Scarlet course review

The Ohio State University golf club Scarlet course is now one of the nicest in the Columbus area. After the recent renovation,the course now sits at 7,444 yards from the buckeye tees. Scarlet has a rating of 73.9 and a slope of 132 from the back tees. The course is a Nicklaus design and now has extremely deep white sand bunkers that are beautiful in sight but tough to hit out of. The course is in fine shape but is extremely tough. The golf club is a private club but the beauty is that student and faculty of The Ohio State University are able to get on the course for a discount value at anytime, though it is hard for them to get tee times in prime season. The starters are very nice, but do not expect a breakfast ball, the dont allow second tee shots on the first tee. Along with the scarlet course the University Golf Club has a shorter fairer course, the Gray course. The scarlet is definitely for more skilled players but is fun every once in a while for an average golfer to play a PGA tour type course. The signature #8 par 3 is a beautiful hole. All in all the course is absolutely beautiful and I would recommend it to anyone who is willing to put up with some difficult holes.

Grantwood Course Review

Grantwood is a very fair golf course. It sits in Solon, OH, off of Aurora Road. While the course isn’t very long, sits at about 6500 yards. For a public course, it is very well run and well maintained. I worked on the maintenance crew under the Assistant Superintendent, Dave Peck, all last summer. They are very efficient in getting the course ready before any play begins. They recently added in 5 new holes in which the greens roll a little different than the originals, but both types of greens are in good condition and have very even break. The signature hole, #7, is a 170 yard par 3 over a creek with 4 bunkers around the front and sides. It is a very picturesque hole with a tough green as well. Many of the greens slope down at Grantwood. Besides the course being in great condition during fair conditions, the employees that work there are very delightful and always willing to help answer questions. The pro shop is very friendly, and also has a large variety of merchandise. The snack bar couldn’t be more friendly and the prices there are fair. Also the green fees are very cheap for the condition of the course. The price competes with all neighboring public courses. It is impossible not to mention the driving range there. That is a very good touch to a course when you can hit balls before beginning a round. All in all this is a great public course and well worth the money. I urge you all to check it out sometime when you are around northeast Ohio

Pleasant View Golf Club Course Review

Pleasant View Golf Club is a shorter 18 hole golf course that is only 6,326 yards with a par 71 from the back tees and a par 72 from the forward tees. There are three sets of tees to accommodate any skill level. With a rating of 70.2 and a slope of 104, this course is an easy course for any beginner, but is also challenging as well with its taller grass around the greens. The course supports bentgrass greens and tees. If you are a golfer that isn’t very good with sand shots, you don’t have to feel fear when you play this course; there are no bunkers on this course. There are only five small lakes that come into play on five holes. The greens here are relatively large in size and have slight breaks. This course was built for the average golfer to come out and have a relaxing time and maybe even a couple of beers. Pleasant View is open to the public along with memberships

Pleasant View is equipt to handle many occassions. There are two tournament facillities and one banquet room that are use for many events such as golf events, weddings showers, baby showers, picnics, etc.

Although the course has been in operation since 1965, the course is usually changing by adding new tees to make it longer, or changing looks around tees and greens. If you were to play and then come back in five years, I’m sure that you wouldn’t be surprised to see something new and different.

Blue Heron Course Review

Slope: 139
Rating: 72.9
Yardage: 6567

The Blue Heron Golf Course is as difficult as it is visually stunning. The course features 5 sets of tees for all playing abilities. At the moment the course has two separate 9-hole courses. The third nine is expected to open in June. With all three nines open, players will have the choice to mix and match the separate courses allowing for up to 6 different 18-hole combinations.

The information given up top is from my usual set of tees, the blue. There is still a back–set of tees making the course even more difficult. If the course could be described quickly it would be “target golf”. Players are required to hit the ball in a very specific location just about every shot. If players miss that target, there is very little forgiveness for mistake. Knowing the exact yardage of the target is very important; making the GPS equipped carts an outstanding and almost essential part of the game. The cart is able to tell the player the exact yardage to the pin, front of green, and hazards.

