Course: Manakiki
Location: Willoughby
Directions: Off of I-90. Easy access from 90 or I-271 to 90
Dewsweepers Tee Time was: 7AM
Conditions: Ideal
Manakiki Website
This week we took a 45 minute ride out to Willoughby, east of Cleveland and played a terrific golf course called Manakiki. This is part of the MetroParks golf course system, and in my view, this is their best course. What a place.
Manakiki is of moderate length, as it is an old country club from an era gone by. It was designed originally by heralded, and now legendary golf course architect Donald Ross many decades ago. This course is so well designed, other courses could really learn from this track. The par 5's are score-able, the par 3's are unique and well protected, and the par 4's are pretty darn tough. This is a good example of a course that if you keep the ball in front of you, you can play well here. Not much of this is real tight, but the rough was brutal on this day. More on that in a minute.
As we were playing Manakiki, we got to the third hole and great par 5, about 480 yards with tons of hills, up and down to a raised green and we noticed a ridiculously difficult pin placement. About 7 feet on the front left, near a bunker on a ridge. We later found out that later that day the final round of the Manakiki Club Championship was going to be played there. Holy cow, were these greens fast, and the flags on every green were about as tough as they could have been. This made this great golf course insanely hard. But it was a nice test for us to see how upper tier players battle on the course.
Without real specifics, we all played fairly well. I and the rest of the Dewsweepers drove the ball quite well all day long, as the tees were also fairly deep because of the impending tournament later. This was the round though that short game and putting really came into play. That is where all of us really lost our scores, on the greens. The wonderful greens were fast and pins brutal. There was some three-putting posted by all of us, which we really stay away from by and large.
But the pinnacle was my 4-putt on the great number 6 a wonderful par 5. I was on in regulation making three good shots to 25 feet from the pin, and hacked it up. Being tentative, horrible. But it can happen when you are way out of your norm, and we were. Well as we played, none of us could score as our green play was really challenged. It was one of those rounds where you "played" better than you "scored". And all 4 of us did just that. It even led to some colorful language uttered by
But this is a fantastic, and beautiful track and worth the drive from anywhere. Great facilities, and really friendly people too. Manakiki is just a great place. Taking nothing away from some of the MetroParks other nice places, including the wonderful Sleepy Hollow in Brecksville, Shawnee Hills in Bedford, and Big Met in Fairview. Manakiki is simply in another league from those places. And it's in the setting and in superior design.
Course highlights? The whole track, from its design, to it's upkeep, facilities, service and beauty, Manakiki is a jewel. Play it, and love it.
Scores
Wynn -- 88
Beef -- 88
Joe Red -- 91
Tex -- 101
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment