Brookside, Columbus, OH - w/ Pics

[Brian Laurent]

I had the opportunity to play Brookside Golf and Country Club again today.  It gets lost among all the great courses here in Columbus, but is one that I thoroughly enjoy.  The guts of the current 18 holes were designed in 1929 by Charlie Lorms, who was the golf pro at nearby Columbus Country Club (Donald Ross).  

The course has had a bit of work over the years and now stretches just over 7000 from the tips.  It regularly plays host to US Open qualifying following the Memorial.  

From the tee on #1


Look from a decent drive off the first...about 75 yards in.  Nice grass bunker in front of the green.


Tee shot at the par 5 #2


Thread the bunkers and you're left with about 250


Approach to the short par 4 #3...great green complex


Second shot at the dogleg left par 5 #4...a nice drive up the right side of the fairway leaves you with this shot, about 240 out


One-shotter #5


Tee shot on the #1 handicap hole, par 4 #6


Approach to #6 - about 180 in


From behind the green on the par 4 #7


Great par 3, #8


Approach to the par 4, #9


Approach to #10, short par 4 with a terrifying green!


Severe back to front sloped green at #10 (sorry, not a very good photo of the green)


hole 10 1/2...Brookside has an extra par three on the course.  they're doing some work on a par 5 on the back, so this par 3 was put into the rotation today



Tee shot on #11 - dogleg par 5


After a decent drive up the right side, you're left with about 230 over the edge of the trees to get there in two


Or you can lay it up to about 100 yards


#12...probably my favorite hole on the course.  Big hitters take it over the trees on the right, leaving anywhere from 8-iron to wedge.  I wonder how the hole would play if they cut all the trees down on the right?


After a drive over the trees...left with about 130 yards


Here's where one of the settings on my camera was changed without my knowledge...not to many good photos from here on!

Par 3, #14


Uphill par 3, #16


Severe slope from back to front...


Approach to the dogleg left par 4, #17


Tee shot on #18, par 4


Approach to the last


looking back from the 18th green

[David Stamm]

Brian, thanks for posting. I know a member here that has been very happy with the work done there recently and Brad K has told me that he loves it as well. It looks like a solid course well worth playing.

[Brad Klein]

David,

sorry, but that's the "wrong" Brookside. The one pictured is in Columbus. Have never seen it, though I would like to after they do some significant tree work.

The Brookside CC I rave about is a Ross design in Canton, Ohio.

[David Stamm]

David,

sorry, but that's the "wrong" Brookside. The one pictured is in Columbus. Have never seen it, though I would like to after they do some significant tree work.

The Brookside CC I rave about is a Ross design in Canton, Ohio.

Sorry Brad. I thought it was the same one. I do remember now that it was in Canton. Now that I think about it, the few photo's I've seen in the past (Canton) show alot less trees than this one.  At least it wasn't the Brookside in Pasadena I mistook!

[Brian Laurent]

A bit of touch up work to the photos...

[Tom Roewer]

I too really like Brookside C.C., well actually both Brooksides(Columbus and Canton)  Played my first golf tournament @ Brookside,(Linworth=Columbus) @ 10, and have never been disappointed in playing it.  Was there for my niece's wedding a few years ago, they could do a lot of tree removal methinks.
A very solid course that just never reaches radar because of its close cousins in the area.

[John Mayhugh]

Looks like a decent course.  How long is the 8th hole?  Is that green as small as it looks?

[Brian Laurent]

Looks like a decent course.  How long is the 8th hole?  Is that green as small as it looks?

John-
The 8th stretches out to about 200 yards.  The green is a little larger than it looks from the tee.  The bunker on the right does a great job of hiding a large chunk of the green.  Here's another shot:

[Chuck Brown]

Those are some really fine photos.  On another message board, I made the assertion (nobody refuted it) that Columbus OH is home to the best-maintained collection of private golf courses in the world.  (Architectural changes to Scioto aside.)  You think of Muirfield, Scioto, Double Eagle, The Golf Club, Brookside, and a number of others -- all clubs whose memberships and whose superintendents take world-class course conditioning and maintenance pretty much for granted...

