With the most recent thread on golf courses in Ohio,  it got me thinking about Kirtland just outside of Cleveland.  Unfortunately I don't have access to my pictures of the course, but rest assured it is a great golf course that deserves disscussion on this site.
   It is both strategic and scenic, and fun for all levels of players.  According to the club it is an Allison solo design, with no input from Colt.  The routing is simply superb, and the back nine routing is one of the best I have ever seen.  The back nine  plays into a river gorge  with and elevation change from the 10th tee to the 10th green that according to the club is in the range of 150 feet.  Every hole on the back nine except one has the ridge or the river incorporated into the design and strategy of the hole.  The 14th is the only hole that doesn't have this feature, and it a wonderfully strategic par 4 of approx  440 yards.  
    The only negative with Kirtland is that it needs some fairly serious tree removal.  I know the club is trying, and several trees have been removed, but it still has a ways  to go.  If they ever get it right, Kirtland could easily be considered one of the very best in the country, let alone the state. It is really that good.  And the back nine is one of the most scenic inland nines I have ever seen.  
  One last mention is that the course has a fabulous set of greens that haven't been touched.  They are in league with courses like Brookside, Canton, Oakland Hills, and Pine Valley.  
   As soon as I get back to Ohio I will post some pictures.  

Forgot to mention that  Ron Forse design  has been consulting and laying out their roadmap.

I went to check this course out once for a US Open qualifier, but it was rained out.  I walked a few holes and was impressed, but didn't get too far away from the clubhouse.

I think (guessing) the 150 feet elevation change on one hole is an exageration.  Being a native of Cleveland, and having built a few courses there, you would be lucky to find a 150 foot drop in the entire region.  The most elevation change I ever delt with in a hole was 110 feet, so I guess it's possible.  

Tom Weiskopf always said Kirtland was his favorite course in the Cleveland area, and I value his opinion.

I've had several salty old veterans of world travel golf, each a member of one of the venerable three here - Maidstone, Shinny and NGLA - ask me, "Ever play Kirtland in Ohio?"

I've wanted to play this course for years and have not made any effort to do so.

Now I must!  

Matt, no yardages or hole by holes, but courtesy of GHIN.com:

Men`s Rating
TEE: GOLD
Rating Bogey Rating Slope
69.4   92.4             124  
 
TEE: WHITE
Rating Bogey Rating Slope
71.7   95.9             130

 
TEE: BLUE
Rating Bogey Rating Slope
73.6   98.9             136

Ok, here are some pictures of Kirtland on a sweltering day in the summer before last.  As a whole, I think it ranks near the top of the Cleveland group of courses, but with a superb restoration it could rival the best in the state.  As you can see in some of the pictures, the bunkers need a redo, including adding the ones that got filled in during the war, the cartpaths and bridges kind of suck at times, and the greens seem to have been softened with the ages.  

Indeed, it is easy to see that the back nine possesses the superior contours, although the front isn't on terrible ground.  The lack of true detail is more forgivable on the back though.

Some pictures:

This is from 280 off the tee on the par-5 8th, coming down off of the flattish shelf that the early holes occupy.  There is still a ways to come down, though, but I am not sure if it is 150 or not.



The following hole is a short four.  From the tee:



The approach to the 9th, and also a hedge shot:



Going down from the 10th tee (next two pix)





The short 11th, across the river that comes into play on the next 3-4 holes.  You will see similar carved earth at courses like Mayfield, Elyria, and the Metroparks courses around Cleveland.



An interesting detail on the same hole...this is the front of the green...



Now we climb back up that hill from the 16th tee...think that was always a grass bunker?



The approach to the hillside green from the green stake left of the fairway in the previous picture.  No flagstick, but the green line is flagged if you look closely.



The par-3 17th, with no flagstick and sprinklers flailing:



Very picturesque, and with a little intelligent polishing, Kirtland could improve its already respectable image.  They need to take a hint from the good work fostered by the gentlemen Belden at Brookside.

