Chainsaw: The Vineyard GC in Cincinnati

[John Pflum]

I've posted here a number of times about this course and several people have commented that they won't play the course again until there is some serious chainsaw work.  Well, it seems that is going to happen. 

I was talking to a pro at another club in town and he said they are planning on removing 150 (I don't remember the exact number but this one sticks in my head) ash trees during the winter.  It seems that the emerald ash borer is only a few miles away in a nearby neighborhood and they are going to take out the trees before they all die.  Last time I played there I saw some marked trees but didn't really think anything about it. 

There are a few trees out there I would love to see cut down -- including the one on the approach to the green on #6.  I might sneak out there one night and paint that tree so they cut it down.   

[Richard Hetzel]

John,

I think that the layout of Vineyard is fairly solid. It really does need to to be OPENED up a bit. The Ash tree removal may or may not improve corridors of play there.

[Steve Kline]

Only 150? You won't even notice it on that course. I bet I saw that many new trees planted out there earlier this year. A better number would be 1,500. Pines with limbs all the way to the ground have no business on a golf course in my opinion. They should immediately get rid of all of those.

[Thomas Patterson]

My Brother-in-law just moved to Cincy and I visited him the first time this past weekend.  We played the Vinyard on both Friday evening and Sunday evening and I really enjoyed it.  I completely agree about the tree removal, as it will only improve this course.  Just a blast to play, some very fun shots, some challenging shots, great greens, and very nice and friendly employees.  Can't wait to try it again!

On another Cincy note...played Shaker Run on Saturday and was very, very disappointed with the condition of the course.  Complete neglect...crabgrass growing everywhere, horrible mowing, or lack of mowing, bad turf conditions.  I know they have had a rough summer, but there is no excuse for the way it looked and played.  They are also charging $70 on the weekend, which is ridiculous for the conditions.  One gentleman that I played with hasn't been there in about 5 years..used to play all the time, said it used to be immaculate, and one of the toughest tee times to get in Cincy on the public side.  He was thoroughly disappointed as well.  The only high note was that the setting was very nice, and there area lot of fun golf holes!

[John Pflum]

Tom,

The conditions at the Vineyard were good?  I was there a couple of weeks ago and it looked to be struggling.  A couple of the greens were iffy and some of the run-up areas were pretty bare.

[Thomas Patterson]

They weren't stellar, but pretty decent to good, especially with the heat/humidity problems everyone has been having.  They were about 100% better than Shaker though.  Some of the greens were in rougher shape, but some were great.  They all rolled pretty true and the fairways seems to play decently firm and fast.

[JLahrman]

It's been a hot humid summer in Cincinnati, I'm sure a lot of courses are struggling.

150 trees is a start at the Vineyard, but they really do need to take out a bunch more.  The course has the potential to be a decent layout.  Some fun holes (I like 9 and 14 the best).  A few of the greens are too contrived for my taste but they do have a lot of contour.  It's just become total hallway golf there though.  #1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 10, 12, 17, and 18 all need to be cleared out based on my most recent experience, although it was at least 5 years ago.

[John Pflum]

Joel,

Your assessment is pretty accurate.  #1 isn't so bad, IMO but you are 100% correct on the rest.  You'd think with all the budget troubles they would harvest some of the trees for revenue.  :-) 

[JLahrman]

Joel,

Your assessment is pretty accurate.  #1 isn't so bad, IMO but you are 100% correct on the rest.  You'd think with all the budget troubles they would harvest some of the trees for revenue.  :-) 

#1 might not be bad, but with the trajectories my tee shots can take almost any hole can be considered a hallway.

[John Pflum]

Joel,

HA!  You seem to forget I've played golf with you a few times.  I won't be suckered into a poor wager by you talking about your game that way.  ;-) 

[Rick Shefchik]

Only 150? You won't even notice it on that course. I bet I saw that many new trees planted out there earlier this year. A better number would be 1,500. Pines with limbs all the way to the ground have no business on a golf course in my opinion. They should immediately get rid of all of those.

I agree. I haven't seen The Vineyard, but at my club we've taken out 150-200 trees each of the last three offseasons, and nobody notices. A couple hundred more might do the job.

[Thomas Patterson]

Once I get my pics downloaded from the camera, and uploaded to Photobucket in the next couple of days, I'll post some recent pics.  I agree that a lot of tree removal could do wonders, as the layout and holes are a lot of fun, imo.

