Once could be viewed as a stroke of luck, twice a nice coincidence, but three times in a row and we’re talking dynasty. For three consecutive years, Tam O’Shanter Golf Course in Canton has been recognized as Stark County’s best public course; quite an honor for the classic layout.
Built on 300 acres of rolling farmland nearly a century ago, Tam O’Shanter features 36 holes of championship golf on two well-conditioned courses (Dales and Hills), a superb practice facility featuring a complete driving range with 30 grass tees, a full-service restaurant, pro shop and lounge.
The Dales Course, opened in 1928, is the elder statesman of the pair and recently marked its 80th anniversary. Slightly longer than the Hills Course, The Dales was built on somewhat flat terrain with fairways framed by tall trees. The fairways feature a fair amount of mounds and undulation, making uneven lies a common occurrence. The course is a challenging test and was used for the final round of the Ohio Open Championship from 1988-2003. It was designed by Harold Macomber, who was a disciple of the legendary designer Donald Ross.
The Hills Course, constructed three years after the Dales in 1931, was built by Merle Paul, who served as an engineer under Ross and Macomber. The Hills is the more wide-open of the two courses at Tam O’Shanter, with small undulating greens that are deceptively quick.
The most difficult hole on the Hills Course is No. 3, a 413-yard par 4 requiring a long tee shot, followed by an approach shot to a severely undulating green.
Through the decades, Tam O’Shanter has maintained its traditional values while adding appropriate updates, including multiple teeing grounds appropriate to men and women of all ages and skill levels. The opening hole on the Dales Course was rebuilt to make room for the new, larger driving range that would face away from the highway, but the rest of the routing on both courses remains substantially the same as the day the facility opened in 1928. And having been built by protégés or Ross, these two traditional courses have surely stood the test of time. It was Ross behind legendary layouts such as Pinehurst No. 2, Seminole and Oakland Hills.
And just what is a Tam O’Shanter? Well that name is derived from the distinctive headwear worn by the character in an English/Scottish poem by Robert Burns about a drunken horseman’s comical, yet scary, journey as he witnesses disturbing visions on his way home from the local pub. The Tam O’Shanter worn by today’s Scottish military bears some resemblance to a beret, with the addition of a small pompon or tuft in the center of the cap. The Scotsman pictured in the golf course logo is wearing a Tam.
For more information, please visit www.tamoshantergolf.com or call
1-800-462-9964. Tam O’Shanter is located at 5055 Hills and Dales Road
NW in Canton, Ohio.