Jimmy Hanlin Golf

Popular Ohio radio and television personality Jimmy Hanlin, who hosts “Tee it Up Ohio” on Sportstime Ohio and co-hosts a weekly radio golf show in Cleveland, had a vision when he first purchased a stake in Little Mountain Country Club in 2006 – develop an award-winning golf course where the on-course experience was mirrored by all-around service.

Today that vision has become reality, and it’s expanding. In 2007 Jimmy Hanlin Golf purchased Pataskala’s Cumberland Trail Golf Club. The latest addition to the group’s roster was Highland Heights’ StoneWater Golf Course. Those courses join the nationally recognized Little Mountain, one of only 17 courses in the country to receive a Five Star rating from Golf Digest in 2007, to create an outstanding trio of layouts that offer golfers impeccable conditions, dedicated service and tremendous value.

While each course promises to be to be its own unique experience, they all share the class and attention to detail associated with the Jimmy Hanlin brand. All three also bear the mark of the Hurdzan-Fry design team. The architects’ moniker of ‘Stir the Spirit, Exceed Expectationand Defy Understanding’ is consistent with what you’ll find at a Jimmy Hanlin course.

STIR THE SPIRIT

As an artist whose work will be measured by the caliber and total number of drives, irons, pitches and putts throughout his 18-hole excursion, the avid golfer will find no better muse than the breathtaking Little Mountain Country Club.

One of the Buckeye State's most acclaimed semi-private facilities, Little Mountain borders on aesthetically overwhelming. The pride of Painesville is only a vigorous jog from the shores of Lake Erie and affords its visitors views of the Great Lake’s sparkling seas.

Water is indeed the defining element of Little Mountain. Unspoiled Ellison Creek traverses through the layout and empties into a four-acre spring-fed lake. Spectacular images of the creek and its waterfalls as well as Lake Erie are visible from many of the holes. The experience is further enhanced by dramatic elevation changes of up to 150 feet and a smattering of mature trees from tee to green. The spectacular look and feel of Little Mountain greatly contributed to Golf Digest giving the layout a prestigious Five-Star rating, putting the course in the same category with world-famous golf destinations like Pebble Beach and Pinehurst.

Little Mountain was also rated as one of the nations top golf courses by Zagat Survey, which produces a series of paperback guidebooks and maintains a Web site dedicated to providing important reviews and restaurants and travel destinations.

But don’t expect the atmosphere to be the least bit stuffy. The experience at Little Mountain includes a chalet-style clubhouse filled with the sounds of new age music where you might just run into one of the lovely ladies from the Girls of Little Mountain calendar; one of the out of the box ideas implemented by Hanlin that features some of the golf course’s bartenders and cart girls. If anything in Ohio comes close to a Vegas type getaway, Hanlin says it’s Little Mountain.

In addition to offering traditional memberships, packages of 25, 50 and 100 rounds can be purchased for Little Mountain, as well as any of the other Hanlin Golf properties.

Little Mountain offers a variety of “Stay and Play” packages, and has partnered with many different hotel, dining and entertainment accommodations in the area.

The course is easily accessible from all directions and is less than an hour drive from Downtown Cleveland. For more information on everything Little Mountain has to offer visit www.littlemountaincc.com or call (440) 358-PUTT.

DEFY UNDERSTANDING

Even the architect can’t say for certain why Cumberland Trail Golf Club’s greens have matured into the best public putting surfaces in Columbus. And he’s a doctor.

“The number one first thing you’ll notice out here is green condition,” says Hanlin. “I’ve talked to Michael Hurdzan, and even he can’t give us a good reason why a $40-50 public course can stand up to any private club. It’s just a good grass; a good mix that works together. Either way, the results have been great. The greens are beautiful.”

Located just 20 minutes east of Columbus in Pataskala, Cumberland Trail was the second course to join the Hanlin Golf group. The course is rated Four Stars by Golf Digest, and features a stellar Hurdzan-Fry layout plus those renowned greens.

A variety of memberships are offered at Cumberland Trail, all of which provide access to a host of golf and social events throughout the year.

Through Buckeye Golf Packages, a subsidiary service of Jimmy Hanlin Golf, golfers can combine a round at Cumberland Trail with an additional round at a variety of area courses including the award-winning Longaberger Golf Club. To learn more about golf packages, visit www.buckeyegolfpackages.com.

For more information about Cumberland Trail, head to www.cumberlandtrailgc.com.

EXCEED EXPECTATION

No greater complement can be given to a golf course than to be selected as the site of a professional tournament, especially if that event is associated in any manner with the PGA Tour. For a number of years StoneWater Golf Course welcomed the Nationwide Tour’s Cleveland Open, and reviews were overwhelmingly positive.

Not only was the layout as good as advertised, it was better. On at least one occasion players on the Nationwide Tour ranked StoneWater as their favorite stop on tour. Unfortunately, funding for the event fell through and the event was forced to relocate from the Cleveland area, but the stamp of approval had already branded the course as one of the area’s premier daily-fee facilities.

Obviously challenging, this par-72 layout winds throughout 178 acres of wooded wetlands. Water hazards can be found on 16 of 18 holes. The abundance of water present throughout the course necessitated the construction of 23 wooden bridges. Golfers will also come across some 70 sand bunkers as they make their way around.

StoneWater does have the ability to accommodate all levels of play. Five sets of tees make the course enjoyable for everyone. In fact, 81 separate teeing grounds enable the course to play from roughly 5,000 yards to nearly 7,100.

The course was witness to a little history in 2007 when then 19-year-old Australian Jason Day finished 16-under to win the Cleveland Open, becoming the youngest player to win a PGA Tour-sponsored event. For more information on StoneWater, visit www.stonewatergolf.com.

Hanlin Hacks

To stay up-to-date with any specials offers and promotions from Jimmy Hanlin Golf, golfers can join the Hanlin Hacks VIP data base. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll receive email updates and custom offers for all three courses.

Information on each of the three courses and much more can be found at www.JimmyHanlin.com.