The greens are probably my favorite part. They are sand based and can only be described as hard and fast. After a few times of playing the course I realized that you couldn’t just go straight for the flag. The ball will not stick due to the greens being very difficult to hold. It is best to play the shot a little short to allow for 10 or 15 yards of roll after the shot has landed. Once you are on the green the breaks are either very subtle or very extreme.

In summary the Blue Heron is a breathtaking, beautiful course but can eat you alive if you do not hit the targets. First timers have a really hard time and should ask for advice from people who have played the course often. Returning players have a big advantage by knowing the course and should use their knowledge to play smart golf.

Pine Valley Golf Club Review

Pine Valley has its reputation for a reason.  I was privileged to have worked there for a summer and played the course a few times.  It is like no course you will ever play in your life.  It was easily the hardest course I have ever played with a slope of 150 and 153 from the regular and championship tees respectively, and a rating of 73 and 74.1 from the regular and championship tees respectively.  The yardages range from 6442 from the regular tees to 6656 from the championship tees, and both par at 70.  None of the holes on the course face the same direction and all are completely surrounded by at least a wide row of trees and brush.  If a player loses his ball into the trees and brush, the player generally doesn’t bother to look for it, because in the event that they find it, it is nearly impossible to play out of.  Pine Valley is known for its bunker wastelands surrounding almost every tee, fairway and green.  The greens are big and most are elevated with tough breaks.  The general rule is that if you miss the fairway, take out another ball; if you miss the green, ask the caddie for your sand wedge.  Pine Valley demands perfection from its players. 

It is hard for me to pick only a few notable holes, because every hole on the course has its own personality.  I have read a lot of reviews on Pine Valley, and none have done it justice.  Most people don’t comprehend the fact that it ranks with and above revered courses like Augusta National and St. Andrews.  I don’t mean to sound arrogant, but you get a different feeling for the course after working on it every day as opposed to playing a round or two.  So please understand that this review is an inside story from Pine Valley. 

If anyone would like a hole by hole, in depth review I would be happy to tell you and show you my collection of pictures. 

Aaron Bell

Pine Valley Golf Club

In the summer of 2006, I worked for three months at Pine Valley Golf club. I am very proud to have worked there and can say that no where else could have taught me more. I worked under Rick Christian, the Pine Valley superintendent. He was a strict, but fair boss. He taught every intern well. I worked with the grounds crew and I am very happy that I chose to do so. I feel as though I learned enough about the turf side of the business to not manage, but oversee it some day. I did some of everything on the course. Everything from mowing greens every morning to spraying chemicals on every part of the course, short course and tenant greens. I think the thing I enjoyed most was mowing greens. You got to see your completed work, and if you did well you felt good about it. I wish I could return to Pine Valley some day, but that is unlikely. I was offered to come back, but right now I dont need that experience, and I am content in Columbus. I would highly reccommend this to another student that is looking to gain more knowledge on the turf side of the golf industry. If anyone wants contact info for Pine Valley, please contact me personally.

Pleasant View Golf Club

Located on Route 153 in Stark County, Ohio is Pleasant View Golf Club. Pleasant View is an 18 hole golf course that is open to the public during the golf season. In operation for over forty-two years as a family owned business, they pride themselves on maintaining a country club look to the course, treating all golfers as though they were members of the club, and hosting tournaments catered to an individual tournament’s needs. Although Pleasant View is a smaller course with no bunkers, the recreational value and fun of the game of golf is preserved. The course employed about nine workers for grounds maintenance and seven to ten in the clubhouse, four out of the total work as year-round employees.

           

My internship lasted for a three month period. I worked in many different aspects in the golf industry. I was primarily part of the grounds crew where I did multiple tasks such as working on equipment, mowing, irrigation and drainage, management of employees, landscape maintenance, fertilizer and pesticide applications, among other things. My internship was devoted more to irrigation this year, replacing and repairing old irrigation such as lines and heads. I also worked in the pro shop as a shop keep and helped with tournament operations.

