Stonelick Hills - Ohio - USA

Stonelick Hills has to be one of, if not the best public course around Cincinnati. Out here, missing the fairways is forgivable. Unless you go into water, some of the (very) deep bunkers, or the woods, you can drive it all over the place and salvage a decent score. Missing the greens, however, is what will make your round much more challenging. I happened to play the course on the day of the final round of the club championship, so some of the flags were in some pretty extreme spots. Consequently, when I went pin-seeking and missed short side, I had almost no prayer of getting up and down. Even if the pins our placed in the dead center on all 18 holes, no up and down is a given. There's lots of slope to maneuver around, and plenty of chances to have the ball roll right back to your feet. The only other Ohio course to this point I've played on the ranking is Shaker Run, and I definitely liked Stonelick more, so I'm willing to bet this course could actually be in the state's Top 30 at worst, maybe even Top 25. If staff friendliness is a big deal to you, this group will delight you. Everyone I encountered from the pro shop to the course was top class.