This was one of those days where I had to set aside my level of skill and how I played, and attempt to evaluate the course on its merit.
The Quarry Golf Club is a newer entry in Ohio public golf. Designed by Brian Huntley and opened in 2006, The Quarry looked to take its place among the best Ohio public golf had to offer. Its amenities include a driving range, short game area, and putting green. The clubhouse is big, and includes a very unique eating area that is completely exposed with full view of the 18th hole and green. You’ll hear the murmurs all along the 18th hole. No pressure!
The Quarry begins with a 549 yard par 5 that gives good players a chance to attack the course early. The fairway is pretty wide as is the layup area. The approach plays slightly uphill to an undulating green protected by a big bunker front-right.
2 is a filler hole. Move along, sir.
Some people won’t like the 423 yard 3rd because it’s blind tee shot. It’s a very intimidating hole the first play through. I wanted to highlight some of the elevation change of the hole with the above and below shots. From further away, the green is visible and a high-fade is the best shot in.
From closer up, if you were forced to layup to this position, the right side of the green is completely blind. Those are deep bunkers front and right of the green. You don’t want to go in there.
I think 4 is a great short par 4. At 296 yards, it’s certainly reachable for bombers; probably with three-wood. The aggressive line will certainly have to carry the bunker to have any chance of reaching the green. The green is raised and falls off on the left. A safe tee shot will play the contours of the hill on the right and leave a wedge in. With the large waste area on the left, eagles and others are all possible here.
Your first look at the quarry comes at 5. Conservative shots at the 437 yard par 4 will be safe, but can lead to long and, in some cases, blind approaches. If you have vertigo, I don’t recommend you look over the cliff. Especially at #14 (coming up).
The par 3′s start late at The Quarry with the drop shot 6th. At 138 from the tips and sharply downhill, it’s probably no more than a wedge for most players. The challenge comes with the very wide (around 80 yards wide) green and water in front. From the tips, the left side of the green is partially blind. I pity the player who has to contend with a far right pin placement.
You’ll also see some old derricks laying around the property at The Quarry. Here’s some from the 6th. It may be a bit quirky, but I think it fits the vibe of the course.
The power lines are back in play at the par 5 7th. It’s unfortunate that two of The Quarry’s better holes (7 and 16) both have power lines in visible and in play. At 516 yards, it’s not the longest par 5, but the green does rise 40 feet from the landing area. The closer you get, the more blind the green becomes.
Your real first view of houses doesn’t happen really until hole 8. They’re certainly not in play at this target golf par 4. Obviously, far right is dead. There is more room to the left than it appears, as the fairway does gradually go downhill. One of the better holes on the course.
Skipping a few holes…
Given how badly I was playing this day, it was really hard for me to evaluate hole 13. At 417 from the tips, it’s not that much of a par 4 for the low capper. For the higher capper, the hole plays 381 yards. Which doesn’t sound too bad; except for the approach shot. The fairway runs out at about 116 yards, and the green rises around 35 feet from that point. And you will most likely have a downhill lie to this green.
It’s every bit the #2 handicap hole on the course. But is it a good hole? I think for high-handicap men, and a lot of women and children golfers, the hole is almost unplayable. I would love to play this hole with a tour pro to see how they attack it. I just think my negative view on this hole has to be skewed by the X I marked on my scorecard. I’ll be curious to see what my readers think of this hole.
A hole that certainly requires multiple plays is 14. In fact, a forecaddie with a radio sitting on the top of the hill would be preferred. I think this hole is actually more fun from the white tees than the tips. At 372 yards and 40 ft. uphill, there’s not much strategy; find fairway, find green. From the up tees, you can carry it over the boulder up top and attempt to go for the green. It’s only about 230 yards from tee to green at that point. The error for missing left is catastrophe. A miss to the left should leave the player in okay shape, assuming they carry the ridge.
