Manakiki Golf Course

Ohio is rife with courses from Donald Ross, and a relative few remain open to public play. The city of Cleveland obtained both Manakiki and Sleepy Hollow (a Stanley Thompson design) and incorporated them into the city’s park system mid-Century. Both remain among the most popular public routes in the state.The Manakiki property sits on the east side of the city, and features several dramatic changes in elevation, which Ross used to construct a fair, rolling route. The two most photographed holes on the property are its “canyon” holes;

the effect is the result of a sharp ridge running between the par fours at no. 10 and 18, which are also pinched by hillsides on their respective outer edges, creating downhill drives into fairways running between the hills, which rise again to the green.

The altitude changes may be most evident on No. 16, however. A 330-yard drive may seem out of reach to most, but the steep drop-off from the top fairway indicates how many extra yards can be collected by a big driver. Don’t let these mid-length holes distract you from the quality at Manakiki’s par threes, however.

A '90s renovation program helped to widen these fairways and restore the wonder of Ross to the property.