[BHoover]

The announcement is expected to be made tomorrow. I know that Scioto sometimes gets criticized on this site, but I love it. The site probably isn't large enough to accommodate a modern major, but a Senior Open is still impressive. In the past 5-7years, Ohio has hosted a number of senior majors (Canterbury and Firestone have hosted Senior PGAs and Inverness hosted the 2011 Senior Open).

On another note, the Columbus sectional qualifier for the US Open will be held at Scioto and nearby OSU Scarlet this year. I'm looking forward to it.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2012/04/16/scioto-country-club-to-host-senior-open.html

[Niall Hay]

Good for Columbus and Scioto.  It really is a great course. How have the relatively recent changes been received?

[Niall Hay]

Already a thread on this. Great minds!

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,51834.0.html

[BHoover]

Good for Columbus and Scioto.  It really is a great course. How have the relatively recent changes been received?

I had an opportunity to play Scioto last fall. It was my first chance to see the renovations from a few years ago. I know that some on this site have mixed feelings about Scioto. True, a lot of the original Ross features may be gone (certainly compared to the renovated Canton Brookside), but I thought that Scioto was a great test and certainly one of the best courses in Columbus (depending on who you ask, The Golf Club may be better).

I think Scioto will be a great venue for the Senior Open. We are fortunate that, in addition to the Memorial, Columbus will be hosting both the President's Cup and a senior major within the next 5 years.

[JLahrman]

I'll use this thread...if only because it has more replies than the other.

This would be a good event for Scioto. Given the limits of the property, I don't think it can be built to accomodate much more length or the sizeable crowds associated with a US Open or PGA.

I have played Scioto numerous times, but not in about 15 years. Although it sounds like the renovations have been extensive, can someone in the know detail where any lengthening has taken place over the past few years?

I'm looking at Google Earth. Comparing what I see to my (questionable) memory, it looks like the following holes have been lengthened:

#1 - new tee back on the other side of the putting green
#10 - new tee closer to the 9th green
#13 - new tee further back up the 12th hole...looks like there is a tree that might have to be avoided right off the tee?
#15 - new tee back by the greens' staff's area
#16 - new back tee
#18 - new back tee. It also looks like they may have taken out a rarely used back tee on the right of 18 that turned the hole into a dogleg right. Maybe the north tee needed more room?

Any confirmations would be helpful, I might be mistaken on any or all of those.

[Joe Leenheer]

I look forward to playing Scioto in the sectionals of the U.S. Open Qualifier :-)

One of my favorite parts of the course is the retention wall that most of the water hazards have on the course.  Very clean.

Anytime a classic, historic course can be showcased is fantastic. Kudos to the USGA for their selection.  

J....I believe the Scioto website has a very nice section on recent renovations (although it may not be as detailed as you are looking for)

[JLahrman]

J....I believe the Scioto website has a very nice section on recent renovations (although it may not be as detailed as you are looking for)

Thanks...I went to the website, and didn't see anything specific to renovations. Looking at the championship scorecard though, it looks like #13, #15, and #18 all definitely have new back tees.

Somebody here will know though. Somebody here always knows.

[Niall Hay]

Good for Columbus and Scioto.  It really is a great course. How have the relatively recent changes been received?

I had an opportunity to play Scioto last fall. It was my first chance to see the renovations from a few years ago. I know that some on this site have mixed feelings about Scioto. True, a lot of the original Ross features may be gone (certainly compared to the renovated Canton Brookside), but I thought that Scioto was a great test and certainly one of the best courses in Columbus (depending on who you ask, The Golf Club may be better).

I think Scioto will be a great venue for the Senior Open. We are fortunate that, in addition to the Memorial, Columbus will be hosting both the President's Cup and a senior major within the next 5 years.
 

Well said Brian and agreed.  Scioto is great. Columbus is a great sporting and golf town.  This will be a great addition. 

[Andy Troeger]

Good for Columbus and Scioto.  It really is a great course. How have the relatively recent changes been received?

I had an opportunity to play Scioto last fall. It was my first chance to see the renovations from a few years ago. I know that some on this site have mixed feelings about Scioto. True, a lot of the original Ross features may be gone (certainly compared to the renovated Canton Brookside), but I thought that Scioto was a great test and certainly one of the best courses in Columbus (depending on who you ask, The Golf Club may be better).

I think Scioto will be a great venue for the Senior Open. We are fortunate that, in addition to the Memorial, Columbus will be hosting both the President's Cup and a senior major within the next 5 years.

I had a chance to play Scioto a couple years ago--my only play. I'm curious if the fairway bunkers always pinched fairways the way they seem to now. It seemed like a lot of holes narrowed pretty significantly at a driver distance so I could either hit a 225 shot to a wide fairway and leave a longish approach or try to drive it farther and challenge the bunkers. Its an interesting strategy, but I never felt like I had the chance to be rewarded with an opportunity to carry any of the bunkers--it was just hit it straight or lay back. Seemed a bit redundant admittedly--I'll be interested to see how the professionals handle that--probably far better than I did!  As others have said, seems like a good event for the club and the city.