15 is a straight up damn good golf hole. I’m sure scratch golfers could bring this 524 yard par 4 to its knees. For the rest of us, we can enjoy the view and the strategy. The tee shot plays significantly downhill, but then the hole turns sharply to the right and rises back uphill.
The green itself is small, which provides the challenge for the better player going for it in two. In my humble opinion, it’s the best hole on the course, and I daresay one of the better public par 5 holes in Ohio. Great use of the land to provide a scenic, yet challenging hole.
16 is another strong par 4. A dogleg right, where an aggressive line over the grass bunkers can lead to an ideal approach spot. The tips play this one very far away at 478, but most will play this one in the 370-350 range.
The green is fairly wide, and depending on the pin placement, can accept any kind of shot; though a middle pin placement will mean a carry over the deep bunker in front.
17 is very similar to 9; just longer (228 yards vs. 162). I got a better picture of 17, so that’s why I showed that photo instead.
I’ll go ahead and say 18 at The Quarry might be one of the more unique finishing holes I have ever played.
The hole itself isn’t all that unique. A long par 4 with water all along the left side. Those taking driver at this 436 yard hole will need to worry about the bunker on the right. For a housing development course, houses don’t really come into play much at The Quarry. 18 might be one of those holes, but the fairway’s so wide, you’d really have to slice it badly to be O.B.
So what makes this hole so unique? The clubhouse dining area. It is massive, and has doors that open up almost like a garage. For those in Cincinnati, if you’ve been to Holy Grail or Crave at the Banks, think of those types of windows/openings, then multiply the height by about 5. I ended up playing into a formal dinner that was going on. You can hear the murmurs from the tee, and they only get louder as you approach the green. When we putted out, we got an ovation from the group. Apparently this is the norm, and it was pretty cool to experience.
I’ve heard the first tee at Merion East is much like this. A dining area literally next to the tee. Well, this is the 18th green equivalent. I know other courses have back porch areas or other type arrangements that overlook the 18th green (see Stonelick Hills). But, the acoustics and size of The Quarry’s clubhouse take this concept to a whole other level.
Conclusion
The Quarry was really nice and clearly is one of the best public offerings in Ohio. Is it the best? I don’t think so. While I still have a few more to play, I still have Fowlers Mill at the top of Ohio publics I have played.
After going back through my photos 4 months after my round (sorry about that, guys), I’m realizing The Quarry had a number of excellent golf holes. More than I originally gave it credit for. Of course, there are a few fillers which prevent this course from being #1.
However, I experienced my top two pet peeves in golf…
1) Ball marks. Wow!
Apparently people who play this course haven’t heard of a divot tool. Every single green I was repairing multiple ball marks. One of the gentlemen I was playing with later mentioned he cuts the green there, and he thanked me for my efforts; joking that I should get a discount for all ball marks I was helping to repair. It’s not a hard concept. Fix your mark, and 1-2 more.
2) I hate to say this, but things were very disorganized at the pro shop and the “starter” house when I showed up. Since it was the very first time I’ve traveled up north with my daughter, I was running a bit behind; showing up about 5 minutes before my tee time.
Given that I’d been driving for 5 hours, I wanted to get some practice in before I hit the course. Thankfully, the tee sheet wasn’t full and allowed for me to do this. When I came back to the starter house, no one knew what to do with me. Eventually, a staff member said just to go to the first tee. I honestly can’t believe they just let me, as a single, to go the first tee with a threesome ahead of me, and a twosome coming up behind. Not exactly a strong starter system there.
This would come into play when another twosome, whom I believe were members, injected themselves ahead of our group for the back 9. The pace of play was fine during the front 9, but on the back it ground to a halt. I don’t care if you’re a member or not; if you’re playing a golf course, let alone a public course, you need to check in with the pro shop or a starter before you go off one of the tees. This lead to a very frustrating back 9 and didn’t sit very well with me. Caused what would have been a 4.5 hour round into a 5.5 hour round. Not good.
OINK Rating – 8. It’s a couple holes and a couple of power lines away from a 9.