Hey Matt:

   First and foremost Kirtland is really that good.  It needs some help, but the architecture is there.  It's a par 71 that is right around 7,000 yards.  
  1) Nice opening hole that plays downhill and right to left. Fantasticly difficult green with a big slope from back left to front right. Walking down the fairway if you look close you can see some of the bunkers that were filled.
  2)  Big par 4 dogleg from left to right and uphill (exact opposite of #1) of around 450 yards.  Great hole.
  3)  Nice par 3 of 170 or so that begins the section of parallel holes. Severe back to front sloping green with a pond on the right.
  4)   Good uphill par 4 around 400 yards to green with a false front.
5)    Plays back down the hill and parallel to 4, and is about 400 yard plus or minus
 6) Par 3 of 165 yards.  Now with the pond on the right.
  7)  Superb shortish par 4 under 400 yards with a very small angled green, very strategic hole.
   Big par 5 or around 540, but straight uphill after a somewhat blind tee shot into a valley.
  9)  Great par 4 in the 410 range that plays along the edge of the ravine, and is almost exactly the opposite hole of 18.
  10)  Great short par 5 down into the ravine.  One of those tee shots where the ball is in the air forever.  
  11)  Par 3 of 220 with the river tight on the right.
  12) Great par 4 of 460 or so back uphill  and over the river to a brutal two tiered green.
  13)  Fun short par 4 of 340 or so with a small angled green with water all down the right side of the hole. Great short hole.  
 14)  Par 4 dogleg left to right of 430 or so that is very strategic,and the only hole on the back nine that is not on part of the ridge or on the river.
  15)  Short par 5 of 520 or so that is a dogleg from left to right, with neat two tiered green that plays back up the hill.
  16) Another short par 4 of around 350 that is a dogleg left to right that works down from the tee and way up to the green.  This hole would benefit greatly from some tree removal.
17)  Superb par 3 of 190 or so to the most severe green on the course.  
  18)  You take a cable car up from the 17th green to the 18th tee, a par 4 of 420 or  so, dogleg from right to left that plays along the edge of the ravine. It is almost the exact opposite of number nine
   Granted these numbers might be a little off, I have been fortunate enough to play there at  least a few times a year for several years now, and I always can't wait to go back. It is that good.  

Scott- I should have known better. The treehouse usuallly does recognize  the golden age beauties.  

Hey Matt:

  I do feel that Kirtland should be mentioned in the same group with TGC and MV, and Iverness.  It really is that good, and could be even better.  I believe it is in the top 100 classical courses, and probably should be in the top 50.  I would say it is a must play or visit for you.  Let me know when you go, too.   I love the place.  

Dan B:

I will certainly put Kirtland on the Ward "hit list" for sure. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Mike T:

I appreciate your comments but a few retorts are in order.

First, I would concede Ohio has the better combination of private and public courses -- much of that coming about because of the profusion of all the different cites you mentioned and the simple fact that much of the Keystone State is truly rural and the market has not allowed for that sort of growth in the daily fee arena. Pennsy is likely the worst big state (sorry you advocates of Rhode Island!) when comparing the quality of its private to public golf courses.

You do make a good point that the combination of TGC and MV from a modern perspective would likely trump anything from Pennsy from a similar time period -- the best I could offer would be Huntsville in the Wilkes-Baare area and Doak's original Stonewall in Elverson. Clearly, the Buckeye State has the edge.

I do take exception to your characterization of Pennsy just being Pittsburgh, Phillie and Harrisburg. How about the Lancaster / Reading area? Erie? Scranton? Allentown / Bethlehem?

The private side of clubs in Pennsy is no less equal than its counterpart in Ohio. You have many interesting clubs in the Keystone State that are well done but get very little
fanfare -- Fox Chapel, Scranton CC, Pittsburgh Field Club are three that come quickly to mind. There are a host of towns in Pennsy that have developed private clubs in little out of the way places -- I mean how isolated is Fleetwood the home of Moselem Springs!

I can't comment about Kirtland other than to say it does look quite impressive -- but Huntington Valley isn't chump change either. Ditto the qualities of the other Flynn layouts in the Phillie area. The issue for Phillie is that with so many top courses it becomes difficult for anyone to pick the first among equals and as a consequence it's also possible for people to simply lump them all together and not really give the kind of critical individual acclaim they rightly deserve.

Let's not forget that for a time Ohio had rated among America's best such lackluster architectural wonders as Coldstream and even Firestone / South is really one dimensional. Ditto the fanfare attached to Double Eagle -- where is the architectural heft there besides the superb conditioning?

Mike, I respect what Dan and others say about Kirtland -- but I have to say this in conclusion -- for a course to be lumped in with TGC, Inverness, Camargo and MV is truly a big time recommendation. I'll be most interested in seeing the course and weighing in when that happens. Thanks.