I think The Golf Club and Muirfield Village are the class of Columbus golf these days. I have both of them very high on my list. Scioto is certainly worthy too though. I think I have a greater affinity for Wedgewood than most as well...an RTJ Jr. design east of MV.

[Michael George]

Scioto is a great family club - maybe the best that I have ever seen.  The golf course is great.  It appears to me that hosting professional golf is important to the club and as a result, the bunkering is very difficult.  I love the place, but would prefer if they abandoned the idea of professional gofl and removed some bunkers and made it a little more playable.

[BHoover]

Andy - I agree fully.  MV and Golf Club are the class of Columbus.  Scioto is a great family club - maybe the best that I have ever seen, but the golf course (while good) gets too much notoriety due to the Nicklaus connection.  I personally think Brookside, Kirtland, Canterbury, Sharon and Country Club in Northeast Ohio are better (and all are outside the top 100) but that is just my opinion. 

I agree that The Golf Club may be the best in Columbus, but I don't think I can say that Muirfield Village is definitely "better" than Scioto.  I think if I had to choose between the two, I would rather play Scioto than MV (not that I would turn down a chance to play either!).  As for the Nicklaus connection, I think that MV and OSU have more of a "Nicklaus connection" than Scioto.  Yeah, he grew up at Scioto, but he built MV and he effectively rebuilt OSU.

I do agree that Canton Brookside probably is a better course (even if it's not as well known, outside of this circle).  I still haven't played the best in Northeast Ohio like Kirtland, Canterbury, Sharon, Country Club, etc.  Hopefully I can knock a couple of those off my list this year!

[Joe Bausch]

Scioto hole distances for the 1926 US Open:

[Andy Troeger]

I've always been curious...who actually did the work (made the decisions) on the recent work at Scioto? It looked remarkably like the bunker styling and patterns of Nicklaus' recent work to me, but I've heard that most of it was Hurdzan.

I don't want to thread-jack too much with the comparison bit, but I don't think Scioto is even close to MV. But, I think MV is one of the top 20-30 courses in the country, so most courses fail that comparison. I also wish I'd have seen OSU Scarlet before the renovation--its no fun at all now.

[Niall Hay]

I don't want to thread-jack too much with the comparison bit, but I don't think Scioto is even close to MV. But, I think MV is one of the top 20-30 courses in the country, so most courses fail that comparison. I also wish I'd have seen OSU Scarlet before the renovation--its no fun at all now.

Scarlet was a great course formerly. Still is a very good difficult championship test of golf, though not sure the renovations made it a more enjoyable round of golf. Perhaps it made it a "better" course in some people's eyes, but Scarlet was always good.

As for Columbus, Scioto was always good too and some say the same thing about it as was just said about Scarlet. Columbus is a great golfing city when a course that has hosted many USGA events (all of them) is barely in the top 3 courses.

The Golf Club - Dye - one of his best - most unique - awesome place
Muirfield Village - Jack - his best (arguably) - conditions great
Scioto - Ross - great course, better club, unmatched history
Double Eagle - Weiskopf's best in US (Forest Dunes is great as is Loch Lomond in Scotland)
OSU - Scarlet - MacKenzie - Maxwell - great history on this site by Tom MacWood - http://www.golfclubatlas.com/in-my-opinion/ohio-state-golf/
Wedgewood - RTJ2
many more....

A pretty good lineup when you consider that Columbus is not always thought of as one of the golfing hotspots in the US. Great variety of golf course style and design as well. A lot of different eras all in one concentrated area.

[Andy Troeger]

Niall,
I can see some parallels between Scarlet and Scioto. They both strike me as "tests of golf" more than anything. Scioto is still very enjoyable and I agree that its attached to a great club (as much as one can tell on one visit); the only holes at Scarlet I found especially memorable were #16/17.

I do like Wedgewood--although I'm perhaps biased in that I've played it quite a bit as my uncle is a member. I think Double Eagle is overrated--the conditioning is immaculate and the front nine is good, but I don't think its a Top 100 course or Weiskopf's best. I like Wedgewood better of those two personally.

[BHoover]

I've never been to Wedgewood, so I can't compare it to the other courses in Columbus.  But I've heard good things.

I used to play OSU all the time when I was in law school.  It was always a difficult course, but I thought it was more enjoyable to play prior to the renovation.  That said, I think it may be a better tournament course post-renovation than it was pre-renovation.  I've been back a few times since law school, and I always look forward to playing it.

[JMEvensky]

Where does Columbus CC fall on peoples' lists?

Just curious--I know someone who was a member long ago.

[BHoover]

Where does Columbus CC fall on peoples' lists?

Just curious--I know someone who was a member long ago.

