12 Best Golf Courses in Ohio
Ohio golf runs on heavy design pedigree. Donald Ross laid out Inverness (1916), Scioto (1916), and Manakiki. Jack Nicklaus built Muirfield Village on the ground where he hosts The Memorial Tournament every year. Pete Dye left his mark at Fowler's Mill and Avalon Lakes. Seth Raynor's last completed design is Camargo. The twelve layouts ahead split between private championship clubs and public daily-fee courses with course ratings ranging from 71.6 to 78.4 and slope ratings up to 155. Several offer stay-and-play lodging on site.
Muirfield Village Golf Club
Muirfield Village Golf Club is Ohio's defining championship course. Jack Nicklaus and Desmond Muirhead designed the Dublin layout in the early 1970s, named after the Scottish links course where Nicklaus won his first Open Championship in 1966. The private club remains tied to competitive golf through The Memorial Tournament, which Nicklaus founded and continues to host. The course carries a 77.4 course rating and 155 slope rating from the Memorial tees.
Public tee times and standard green fees are not available, so most visitors experience the property as spectators during The Memorial Tournament, which runs the first week of June each year (June 1-7 in 2026). John Glenn Columbus International Airport makes Dublin convenient for travelers, and the Bridge Park development on the Scioto River provides nearby hotels, restaurants, and walkable evening options for tournament week.
Camargo Club
One of Seth Raynor's last designs, the Camargo Club is a private Cincinnati-area course built in 1925-26 in the Indian Hill section east of the city. Raynor died in 1926 before the course opened, and his protégé Charles Banks completed the work. The course is recognized among the finest examples of the Macdonald-Raynor template-hole school of American golf architecture, with versions of the Redan, the Eden, the Biarritz, and other classic Scottish-style template holes drawn from Charles Blair Macdonald's National Golf Links of America.
Camargo carries a 71.6 course rating and 130 slope rating from the gold tees. Public tee times are not available; access generally requires membership or invitation. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is the best arrival point for out-of-town players. The Hotel Rambler in nearby Montgomery provides lodging within easy distance of the course, and downtown Cincinnati covers the broader trip with riverfront attractions and dining.
Inverness Club
Inverness Club is Toledo's premier private championship course, with a tournament history that includes four U.S. Opens (1920, 1931, 1957, 1979), two PGA Championships (1986, 1993), and the 2021 Solheim Cup. The club hired Donald Ross in 1916 to design the original 18-hole layout, and subsequent restorations have been led by George and Tom Fazio, then Andrew Green in 2019. The course carries a 78.4 course rating and 151 slope rating from the Black tees, the highest course rating on this list.
Public booking and posted green fees are not available, so access depends on membership or invitation. Toledo Express Airport is the closest commercial airport, with Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport as the larger backup option about an hour north. The Renaissance Toledo offers comfortable rooms with city views, and the Toledo Museum of Art adds a strong non-golf option for the trip.
Scioto Country Club
Scioto Country Club in Upper Arlington opened in 1916 with a Donald Ross design that helped shape the early golf life of Jack Nicklaus, who grew up in the area and learned the game on this course. The course hosted the 1926 U.S. Open (won by Bobby Jones), the 1931 Ryder Cup, the 1968 U.S. Amateur, and the 2016 U.S. Senior Open. The course carries a 73.6 course rating and 142 slope rating from the Black tees.
Scioto is private; access usually depends on membership, invitation, or special events. John Glenn Columbus International Airport serves out-of-state visitors. The Blackwell Inn, Ohio State University's only on-campus hotel, sits within a few miles of the course. Summer suits a full walking round.
Firestone Country Club
Firestone Country Club in Akron is the kind of Ohio destination where players can stay on the property and play three championship courses without building the trip around outside logistics. The original South Course was laid out by Bert Way in 1929 and redesigned by Robert Trent Jones in 1959 for the PGA Championship. The North Course is Robert Trent Jones original, and the Fazio Course was reimagined by Tom Fazio Architects in 2021. The South Course carries a 75.1 course rating and 128 slope rating.
Firestone makes planning easy through Stay-and-Play packages with multiple rounds, dining, and on-site lodging in Villas, Club Rooms, or Premium Club Rooms. The club offers transportation to and from Akron-Canton Regional Airport and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Summer suits full golf weekends; shoulder seasons run quieter with easier tee-time scheduling. The South Course hosted the World Series of Golf from 1962 through 1976 and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational from 1999 through 2018.
The Virtues Golf Club
The Virtues Golf Club gives public players a destination-style round in rolling central Ohio terrain. Arthur Hills designed the Nashport course (originally Longaberger Golf Club) on rolling country east of Columbus, with online tee times and posted seasonal rates. The course carries a 75.2 course rating and 139 slope rating from the Black tees, and the routing includes substantial elevation changes and broad valley views.
