Ohio hosts 768 quality golf courses to test your golfing skills.
The variety is as good as it gets and irrespective of the skill level, most can be played and enjoyed.
Selecting the 10 best golf courses in Ohio is a difficult task.
This task has been eased with a collaboration with TheGrint, our favorite mobile app that helps golfers track their handicap and stats. They have collected golf course reviews from millions of real golf rounds from real golfers.
Ranking in order 1 to 10
- NCR Country Club | South
- Muirfield Village Golf Club
- The Club at Tartan Fields
- Firestone Country Club | South Course
- Firestone Country Club | North Course
- Firestone Country Club | West Course
- Brookside Golf and Country Club | Brookside
- Quail Hollow Resort and Country Club | Weiskopf / Von Hagge
- Country Club of The North | North
- Jefferson Country Club
1. NCR Country Club South
- Site Link
- Location: Kettering, Ohio.
- Par: 71
- Length: 6,442 meters off the Tips and 5,740 meters off the Front.
PLAYER RATING
3 tees options available.
Signature Hole: The 500-meter par 5 10th is the signature hole and plays to a sloping fairway up the hill.
From the crest, the golfer has to navigate a series of 6 bunkers that protect the sloping green.
A fade is the shot to execute throughout the hole.
NCR hosts 2 18-hole courses and the South Course is deemed the more difficult.
It is a “thinking man’s course” and requires consistent good shot-making to score well where accuracy is more important than length.
Wooded, rolling wide fairways with doglegs both ways and strategically placed bunkers challenge the player to bring his best game.
The sloping greens will test the putter throughout.
2. Muirfield Village Golf Club
- Site Link
- Location: Dublin, Ohio.
- Par: 72
- Length: 6,180 meters off the Tips and 5,383 meters off the Front.
PLAYER RATING
3 tee options available.
Signature Hole: The 518-meter iconic par 5 11th is the signature hole and offers risk and reward to the bold player.
The fairway is wide from the tee but narrows as it works its way alongside a creek that crisscrosses the hole twice.
Any missed shot will bring on a big number to the card.
Muirfield Village course is an exceptional layout that provides a tough test, but also a pleasant experience.
The sloping, weaving, tree-lined fairways with a creek meandering through the layout, leave a very small margin for error.
The greens are very testing and 3-putts are not uncommon.
Play it if given the opportunity.
3. The Club at Tartan Field
- Site Link
- Location: Dublin, Ohio.
- Par: 72
- Length: 6,507 meters off the Tips and 5,306 meters off the Front.
PLAYER RATING
5 tee options available.
Signature Hole: The 368-meter par 4 3rd is my choice of signature hole.
Hitting the fairway off the tee will set the player up for a “scary” approach over water to a well-protected green.
An Arnold Palmer Signature Course that will challenge the best in the business.
Doglegs, water, trees, narrow landing areas with slopes, and strategically placed sand traps require patience and skill to score well here.
Bring your A-game.
4. Firestone Country Club | South
- Site Link
- Location: Akron, Ohio.
- Par: 70
- Length: 6,764 meters off the Tips and 5,899 meters off the Front.
PLAYER RATING
3 tee options available.
Signature Hole: The monster 610-meter par 5 16th is the signature hole at the South Course.
A straight long tee shot sets up the hole. Not too many players can reach in 2 and the pond in front of the green provides a “score-wrecker”.
Lay up and take the risk out of the hole, make par, and walk!
The South Course is noted and well-known for its length.
A set of long, intimidating par 4s require proficiency with the hybrids or long irons to keep a score going.
Throw in a few par 3s of 183-meter to a small green and another at 202-meters, both protected by bunkers, will keep the pressure on.
Elevated, sometimes small greens, just add to the challenge.
A great test of golf even for the Pros.
5. Firestone Country Club | North | South
- Site Link
- Location: Akron, Ohio.
- Par: 72
- Length: 6,513 meters off the Tips and 5,839 meters off the Front.
PLAYER RATING
3 tee options available.
Signature Hole: The 199-meter par 3 17th is my choice for the signature hole.
An island green is all carry over water, select the right club, and hope!
Firestone North plays 2nd fiddle to the South Course but is much more user friendly to the average player.
The contrasting holes throughout the layout make it a testing but pleasant experience.
Lakes and streams are used extensively throughout the course and can damage the card if not avoided.
Negotiate the 488-meter 7th, the 184-meter 11th, and the 498-meter 18th, and a respectable score will be achieved.
Accuracy off the tee is a must, but more latitude is on offer for a few stray 2nd shots.
Another must-play track.
6. Firestone Country Club | West
- Site Link
- Location: Akron, Ohio.
- Par: 70
- Length: 6,311 meters off the Tips and 5,369 meters off the Front.
PLAYER RATING
3 tee options available.
Signature Hole: My choice of signature hole is the 450-meter par 4 13th hole.
A slight dogleg right with bunkers protecting the elbow on the right.
Depending on your tee shot position, the approach has to carry water to the green.
