Moving to Cincinnati

bkress86 · July 17, 2019

Moving to Cincinnati in a 6 weeks. Looking for some feedback on courses on the north side of town. Buying a house on Shaker Run, that seems like a decent public course. Any other feedback on the area from fellow WRX’ers?

cfmgolf · July 17, 2019

Welcome to OH - I actually live across the street in the Trails! Shaker Run has gone through some really tough struggles in the past 4-6 years, but the new ownership group in the last 12 months does appear to be moving it back in the right direction. There are 3 nines that are color coded now, but everyone still calls them by their original names. LAKESIDE, WOODLANDS, AND MEADOWS. Lakeside and Woodlands were the original 18 and considered their more premier route. Lakeside is undergoing quite a bit of condo development right now so it has lost some of it's charm in my opinion, but everyone has to find a way to make a buck so I really can't blame them. Woodlands is still a nice 9, and it does live up to it's name so the greens can have an issue with air movement, but so far this year it looks to be holding up due to the weather OK. The Meadows 9 was built later on, and has always been an after thought with ownership, at least the 2-3 previous owners. The layout is very nice, fairways and greens are good, it's just that they let the bunkers go and they are full of weeds and pretty much not playable. If you know this going in, and just play them as GUR, then it is a really nice 9. And costs a few bucks less to include Meadows in the rotation. Not sure if you are a walker or not, but they do restrict walking on weekend mornings.

Heading a little north to the Springboro and Centerville area, you will get to Heatherwoode in Springboro right off of rte 741 and a little further north is Yankee Trace in Centerville. Both are municipal courses, but are very good layouts. Heatherwoode is my personal favorite, always great condition, good staff, and a really good range (I think the best range in the area). They do sell annual range memberships if interested. yankee is a 1/2 step below in my opinion, but still a nice layout. They do have 3 nines also, but the 3rd nine (can't remember the name) is less of a 9 than the other 2.

If you want a little bit of a drive, Majestic Springs in Wilmington is probably the best value course in the area I think. About 30 mins from your new house. Other ones that are nice are in the Batavia OH area - Stonelick Hills will be #1 down there, but quite pricey. Nice for 1-2 rounds a summer but for every weekend it's pretty high by Cincy standards.

If you need a local golf shop, there are two standouts. Miles of Golf in Fairfield and Golf Exchange (multiple locations). I prefer Golf Exchange, but I have a few friends that work there so I am personally biased.

There is a thread in the Midwest section (I think the name is "all things Ohio" that used to be quite active with Cincy players, but haven't seen to many posts lately. If you have any other questions on golf or the Lebanon area, give me a shout. Always glad to help if I can.

stachoaj · July 18, 2019

I'm also in the Cincy area, give me a shout if you need a partner.

bkress86 · July 18, 2019

Thanks for the replies guys!

mikpga · July 21, 2019

Shaker is a nice 27 hole facility. Not quite what it used to be, but still nice. Check out Meadow Links and Golf Academy if you’re looking for a place to practice your entire game!

games · July 22, 2019

> @cfmgolf said:

> Welcome to OH - I actually live across the street in the Trails! Shaker Run has gone through some really tough struggles in the past 4-6 years, but the new ownership group in the last 12 months does appear to be moving it back in the right direction.

About 15 years ago, I did some work in the Middletown area for AK Steel. IIRC, Shaker Run was originally built by Armco Steel as a private course for the employees, then later sold off when the US steelmakers ran into hard times. AK retained ownership of Armco Park, the property adjacent to Shaker Run. Armco Park was a beautiful piece of property that had a nice executive course in its own right. After the sale of Shaker Run, AK felt obligated to keep the Armco Park executive course running for the benefit of its retirees. (As an aside, Armco Park also had one of the nicest four-diamond softball complexes in the country!)