 

My supervisor, Don Orwick, a member of the GCSAA and a superintendent for over 25 years, helped me learn new things and to allow me to come up with ideas and manage some of the crew. He helped make my internship more of the learning aspect more than he would to a seasonal employee. He was a great mentor and would be good for anyone interested in the superintendent side of the golf industry. Overall, I felt that my internship was very positive and educational in the fact that I did learn new ideas and concepts that I didn’t originally know and I performed tasks that I never did before. If anyone has any more questions about this course you can contact me personally

 

Right now there is no website for this course. It is being worked on and updated

Blue Heron Golf Club

This past summer I was able to have my first PGM Internship at the Blue Heron Golf Club. The Blue Heron is located north of Columbus in Medina, Ohio. The course was very appealing to me because it is only minutes away from my house. I first heard about the course from a friend and decided that I should try to work there. The man who hired me was David Knox and can be reached at 330-722-0227 or dknox@troongolf.com. He was very excited at the chance at establishing a relationship with the Ohio State Professional Golf Management Program.

I started working shortly after school let out last year around second week of June. I began to work full time for 2 weeks, learning the basic outside operations, and then had to take a month off. When I returned my responsibilities and job itself had really changed for the better. I had more responsibilities at the course and I was an important player to the team. When I came back I began to work both inside and outside of the golf shop. Outside operations included: setting up carts for players, getting members bags ready, setting up the practice facility, starting off players on the first tee, picking and cleaning balls from the practice facility, executing player’s assistant runs, running carts to storage, and finally washing carts and locking up. Inside operations included: managing the golf shop, ringing people in, taking tee times, answering phones and questions about the course, member relations, tournament operations, monitoring pace of play, checking and cleaning locker rooms, and finally doing the nightly paperwork and locking up.

The internship was an absolutely great experience. My favorite part about work had to be the amount of responsibilities I had so early on in my job. My favorite part about working there was definitely being able to use the golf facilities as much as I wanted, basically free of charge. This internship assured me that a golf career is the right thing for me. I will be returning this summer, around the middle of June, to hopefully have a chance to learn a lot more about the golf industry and have a lot more responsibilities at a terrific golf course. I highly recommend this internship to any student who lives in the area. The boss in charge of me is a wonderful mentor. The entire professional staff is dedicated to helping me learn the business and be successful in my career.

golfblueheron.com

Grantwood Golf Course

Grantwood Golf Course is in Solon, OH. It is a public 18-hole golf course that is very well run. I worked on the Maintenance side of it and learned quite a bit. My everyday supervisor was the Asst. Superintendent, Dave Peck. He was a graduate of the Ohio State Wooster Campus in turfgrass. I learned a great deal from him. I was taught how to use all the equipment (greens/tees/fairway mowers, changed cups, learned how to use the sprayer but didn’t actually use it directly). I also syringed on a daily basis to keep the course from drying out. Average hourly day was 6:30-3:30. Sometimes 5:30-4:00, depending on if there was an early outing or not. Grantwood only had 4 seasonal employees, myself included, so you really get to experience a whole lot. I would recommend this internship to anyone looking for one on the greenskeeping side of the golf industry. It was a great experience and i learned a great deal on how to maintain a golf course.

Course Website: Grantwood Golf Course

New PGM Club Internship Blog

Hello PGM students. This is going to the be the host of our Internship Blog. When you log into here, the username is pgmclub and the password is pgm. There will be more on how to post, but for now, you all should be able to figure it out by following their directions. This is for information on past internships that were good and bad. Give a review of your internship and whether or not you would recommend it to another PGM student. Thanks guys.

When you want to post, on the right toolbar is a link to wordpress.com. Go to the site and log in with the above information. Then you go to write a post. Soon we will have a log in link directly from the internship blog main page.