John Glenn Columbus International Airport is the closest commercial option. The on-course Restaurant gives players a clubhouse dinner option, and Cherry Valley Hotel in nearby Newark offers a golf-getaway lodging option. The course shows best in late spring when the rolling fairways are fully green.
Fowler's Mill Golf Course
Fowler's Mill Golf Course in Geauga County, east of Cleveland, is a Pete Dye design that opened in 1972. The course includes Lake, River, and Maple nines that combine for varied 18-hole rounds, with online booking and seasonal rates. The course carries a 74.5 course rating and 142 slope rating from the gold tees, giving public players access to Pete Dye design without private-club restrictions.
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is the nearest fly-in option. There is no resort on site, so nearby Chagrin Falls, Beachwood, Mentor, or Cleveland work best for lodging. The Cleveland Historic Warehouse District has the highly-reviewed dining for the evening end of the trip. Autumn gives the wooded property added color.
Manakiki Golf Course
Manakiki Golf Course in Willoughby Hills gives public players access to a Donald Ross design from 1927 in Cleveland's eastern suburbs, operated by Cleveland Metroparks. The course carries a 73.1 course rating and 133 slope rating from the Black tees, with enough challenge for experienced players while staying approachable through shorter tee options. The Manakiki clubhouse is a 1922 country estate house, restored and maintained as part of the metroparks system.
Cleveland Metroparks Tee Times handles online booking across the park system. The Courtyard by Marriott Cleveland Willoughby provides visiting golfers a comfortable home base. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is the most practical airport option, and weekday rounds during the summer months are the calmer way to enjoy the course.
The Golf Club at Stonelick Hills
The Golf Club at Stonelick Hills in Batavia, about 30 miles east of Cincinnati, runs a Jeff Osterfeld design that opened in 2003. The course carries a 74.0 course rating and 136 slope rating from the longest tees, with rolling Clermont County terrain that gives the round a more secluded feel than its Cincinnati-area location suggests. Online tee times and seasonal rates make planning simple.
The property does not operate as a resort; Staybridge Suites Cincinnati East-Milford gives travelers a practical lodging option nearby. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is the closest commercial airport. Spring and fall suit the course well, especially when comfortable temperatures and changing scenery sharpen the setting.
Boulder Creek Golf Club
Boulder Creek Golf Club in Streetsboro, in the Cleveland-Akron corridor, runs a Joe Salemi design that opened in 2003. The course carries a 74.7 course rating and 140 slope rating from the longest tees. The routing makes substantial use of ponds, forced carries, and elevation shifts, with wooded edges that give the course a more dramatic personality than many public Northeast Ohio layouts.
Akron-Canton Airport and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport make the course reachable from two regional flight markets. There is no on-site lodging, but Streetsboro, Hudson, and the Cleveland-Akron corridor offer nearby stays. The Barrel Lodge Bar & Grill provides comfort food in a rustic setting after the round. Clear summer days show the course at its best.
The Quarry Golf Club
The Quarry Golf Club in Canton runs on a former limestone quarry site, with stone walls, ponds, cliffs, and elevation changes shaping the routing. The course is wooded despite the quarry origins, with tree-lined fairways through most of the layout. The Brian Huntley design carries a 74.1 course rating and 147 slope rating from the gold tees, the second-highest slope on this list.
The visual identity is the standout feature for a public course, with quarry walls and water features creating several holes that feel distinct from traditional parkland layouts. The Granite Grille handles on-site dining with a covered patio. Akron-Canton Airport is the closest commercial option, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton makes a strong day-trip add to the schedule.
Avalon Lakes Golf Course
Avalon Lakes Golf Course in Howland, near Warren in northeast Ohio, pairs a Pete Dye championship design with a full resort-style stay. The course carries a 75.7 course rating and 135 slope rating from the Position 5 tees. Dye's design uses water, bunkering, and angled approaches that ask players to think carefully through the round.
The Grand Resort connects hotel stays with golf, dining, and leisure amenities. Gatsby's at The Grand Resort offers fine dining with an extensive wine list. Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport is the closest regional option; Cleveland Hopkins International Airport gives out-of-state visitors more flight flexibility. The Grand Resort Spa adds a strong non-golf option for couples or groups with mixed interests.
Building An Ohio Golf Trip
The twelve courses split into roughly three groups by access. Muirfield Village, Camargo, Inverness, and Scioto are private clubs with championship pedigrees that traveling players generally experience as spectators or through member access. Firestone and Avalon Lakes offer resort-style stay-and-play with on-property lodging. The Virtues, Fowler's Mill, Manakiki, Stonelick Hills, Boulder Creek, and Quarry give public players access to strong design without private-club restrictions. The right choice depends on access, travel style, and what kind of round suits the trip. Spring brings comfortable playing weather, summer supports longer golf days, and autumn foliage adds some of the state's best course scenery.