The West Course at Firestone is a links-style course and offers challenging and exciting holes throughout the round.
Typical links play is required with punch-shots, chip-and-roll approaches to the greens, and putting skills.
The layout has 5 testing par 3s which call for precision and distance control to hit the greens.
The West is the least played course at Firestone, but with this comes a flowing round without time pressure.
7. Brookside Golf and Country Club | Brookside
- Site Link
- Location: Columbus, Ohio.
- Par: 72
- Length: 6,514 meters off the Tips and 6,094 meters off the Front.
PLAYER RATING
2 tee options available.
Signature Hole: My choice of signature hole is the short 135-meter par 3 16th.
The green plays about 20-meters above the tee and the challenge starts on the green.
A severe back to front, left to right putting surface will create stress if played from above the hole.
More bogeys and double bogeys are recorded than par on this little teaser.
Brookside is as challenging a layout as you can find in the State.
The narrow tree-lined fairways, with testy rough and good bunkering, call for accuracy from the tee.
Doglegs both ways, OB, carries over water, and sloping greens all complete the test of skill.
8. Quail Hollow Resort and Country Club | Weiskopf / Von Hagge
- Site Link
- Location: Painesville, Ohio.
- Par: 71
- Length: 6,145 meters off the Tips and 5,389 meters off the Front.
PLAYER RATING
6 tee options available.
Signature Hole: The long and narrow 499-meter par 5 is the signature hole and plays to a dogleg fairway close to the green.
The 2nd needs to be played to the left side of the dogleg to get a straight shot into the bunker-protected green.
Quail Hollow offers 2 18-hole championship courses and the Weiskopf design is a links-style track.
The heavily wooded area creates interesting and exciting holes throughout with the uneven terrain fairways increasing the difficulty.
7 holes feature water hazards, lakes, and ponds, and 57 sand bunkers lurk in the landing areas and greenside complexes.
The 6 back 9 par 4s are all long and testing, where accuracy is rewarded.
9. Country Club of The North | North
- Site Link
- Location: Xenia, Ohio.
- Par: 70
- Length: 6,132 meters off the Tips and 4,676 meters off the Front.
PLAYER RATING
4 tee options available.
Signature Hole: No signature hole found but the stroke 1 424-meter par 4 would be my choice.
Accuracy off the tee and distance control on the approach will create the opportunity to make par on this difficult hole.
A Jack Nicklaus designed layout that features mature trees framing the fairways and green complexes.
The fairways meander and roll around streams and lakes enhancing the beauty and challenge for all skill levels.
Strategically placed bunkers compound the risk and reward precision-shots required to conquer this stunning track.
The subtle breaks and contours on the greens keep the putter in the game.
10. Jefferson Country Club
- Site Link
- Location: Blacklist, Ohio.
- Par: 72
- Length: 6,429 meters off the Tips and 5,112 meters off the Front.
PLAYER RATING
5 tee options available.
Signature Hole: My choice of signature hole is the 529-meter par 5 10th hole.
It plays to a dogleg left off the tee and then a risk and reward 2nd with a 3-metal or long iron to the green.
Water protects the green in the front and the layup option requires distance control to avoid the other hazards.
A Robert Trent Jones Jnr designed course with two very diverse 9s.
The front 9 (Heathland) is typical old Scottish-style links with fescue grass and undulating mounds accompanied by wind.
Brush up on the low punch-shots and rolling chip-shots to the greens before taking on this 9.
The back 9 (Woodland) is a more traditional-style layout with the rolling terrain framed by dense woods.
Play 2 courses in one and accept the challenge of both.
Other courses outside the top 10
1. TPC River’s Bend | River’s Bend
- Site Link
- Location: Maineville, Ohio.
PLAYER RATING
An Arnold Palmer designed course that rolls through gentle elevation changes.
Waterfalls, small creeks, fairways framed by mature hardwoods make this an enjoyable and testing layout to play.
Any TPC track is worth a visit!
2. Maketewah Country Club
- Site Link
- Location: Cincinnati, Ohio.
PLAYER RATING
A tree-lined golf course that works its way through hills and valleys, creating uphill and downhill holes throughout.
Exciting holes tempt and challenge the skill levels of golfers during the round.
The undulating greens will keep all alert.
A US Open qualifying track for many years.
3. Stonelick Hills Golf Club
- Site Link
- Location: Batavia, Ohio.
PLAYER RATING
Another fantastic golf course for all skill levels to play and enjoy.
The diverse exciting holes will get the adrenaline pumping, and none more so than the par 5 9th.
It has to rank as one of the best par 5s around, with water lurking on every shot.
Wow!
Final Thoughts
What an exciting opportunity for golfers to test their ability against an outstanding choice of golf courses.
There are a couple of holes that must rank high in any world rankings.
Go find them and play!
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Nick is the founder of GolfSpan and an avid golfer. He's not quite a pro but has over 15 years of experience playing and coaching golfers worldwide. His mission is to bring the golfing community a better experience when it comes to choosing the right golf gear and finding the right setup for your game.
