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 steeply on the left. Second shots at the par-4 15th must fly uphill over a ridge and 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, "Country's" stock is poised to rise further now that Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner have completed their 2022 renovation of the course that included enlarging bunkers to match the scale and topography of the property, expanding green perimeters and fairways, lowering tees, grassing the course and extending the 18th green by approximately 80 yards.