The Country Club

Located in the historically upscale Pepper Pike section of east Cleveland, The Country Club boasts a topography that is ideal for golf with smooth elevation changes peppered with moments of abruptly shifting land that William Flynn worked into the design when he built the course in the late 1920s. Standouts include the short, uphill par-4 third with bunkers stepped up the right side and the gorgeous, long downhill eighth, but the really good stuff is on the north side of the property. The green at the par-3 11th sits atop a skyline ridge that drops off on the left. Second shots at the 15th must fly uphill over a phalanx of diagonal bunkers to a blind green. The par-5 16th crests over a high shoulder before trundlng downhill to a heavily bunkered green, and the short par-4 17th bends sharply left around a kettle basin tempting long players to try to cut the corner. Already a star, The Country Club's stock may rise even further once evaluations start coming in following a comprehensive renovation in 2022 by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner.