Changes at Maketewah Country Club

[Criss Titschinger]

I am scheduled to play Maketewah this Tuesday at 11:00. If a member ot yhose in the Cincinnati area are available to play I would welcome some company

Cheers
Ward

Did you end up getting out yesterday? If so, I would be curious for your thoughts. It was a pretty gross 48 hours in Cincinnati Monday and Tuesday with rain. Seems to be pat for the course this spring here.


Wish I could have joined. Mak's one of my favorites in town, and I like most if the changes they've made.

[ward peyronnin]

Chris

I delayed until Wed and weather was fine but course was wet to say the least. I very much enjoyed the course. The conditioning for this time of year was very good and I include the tree trimming, new billy bunkers, and fairway and I am sure soon to be tamed greens turf when the poanna retardent can take effect. I LOVE the fact they keep the rakes outside the bunkers!!!

Routing is good although I would prefer that some holes would abandoned the down/up and employ a cross ridge slope strategy. Six green might benefit from a move away from being jamed into that corner. But I really liked the 4th hole witch seems to receive some criticism here. I think my fav hole is 16 because of the great green complex. I think the par threes are a tad weak the first two being repetitive but I like the use of swales and seams and fall offs very well placed and understated throughout the course. Very interesting greens. I like ten a lot but the green is out of place and I am not sure why they moved it unless to distance from No 11 tee. I want to return when drier and greens are rolling. I liked it a lot and could play every day. Great staging surround for the 18th finish and I can imagine many lusty minutes spent witnessing players coming home.

[Jason Thurman]

I returned to Mak for the first time in 4+ years yesterday. The work has continued, most notably with regards to tree thinning.


When I played it for the first time, just weeks after this thread was started in 2014, Mak had a feel similar to a number of Cincinnati's old country clubs. Cool greens with plenty of slope, great tough playing conditions, tree-lined, with pretty nondescript round bunkers. The changes in the last 7 years have really elevated the course's character. Bunker reshaping took a few years. I called the course's feel a little "schizophrenic" at one point, but I have no doubt that members appreciated their course getting tweaked a couple holes at a time while avoiding total hole closures as much as possible. Now that the reshaping work is done, the traps appear fearsome and stately.


Greens turf has really improved. Not that it was anything to complain about before, but the greens now are just flawless, turfwise. They weren't crazy fast yesterday. Just very true and practically without blemish whether from poa or late summer recovering ballmarks.


Continued tree clearing has opened up views dramatically in the last few years, and might represent the biggest factor to have reshaped the course's character. In a city full of small junk trees on golf courses, Maketewah feels cut from a different mold. You'll still need to navigate trees if you go offline, but the specimens you encounter will be worth taking a second to admire. Tall, magnificent, and spaced apart to allow some recovery options without coddling.


Maketewah's golf course now matches the look and feel of a classic course at a players' club... as it should, given the club's reputation for attracting strong players. And it's been instructive watching it evolve a few steps at a time over a few years under steady guidance. It may never quite have the charm of some of my favorite courses, but it's a damn good day of golf and lives up to its reputation well.

[Evan Fleisher]

I returned to Mak for the first time in 4+ years yesterday. The work has continued, most notably with regards to tree thinning.


When I played it for the first time, just weeks after this thread was started in 2014, Mak had a feel similar to a number of Cincinnati's old country clubs. Cool greens with plenty of slope, great tough playing conditions, tree-lined, with pretty nondescript round bunkers. The changes in the last 7 years have really elevated the course's character. Bunker reshaping took a few years. I called the course's feel a little "schizophrenic" at one point, but I have no doubt that members appreciated their course getting tweaked a couple holes at a time while avoiding total hole closures as much as possible. Now that the reshaping work is done, the traps appear fearsome and stately.


Greens turf has really improved. Not that it was anything to complain about before, but the greens now are just flawless, turfwise. They weren't crazy fast yesterday. Just very true and practically without blemish whether from poa or late summer recovering ballmarks.


Continued tree clearing has opened up views dramatically in the last few years, and might represent the biggest factor to have reshaped the course's character. In a city full of small junk trees on golf courses, Maketewah feels cut from a different mold. You'll still need to navigate trees if you go offline, but the specimens you encounter will be worth taking a second to admire. Tall, magnificent, and spaced apart to allow some recovery options without coddling.


Maketewah's golf course now matches the look and feel of a classic course at a players' club... as it should, given the club's reputation for attracting strong players. And it's been instructive watching it evolve a few steps at a time over a few years under steady guidance. It may never quite have the charm of some of my favorite courses, but it's a damn good day of golf and lives up to its reputation well.

I would say a spot-on assessment.  I had not played it before the recent years work, but agree with your views on current conditions.  A really solid spot to play at!

[Brad Engel]

Continued tree clearing has opened up views dramatically in the last few years, and might represent the biggest factor to have reshaped the course's character. In a city full of small junk trees on golf courses, Maketewah feels cut from a different mold. You'll still need to navigate trees if you go offline, but the specimens you encounter will be worth taking a second to admire. Tall, magnificent, and spaced apart to allow some recovery options without coddling.