[JLahrman]

This is a definitely a course that gets lost due to its neighbors.  There is nothing that really jumps off the page about it, but afterwards you realize how solid the holes are.  Also the few times I have played it, the course has not been set up to produce high scores (although I haven't played it in a good 8 years and it sounds like I've missed the results of the lengthening).

[Brad Klein]

Never been there, but the photos showed modernized, flash white-sand bunkers with the same flat profiles and puffy edges, all of them isolated from the green fill pads. I don't see any integration of features at all. Greens / surrounding mounds / bunkers all look like they are in suspended animation from one another.

[Doug Sobieski]

Brookside's main defense is the trees. Otherwise it's a relatively flat, playable course with the exception of some rolling terrain from 14-17. Brad is 100% correct about the bunkering. Very flat, with minimal impact as hazards because of their isolation, and aesthetically they don't match the maturity of the course. #12 has the potential to be a great risk/reward hole without the trees along the ravine, but in the present state most people avoid the risk and hit it 210 yard to the visible landing area. Without the trees, it would be a wonderful diagonal hazard.

Ben Curtis shot about a million under par here when he won the Ohio Amateur by 17 shots in 2000. There are a lot of good holes, and it's a solid course for the members, but it can yield some really low scores. In the scope of Columbus golf it really gets lost in the conversation.

[Tim Rooney]

Doug,great overview regarding course and #12, specifically!I had the foolish notion to discuss thinning with the Club President,and was continuously addressed to not hit the ball there.I finally asked if golf was to be played through a gauntlet of trees?I realized during this pause, the futility of further discussion of this topic.Nicklaus suggested a double fairway w/#4, thinning the far left --interesting.The final front (4) -----6,7,8,9--- are as difficult as any Cols course from the Tips.

[Doug Sobieski]

Tim:

I've always thought that #12 could be considered one of the most exciting par 4's in town. Given some options off the tee, I'd be excited to play that hole every time. But as it is today, it's not that thrilling. I've always walked off the golf course at Brookside thinking that the members must be too proud of the trees to make the improvements that could be made. The trees have eliminated too much strategy.

The double fairway on #4 sounds interesting, because in the current state it's often not even worth it to hit driver there. What about on #17, would it be possible to cut back the trees/brush on the left to entice more of a bold tee shot?

One other thing, you mentioned holes 6-9. Those 4 holes are impacted less than most others by the trees!!! That should demonstrate that trees aren't critical to making the golf course better!

Regards,

Doug

[Mike_Cirba]

Guys,

Who did the bunker work?  

Were they always that flat and non-distinct?

[Tim Rooney]

Jack Kidwell did #15 greenside restoration during the early '80's.As Doug stated, #12 only allows a 3 wood, since I can remember, requiring -0- Risk/Reward.This course has the potential to be much better with the proper vision; Tour Pro's remark quite favorably, following the Post Muirfield V. Tourney, Monday US Open Qualifier!

[Brian Laurent]

There is still the option on #12, but it's limited to the long hitters.  

They are also in the final stages of a green expansion on #15.  They've added some room to the right hand side, allowing for more pin locations.  It's not a very good pic, but here's a shot from #16 tee looking back at #15 green.

[John Kirk]

Never been there, but the photos showed modernized, flash white-sand bunkers with the same flat profiles and puffy edges, all of them isolated from the green fill pads. I don't see any integration of features at all. Greens / surrounding mounds / bunkers all look like they are in suspended animation from one another.

Thank you.  I believe I just learned something.

[Glenn Spencer]

It is a fine golf course, but I don't think it is necessary to see if you are in Columbus, Ohio or Columbus, Georgia, for that matter. After playing it, I always thought it was talked about a little too much. Then again, I don't live in Columbus.

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