Best golf courses: Ohio (North & Central)

Quite a few of Ohio's golf courses that have made our list are private golf clubs with impeccable amenities. The best public golf courses here include the Avalon Lakes course, a lovely tree-lined layout with challenging holes, the top-rated Virtues Golf Club, and the championship layout at Sleepy Hollow Golf Course. To make the most of your golfing trip, and to help in your planning, you can look up the location of the best courses in Ohio on our customised maps.

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
Stay&Play possible
Cleveland / Akron
Jones, RT Sr & Tom Fazio

Visitors?

Stay&Play possible

Nearest city

Cleveland / Akron

Designer

South course: original design by Bert Way (1929); redesign by Robert Trent Jones Sr (1960).
North course: Robert Trent Jones Sr (1969).
Fazio course: Tom Fazio (2001; 2021).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Cleveland / Akron
Salemi, Joe

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Cleveland / Akron

Designer

Joe Salemi
4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Cleveland / Akron
Thompson, Stanley

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Cleveland / Akron

Designer

Stanley Thompson

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Cleveland / Akron
Hurdzan/Fry

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Cleveland / Akron

Designer

Hurdzan/Fry Design (Dr Michael J. Hurdzan & Dana Fry).

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
Cleveland / Akron
Strong, Herbert

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

Cleveland / Akron

Designer

Herbert Strong (1922); modifications by Bruce Hepner (2016).

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
Cleveland / Akron
Flynn, William S.

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

Cleveland / Akron

Designer

Current layout designed by William S. Flynn (1928).

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
Cleveland / Akron
Alison, Charles Hugh

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

Cleveland / Akron

Designer

Charles "Hugh" Alison, long-time design associate of Harry Colt.

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Cleveland / Akron
Huntley, Brian

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Cleveland / Akron

Designer

Brian Huntley
5-star: Fabulous – courses don’t get much better than this.
Visitors welcome
Cleveland / Akron
Dye, Pete

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Cleveland / Akron

Designer

Pete Dye

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Cleveland / Akron
Dye, Pete & Roy

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Cleveland / Akron

Designer

Pete Dye & brother Roy Dye designed the original Lake and River nines.
4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Cleveland / Akron
Thompson, Stanley

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Cleveland / Akron

Designer

Stanley Thompson
4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Cleveland / Akron
Ault, Ed

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Cleveland / Akron

Designer

Edmund B. "Ed" Ault
4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Cleveland / Akron
Ross, Donald

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Cleveland / Akron

Designer

Donald Ross
Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
Columbus
MacKenzie, Alister

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

Columbus

Designer

Original design by Dr Alister MacKenzie (1939); renovated by Jack Nicklaus (2005).

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Columbus (OH)
Hills, Arthur

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Columbus (OH)

Designer

Arthur Hills

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
Columbus (OH)
Dye, Pete

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

Columbus (OH)

Designer

Pete Dye

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Columbus (OH)
Ross, Donald

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Columbus (OH)

Designer

Original design by Donald Ross (1929), later revised by Jack Kidwell.
Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
Columbus (OH)
Nicklaus & Muirhead

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

Columbus (OH)

Designer

A Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course designed by Jack Nicklaus, with input from Desmond Muirhead and Pete Dye.

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
Columbus (OH)
Ross, Donald

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

Columbus (OH)

Designer

Original design by Donald Ross (1916); updated by Dick Wilson (early 1960s) and renovation by Jack Nicklaus & Dr Michael J. Hurdzan (2008).

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
Columbus (OH)
Weiskopf & Morrish

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

Columbus (OH)

Designer

Tom Weiskopf & Jay Morrish

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
(Closed in 2020)
Columbus (OH)
Hills & Forrest

Visitors?

(Closed in 2020)

Nearest city

Columbus (OH)

Designer

Arthur Hills & Steve Forrest

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Toledo (OH)
Hills, Arthur

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Toledo (OH)

Designer

Arthur Hills
Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
Toledo (OH)
Ross, Donald

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

Toledo (OH)

Designer

Original design dates from 1903. Course remodelled by Donald Ross (1919); modifications by George & Tom Fazio (1979), Arthur Hills (1999) and Andrew Green (2018).

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Tournaments

Ryder Cup: Rome plays host to the first ever Ryder Cup to be staged in Italy, with the USA defending golf’s greatest team trophy at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club (Sept 29-Oct 1).

Solheim Cup: also in September, also in southern Europe, the 18th Solheim Cup will be contested at Finca Cortesin on the Costa del Sol, with Europe defending after their surprise win in Toledo, Inverness Club (Ohio) in 2021 (Sept 22-24). 

Who's Who

Céline Boutier: with many successes as both an amateur and professional golfer, Boutier added a major championship title to her impressive résumé at this year’s Evian Championship.

Alex Cejka: buffeted by rain and high winds, especially on the high-scoring final day, Čejka prevailed over Pádraig Harrington in a playoff at Royal Porthcawl, to scoop the Senior Open Championship title.

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.

Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.

Prince's Golf Club, Kent (UK)

Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.

Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available

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Littlestone Golf Club (Kent, UK)