[Nick Pozaric]

I live in Louisville and not sure I have ever heard of th Vineyard.  Are there threads somewhere about it?

[Richard Hetzel]

My Brother-in-law just moved to Cincy and I visited him the first time this past weekend.  We played the Vinyard on both Friday evening and Sunday evening and I really enjoyed it.  I completely agree about the tree removal, as it will only improve this course.  Just a blast to play, some very fun shots, some challenging shots, great greens, and very nice and friendly employees.  Can't wait to try it again!

On another Cincy note...played Shaker Run on Saturday and was very, very disappointed with the condition of the course.  Complete neglect...crabgrass growing everywhere, horrible mowing, or lack of mowing, bad turf conditions.  I know they have had a rough summer, but there is no excuse for the way it looked and played.  They are also charging $70 on the weekend, which is ridiculous for the conditions.  One gentleman that I played with hasn't been there in about 5 years..used to play all the time, said it used to be immaculate, and one of the toughest tee times to get in Cincy on the public side.  He was thoroughly disappointed as well.  The only high note was that the setting was very nice, and there area lot of fun golf holes!

Rumor has it that Shaker Run LOST some greens on the Woodside Nine holes. The golf was returned to the bank and a golf mgt company out of Georgia is running it, most likely on a shoestring budget. Weather aside, the conditions were terrible there back in May and June.

[Richard Hetzel]

Joel,

Your assessment is pretty accurate.  #1 isn't so bad, IMO but you are 100% correct on the rest.  You'd think with all the budget troubles they would harvest some of the trees for revenue.  :-) 

John

I would surmise that the Hamilton County Courses in Cincinnati are NOT really struggling. Their rounds may be down (which impacts revenue streams), but they are not paying a bank note on any of their golf courses and all have their full complement of Pros and Asst pros still working for the county. The courses are not farmed out to a management company.

I still won't bother playing the Vineyard again until A LOT of trees are knocked down!

[JLahrman]

Rich,

When I said 'struggling' I meant the conditions of the courses.  Late summer after a hot and humid spell...

[Steve Kline]

My Brother-in-law just moved to Cincy and I visited him the first time this past weekend.  We played the Vinyard on both Friday evening and Sunday evening and I really enjoyed it.  I completely agree about the tree removal, as it will only improve this course.  Just a blast to play, some very fun shots, some challenging shots, great greens, and very nice and friendly employees.  Can't wait to try it again!

On another Cincy note...played Shaker Run on Saturday and was very, very disappointed with the condition of the course.  Complete neglect...crabgrass growing everywhere, horrible mowing, or lack of mowing, bad turf conditions.  I know they have had a rough summer, but there is no excuse for the way it looked and played.  They are also charging $70 on the weekend, which is ridiculous for the conditions.  One gentleman that I played with hasn't been there in about 5 years..used to play all the time, said it used to be immaculate, and one of the toughest tee times to get in Cincy on the public side.  He was thoroughly disappointed as well.  The only high note was that the setting was very nice, and there area lot of fun golf holes!

Rumor has it that Shaker Run LOST some greens on the Woodside Nine holes. The golf was returned to the bank and a golf mgt company out of Georgia is running it, most likely on a shoestring budget. Weather aside, the conditions were terrible there back in May and June.

A company out of georgia did buy the course as well as Ivy Hills and Royal Oak. I can play Shaker for $25 as a member of the other two but I haven't bothered yet because of the conditioning.

[JLahrman]

That's too bad about Shaker.  Personally I always thought it was overrated from a GCA standpoint, but a lot of people love it and it was always in good shape.

Are Ivy Hills and Royal Oak holding up OK, and are they still private?

[Steve Kline]

Still private. Ivy Hills has gotten a number of new members because they have had quite a deal going on. My junior dues dropped to $187 a month! But, they also ran out of tees for several weeks (because they couldn't get any from their supplier  ) and they had to scrounge for cups for water on the course last week. So, I'm skeptical about the new management even though it has been less than a year. As for conditioning Ivy had been in reasonably good shape given the weather. Royal Oak on the other hand has been really beaten up. Anything around the greens in the fairway is mostly sand at this point. The should have closed each course for a week during the summer on opposite weeks with members playing only the one course to give the courses a rest.