I'm a member at Columbus CC.  I would put it in the second-tier of courses in the city.  If The Golf Club, Scioto and MV are at the top of the pecking order, then I would put Columbus CC in the second-tier of courses in the city.  In my opinion, I find it to be comparable to Columbus Brookside, Pinnacle, Jefferson, etc.  At one time, I think Columbus CC might have been more respected.  But it has fallen on harder times in recent years.  It's in need of some work, particularly with respect to tree removal/trimming, bunkers and irrigation and airflow improvement.  Actually, the club has engaged Keith Foster to prepare a master renovation plan.  If approved, the renovation is slated for completion by the spring of 2014.  I think the course has great "bones" and could be very good if the planned renovation ultimately is approved and completed.   

[JMEvensky]

Brian,thanks.

That's kind of what I inferred.Is the club itself doing any better membership-wise?

[Niall Hay]

Yeah, didn’t CCC (old Ross course) do a JV with The Athletic Club – Columbus?

Also where does a Worthington Hills fit in the scheme of things in Columbus golf?

[Matt Bosela]

I vacationed for a week in Columbus last year and spent one of my days at Scioto.  I will reiterate what many have already said here - I thought it was a treat to play and my impressions were extremely favourable of both the golf course and the club itself.

I took plenty of photos and would be happy to post them here if anyone is interested.

As far as comparisons go, I think Muirfield Village, which I played twice on the trip, is a bit stronger overall from both an architectural and memorability standpoint but that's really just picking nits - both are outstanding golf courses.

I also played Wedgewood and it easily was the biggest surprise on the trip - I knew what to expect at MVGC and Scioto but wasn't really excited about playing Wedgewood, especially since it was booked in place of The Golf Club and OSU Scarlet due to time conflicts.  I really enjoyed my round there and the course itself wildly exceeded my expectations.

On a final note, I have to say the people in Columbus are among the nicest and most accommodating of any I've met.  I look forward to returning soon and my wife and young son (non-golfers) thoroughly enjoyed themselves as well.

[BHoover]

Brian,thanks.

That's kind of what I inferred.Is the club itself doing any better membership-wise?

I can't speak to financials (simply because I don't know), but my sense is that it's getting better.  About a year ago, Columbus CC and the downtown Athletic Club of Columbus entered into a "partnership" (not a merger) to offer members of either club the option of enhancing their memberships.  So, as a member of the ACC, my wife and I were able to add the country club to our membership.  Existing CCC members also had the option of adding the ACC (which offers downtown athletic facilities) to their memberships.  Going forward, new members have the option of choosing one club, or both, as they prefer.  The two clubs do not really have an overlap of features (i.e., CCC has golf, tennis and pool, but no gym; whereas ACC has athletic facilities, but no golf).  The two clubs split the extra revenue generated by dual members.  Thus far, I know that CCC has added about a 100 new members, with many being younger members (myself included).  I think it's definitely been a good move for both clubs.

As for CCC, I think the increase in the number of members has made it possible to consider moving forward with the proposed renovation.  The club is still being very conservative when it comes to expenses, sometimes at the cost of day-to-day golf course improvements and maintenance.  But the club's future is certainly brighter than it would have been just a few years ago.

[Niall Hay]

I don't want to thread-jack too much with the comparison bit, but I don't think Scioto is even close to MV. But, I think MV is one of the top 20-30 courses in the country, so most courses fail that comparison. I also wish I'd have seen OSU Scarlet before the renovation--its no fun at all now.

Scarlet was a great course formerly. Still is a very good difficult championship test of golf, though not sure the renovations made it a more enjoyable round of golf. Perhaps it made it a "better" course in some people's eyes, but Scarlet was always good.

As for Columbus, Scioto was always good too and some say the same thing about it as was just said about Scarlet. Columbus is a great golfing city when a course that has hosted many USGA events (all of them) is barely in the top 3 courses.

The Golf Club - Dye - one of his best - most unique - awesome place
Muirfield Village - Jack - his best (arguably) - conditions great
Scioto - Ross - great course, better club, unmatched history
Double Eagle - Weiskopf's best in US (Forest Dunes is great as is Loch Lomond in Scotland)
OSU - Scarlet - MacKenzie - Maxwell - great history on this site by Tom MacWood - http://www.golfclubatlas.com/in-my-opinion/ohio-state-golf/
Wedgewood - RTJ2
many more....

A pretty good lineup when you consider that Columbus is not always thought of as one of the golfing hotspots in the US. Great variety of golf course style and design as well. A lot of different eras all in one concentrated area.

Old string about Columbus:  http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,39311.0.html

[Niall Hay]

On a final note, I have to say the people in Columbus are among the nicest and most accommodating of any I've met.  

Completely agree!

[BHoover]

Yeah, didn’t CCC (old Ross course) do a JV with The Athletic Club – Columbus?

Also where does a Worthington Hills fit in the scheme of things in Columbus golf?

As with Wedgewood, I've never played Worthington Hills, so I can't say where it fits relative to other courses in Columbus.  

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