Jason - Do you have any examples where you felt like the new views were most dramatic or made the biggest impression on you? I used to belong out there when the work started and am trying to picture some of the parts of the property I remember.

[Jason Thurman]

Brad, the changes are big around that ridge where 10 tee, 13 green, 14 tee, and 18 tee are sited. My recollection was that those holes all played pretty tree-lined and narrow (aside from 18) with pretty minimal views from the ridgetop. It's a big difference now especially as you arrive to 13 green, with views sweeping out across the remainder of the back nine. The forest between 14 and 15 has been thinned considerably, and while my last visit was shortly after trees had been taken down left of 13 approach, everything is now grown in and things have really opened up. The clearing right of 1 and 4 was also a stark contrast to my last visit, and there are major views across the rest of the front nine as you reach the bend on 4 now. Still plenty of trees about, but I don't remember the kinds of internal views out to 6 from 4 approach that you have now. My recollection is that there was a lot more coverage down the right side of 5 before, and on both sides of 7.


The hillside right of 11 leading over to 12 tee is now almost entirely cleared out too, and I think the hillside left has probably seen a little thinning too. You'd recognize the course and the trees definitely still impact play, but appropriately so I would say. There's just a lot more light and air moving through the corridors between holes now.

[Brad Engel]

Brad, the changes are big around that ridge where 10 tee, 13 green, 14 tee, and 18 tee are sited. My recollection was that those holes all played pretty tree-lined and narrow (aside from 18) with pretty minimal views from the ridgetop. It's a big difference now especially as you arrive to 13 green, with views sweeping out across the remainder of the back nine. The forest between 14 and 15 has been thinned considerably, and while my last visit was shortly after trees had been taken down left of 13 approach, everything is now grown in and things have really opened up. The clearing right of 1 and 4 was also a stark contrast to my last visit, and there are major views across the rest of the front nine as you reach the bend on 4 now. Still plenty of trees about, but I don't remember the kinds of internal views out to 6 from 4 approach that you have now. My recollection is that there was a lot more coverage down the right side of 5 before, and on both sides of 7.


The hillside right of 11 leading over to 12 tee is now almost entirely cleared out too, and I think the hillside left has probably seen a little thinning too. You'd recognize the course and the trees definitely still impact play, but appropriately so I would say. There's just a lot more light and air moving through the corridors between holes now.

Thanks for the insights, I can visualize all of those spots. I'm sure they look amazing! While the land is Mak is still severe (like many other Cincinnati courses), I always thought its routing made interesting use of the hills, especially compared to a place like Losantiville which can be a bit repetitive going up and down the hills.

[Steve Kline]

I'm 99% sure Maketewah recently got approval for a multi-million dollar renovation. The work is to be done by Brian Silva, whom I believe has worked with the club for a number of years.


One part of the stated reason for the changes are to continue to host the U.S. Open qualifier. Also, they are trying to bring back the Ross style of bunkering. Here are some bullet points of the plan:


1. Add 300 yards to the championship tees.
2. Forward tees shortened by 184 yards.
3. Alternate routes of play established through bunkering along with fairway shifting.
4. Cart path rerouting.
5. Establishment of fescue areas.
6. Irrigation design for better playing conditions.


I've seen the plan shared with members. As one example of the changes, the first hole currently has a bowling alley straight fairway. The plan is to add two fairway bunkers on the left side. One is relatively close to the tee and the other might be 50 or so yards short of the green. The fairway will be altered to have more of an arc to it (not a dogleg) with the ends of the arc on the left and the bow of the arc to the right.


The severe dogleg on hole 3 is going to be softened by pushing the tees farther to the right. A fairway bunker will be added to the inside corner of the dogleg 275 yards from the back tee.


Hole 5 will have a new series of four bunkers in a diagonal/arc on the right side of the fairway. The first bunker will be 275 yards from the tee.


Hole 11 will see the biggest changes in my opinion. Currently, it is a short par 4 that is a pretty hard dogleg left. The inside corner is filled with trees. You need a carry of about 220 yards to get to flat spot of the fairway. However, you are hitting it directly at the 12th tee to do that. Playing in last year's USGA 4-Ball Qualifier, the other team in my group was trying to drive the green hitting it over the trees. The new plan is to remove all the trees on the left, adding fairway to the left all the way to the green that will make the hole drivable with a fade. A group of four bunkers will guard the green short right. And, there will be two fairway bunkers that looked to be benched into the hillside. I think this will be major improvement for this hole and protect players on the 12th tee the aiming point on 11 will be much farther to the left.

[Bill Shamleffer]

https://core-files.ohiogolf.org/production/oga/hall_of_fame/2022%20Ohio%20Amateur%20Press%20Release.pdf


Maketewah will be hosting the Ohio State Am in 2022.