Eagle Creek Golf Club - Making the Competition Green with Envy

Brian Huntley is the hottest name in Ohio Golf Course design. He’s built a number of notable layouts including Deer Ridge Golf Club, The Quarry Golf Club and Beavercreek Golf Club and renovated courses such as Medina Country Club, but he saved what could go down as his best work for Norwalk’s Eagle Creek Golf Club.

Golf Digest, one of the nation’s most respected and trusted golf publications, has taken notice. The magazine rated Eagle Creek 4 ½ out of 5 stars in 2008-09, an honor the course has held over the past four years.

This rating and Eagle Creek’s reputation have put the par-71 course on a short list of the best public-access facilities in the entire state of Ohio.

Eagle Creek is a unique layout defined by distinctively different holes that feature lush fairways, white sandy bunkers, wetlands and woods. But it’s the course’s large bent grass greens that have earned Eagle Creek such acclaim since it opened in 1995.

General Manager Dave Weisenberger said there are a lot of great courses in the area, with great putting surfaces, but none are talked about as glowingly as the greens at his course.

“We get nothing but praise,” Weisenberger said about his club’s greens.

One golfer said of his experience, “I haven’t putted this well in 15 years; it has to be the greens at Eagle Creek. Another echoed that sentiment, saying “I came out to play the course with the best greens in the area and I wasn’t disappointed.”

Perhaps the best compliment to the greens was paid by Jim Caprara who said, “I played Sawgrass just after the PLAYERS Championship Tournament and your greens roll just as well as theirs did.”

The pristine condition of the greens at Eagle Creek can be attributed to an aggressive early aerification schedule that extends the golf season, a good topdressing program and the same rolling equipment used prior to PGA Tour events.

Those trademark greens are guarded by large expanses of fringe that give golfers plenty of options to choose from when deciding how to attack the flags.

Eagle Creek measures more than 6,600 yards from the back tees, but features a number of different tee combinations that can take the yardage down to as low as 4,908 yards. The course rating from the gold (back) tees is 71.8 with a slope of 127.

Your day at Eagle Creek begins with a bird-ieable par-5, measuring slightly more than 500 yards from the back tees. Trees line the fairway on No. 1 and two greenside bunkers stand as the only obstacles on this hole, until you reach the most undulating green on the course. This is a great opportunity to start off your round with a sub-par effort. The opening hole is one of four par 5 ’s at Eagle Creek.

No. 4 is a hole that demands accuracy off the tee and forces players to twice clear a creek before making it to the green. Water once again lurks behind the green complex, offering a challenge that leaves little room for error.

Number eight is a classic risk-reward hole that can leave you deflated or elated depending on your result. This is one of 5 par 3 ’s at Eagle Creek, requiring a short to middle iron to a long narrow green fronted by water.

The front nine ends with a par four - a dog leg right that is 397 yards from the furthest tee box. Tree-lined fairways and multiple bunkers make par a well-earned number before heading to the back nine.

One of the most difficult holes on the golf course, and by all accounts the toughest par-3 is No. 12. The hole plays 175-200 yards and is complicated by a large wetland lining the entire right side and six bunkers guarding a lima bean shaped green.

The final three holes at Eagle Creek make up the most demanding stretch on the course. No 16 is a fine par three that has more water than grass. Not much room for error on this hole as the green sits diagonally behind an intimidating lake.

No. 17 is a long par 4 that is a slight dogleg to the right and features a long rolling green surrounded by trees. This hole tends to play into the prevailing winds making it a “long” 434 yards.

The home hole is a par 5 that requires a well-placed tee shot down a narrow tree-lined fairway followed by an approach to a green surrounded by bunkers. A small stream divides the approach and will force you to lay up or test your best club in your bag.

Huntley designed Eagle Creek with walkers in mind, and the course still allows players to walk at any time and take in the beautiful surrounding scenery.

Golfers looking to take their game to the next level, simply focus on the fundamentals or anything in between are all welcome at Eagle Creek.

The club offers individualized instruction to suit each player’s body type, ability and skill. The lessons offered focus on techniques such as posture, alignment and improved swinging procedure that should make for a more successful and enjoyable game of golf.

Instruction can be taken individually, as a couple, as a family, or in the form of mini-lessons or clinics.

The golf shop at Eagle Creek provides excellent service and selection and offers top brands like Titleist, Ping and Cobra at competitive prices.

Eagle Creek’s state-of-the-art Web site has all the information a potential golfer would need, including a photo gallery of the course, an event calendar, internet-only golf specials, course information, driving directions, information about outings and events and a function that allows customers to book tee times online. Visit Eagle Creek on the web at www.eaglecreekgolf.com.

Eagle Creek Golf Club is located in Nor-walk, Ohio, within a 45-minute drive of the Lake Erie Islands area and a little more than an hour west of Cleveland. The Cedar Point amusement park area is a half-hour from the facility.