name='Chris Condit' timestamp='1367716523' post='6971718']
[quote name='somaplr' timestamp='1367588470' post='6963460']
[quote name='Chris Condit' timestamp='1367588294' post='6963440']
Anyone played Beckett Ridge? I've heard it is a pretty decent course and I got a really good deal on golfnow to play it tomorrow around noon time. Just curious if anyone had any thoughts about it.
[/quote]


Ummmmmmmm what time are you playing tomorrow? I'm teeing off at noon.

We'll be in for a longggggggggggggggggggg hall. It's not a bad course, it's really not. They biggest problem I have with Beckett is the speed of play. It's atrocious.
[/quote]

My tee time was 12:24 and got it for $13 on golfnow. For the price, the course was pretty solid. Nothing special but it was in pretty good shape but I can imagine as it gets more & more play this summer it will start to go down hill some. The pace of play wasn't awful, but it was pretty slow. No starters anywhere to be found (not even at the 1st tee) which just adds to the slow play.

But, as I said for $13 I would definitely play it again. Just prepare myself to spend 5 hrs out there.
[/quote]

I was about two groups ahead of you

[Frohlich]

BTW, for all the praise we have given Heatherwoode, including me, I played it Saturday morning and it wasn't in that great of shape. Tee boxes need to be mowed, fairways needed to be mowed. Nothing bad, but it usually is so spotless I was a little surprised at what I saw.

[Tarantula18t]

I played on Sunday, and would agree that it definitely needs to be mowed. The starter mentioned that everything was "long" on the course, and I didn't really catch what he said was the reason.

Your ball was eaten by the rough, plain and simple. You were lucky to advance it 150 yards afterwards.

As far as I'm concerned, they can slash and burn #16!

One day of grass cutting, and that course is back to being the best conditioned around I think.

[Frohlich]

[quote name='Tarantula18t' timestamp='1367846098' post='6978568']
I played on Sunday, and would agree that it definitely needs to be mowed. The starter mentioned that everything was "long" on the course, and I didn't really catch what he said was the reason.

Your ball was eaten by the rough, plain and simple. You were lucky to advance it 150 yards afterwards.

As far as I'm concerned, they can slash and burn #16!

One day of grass cutting, and that course is back to being the best conditioned around I think.
[/quote]

I agree about #16...never has fit my eye. I had four penalty strokes and shot a 79 (that is a good score for me). No idea how I did it to be honest. Never felt like I was playing that great and somehow finished birdie/birdie after my bogey on 16.

[Tarantula18t]

I don't know which tees you play out there, but from the blacks, that hole is VERY tough. It's awful.......awful as in it beats me up EVERY time I play there. It's just the tee shot that makes it tough. I was one over going in to that hole on Sunday, and took a triple. If I have played that course 100 times, I have hit it in the garbage 75 of those rounds. I might as well just throw a ball in the junk, put a 6 on the card (sometimes worse, rarely better), and move on. It's disgusting how bad I play that hole. Two weeks ago I hit a nice drive and iron......had about a 15 footer for birdie, and 3 putt. No matter what I do......par isn't an option.

You can get away with some penalties out there, and still score. There are so many lateral hazards, that you can normally escape with a bogey taking a penalty. Only a few spots to go OB.

[Frohlich]

[quote name='Tarantula18t' timestamp='1367866101' post='6980548']
I don't know which tees you play out there, but from the blacks, that hole is VERY tough. It's awful.......awful as in it beats me up EVERY time I play there. It's just the tee shot that makes it tough. I was one over going in to that hole on Sunday, and took a triple. If I have played that course 100 times, I have hit it in the garbage 75 of those rounds. I might as well just throw a ball in the junk, put a 6 on the card (sometimes worse, rarely better), and move on. It's disgusting how bad I play that hole. Two weeks ago I hit a nice drive and iron......had about a 15 footer for birdie, and 3 putt. No matter what I do......par isn't an option.

You can get away with some penalties out there, and still score. There are so many lateral hazards, that you can normally escape with a bogey taking a penalty. Only a few spots to go OB.
[/quote]

No, the blacks are the big boy tees in my book. I try to stick to 6200 to 6500 on most courses. Longer than that and my ego gets bruised :-)