Fowler's Mill Golf Course: River
Fowler's Mill Golf Course: River
13095 Rockhaven Rd
Chesterland, OH 44026-3311
United States
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Overview
Fowler's Mill is an early 1970s Pete Dye design east of Cleveland. It was originally built as an amenity for the employees of TRW Corporation (and called the TRW Course), an aerospace, automotive and electronics company. The three nines are set amid a peaceful, bucolic section of undisturbed nature with holes that crisscross the Chagrin River and skirt the edge of a lake. At its best the design evokes elements of Dye’s best early at places like Crooked Stick and The Golf Club, but the architecture is overall restrained and playable. The course opened to the public when it was sold in the 1980s and remains one of the best affordable public access courses in Ohio.
About
Awards
Best in State: Ranked inside the top 20, 1999, 2009-'10, 2011-'12. Ranked inside the top 25, 2003-'04, 2007-'08.
Panelists
Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists
100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES
Shot Options
Character
Challenge
Layout Variety
Fun
Aesthetics
Conditioning
Reviews
Review
“Beautiful older Pete Dye with incredible use of switchback fairways on several holes. Only disappointment is conditioning. Seems perpetually soft and slow."
Read More2025
Review
“Course has potential. Pete toned down some of his tricks and deception here (a good thing for a public course that could get a lot of play). Double fairway 12th was a treat. It must be noted that right now (August 2025), the course needs to tend to its conditioning issues. Greens are great, but the fairways and tee boxes are currently suffering."
Read More2025
Review
“The course has potential. It does have some good holes, including the standout double fairway 12th. Unfortunately, the course itself is hampered by poor conditioning (as of this writing, in August 2025). While the greens are good (in fact better than most publics), the fairways, fees, and bunkers are quite neglected and in need of repair. Ignoring this issue, the course does present a challenge, with tight fairways, and with trees forcing players to bend their tee shots one way or the other."
Read More2025
Review
“Fowler's is a really good public Pete Dye design. Even with the tree removal (probably by mother nature), the par 5's are unique and difficult to get home in 2."
Read More2024
Review
“The main 18 (Lake/River) at Fowler's Mill has gotten some interest from the cognoscenti over the past decade as an ahead-of-its-time Pete Dye public course. Those looking for hidden architecture gems can certainly visit Fowler's Mill and witness an early Pete Dye creation that involves subtle strategies that he later used to greater effect at his more famous courses. Fowler's Mill is a solid, fair course with plenty of interest to keep the player guessing, all for a good price and only 30 from downtown Cleveland. That "I can't quite put my finger on why it's so good" feeling might be your gateway drug to Pete Dye and golf history!"
Read More2023
Review
“Fowler’s Mill is not the course it was 30 years ago when it was owned by TRW, but the bones and shot values are still there. I played the Lake and River nines. The risk-reward calculus is amplified if/when the tee shot is even slightly out of position. Trying for a long approach out of the rough or from the wrong side of the fairway can lead to disaster. Witness the par 5 5th where the green is guarded by a very tall oak or the par 5 8th where the combination of drive and second shot need to be about 450 yds off the tee to be able to turn the corner. This is a relatively early Pete Dye course (c. 1970) and the influence of Donald Ross is in evidence. Several holes are placed on plateaus without facing bunkers — no need since the slopes provide all the challenge needed. On a Pete Dye course one might expect to find rail road ties and pot bunkers everywhere, and you would not be disappointed except that many of these features are not visible because they have been overgrown by shrubbery and weeds. And the bunkers have shrunk and contain very little sand. That is a shame because this course could (and should) be great again."
Read More2020
Review
“I had not heard too much about this course. So much to my surprise, I was thoroughly impressed what a Pete Dye gem it was. (I played the Lake and River nines). There were so many classic architectural elements reminiscent of Donald Ross designs - particularly greens up on plateaus as on holes number 6, 7, and 13 as well as the rise up to the fairway on hole #11. I really enjoyed playing there. I thought they should cut down the vegetation to open up the views from the tees to the fairways on holes 4 and 8 and also the view the green from the fairway on hole number 10."
Read More2020
Review
“The bones of one of the best public golf courses in the northeastern US are hidden at Fowler's Mill. There is a nice balance of holes (played the Lake and River nines), with natural features of both a lake and river integrated superbly into the design in a natural area without a home in sight. Unfortunately, Fowlers Mill seems to have fallen to neglect. Fairways and even the occasional green are patchy, bunkers have withered away to tiny specks, greens have been shrunk down with green side bunkers sitting far away from the greens they protect, and native areas are allowed to grow high enough to block out the view of greens. Trees have encroached to the point that it is difficult to find the fairway from the back tees in some spots. Nothing indicates the discrepancy between possibility and reality more at Fowler's Mill than the par 4 12th, a staggeringly lovely short par 4 in which Pete Dye used the Chagrin River to produce a split fairway par 4, but the entire left fairway is completely obstructed by trees, defeating the hole's purpose. There is a shot option-filled natural layout that Pete Dye conceived years ago lurking here; Fowler's Mill is a reclamation project waiting to happen."
Read More2020
