Shaker Run Golf Course:
Good Spirits Surround You in Ohio

By Jason Scott,
Senior Writer

LEBANON, Ohio - Southern Ohio isn't a golf destination with lavish resorts and great golf courses, but the Vintage Golf Properties does own five good golf courses north of Cincinnati that can thrill any player.

The crown jewel of the corporation is Shaker Run, a championship 27-hole complex about a 45 minute drive from the home of the Bengals and Reds in a quaint farming town just off of Interstate 75.

The corporation says its symbol, the Shaker's Tree of Life, represents "reverence, delight in nature and good spirits." The Shaker Run Golf Course certainly backs that up with its playing conditions and its service.

The Shaker Corporation purchased Shaker Run, which opened as a private club in 1979, in 1993 and opened the course to the public on March 1, 1994. Michael Hurdzan, the 1997 Golf World Architect of the Year, opened a third nine, the Meadows, recently, so more players could enjoy this experience.

The original 18-hole combination, the Arthur Hills-designed Woodlands and Lakeside, is ranked by Golf Digest as the 21st-best course in the state, and No. 6 among public courses.

Surrounded by flat farmland and cornfields, Shaker Run features rolling hills and wondrous elevation changes that one wouldn't expect from the Ohio terrain. Players love the challenge. Four sets of tees ensure that anybody can play here.

"I like the fact that none of the holes are the same," golfer Ron Hodel said of the Woodside-Lakeside combination. "They are all interesting and challenging. The course plays with elevation, sand traps, doglegs and water. There is always something to play around. There is no typical shot and that makes it fun."

The Woodlands starts off with a dynamite 557-yard par-5. After driving from an elevated tee to a generous landing area, the fairway climbs uphill, making it a three-shot hole.

The third hole, a 420-yard par-4, is a great golf hole, but the club needs to put a sign at the tee area, warning players what lies ahead. At about the 150-yard mark, the fairway plummets at least 100 feet to reveal the green, guarded in front by a small creek and a retaining wall. Long tee shots can get caught up in the rough on the side of the downhill, forcing a near-impossible approach shot.

The 203-yard par-3 fifth is another Hills' masterpiece. The skinny green sits nearly 120 feet below the tees, giving players the impression the hole plays shorter than it really does. Don't be too short, though, another creek and retaining wall lie in front.

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After several tight, tree-lined tests, No. 9 opens up with an incredible, and intimidating, view. This 435-yard par-4 requires a 170-yard carry over a pond to a skinny fairway with the clubhouse in the background.

If players are fortunate enough to find dry land off the tee, their approach shot must carry the pond again to reach the green. This hole is just a warm-up to the appropriately-named "Lakeside" nine.

The second Lakeside hole is a downhill, 165-yard par-3 over another pond. If players go long, a bunker in back will make your second shot back toward the water just as unnerving as the tee shot.

One would think the second-shortest par-4 on the course wouldn't be one of its highest handicap holes, but that's exactly what No. 3 is. It plays just 383 yards from the tips, but placing an uphill tee shot between three fairway bunkers is always tough. More greenside bunkers also require accurate irons.

The finishing holes are fantastic. The lake comes into play behind the greens at No. 7 (424-yard par-4) and No. 8 (499-yard par-5). The fairway on No. 8 snakes along back and forth until dropping downhill to the green, which is tucked behind a mound and a tree, not to mention several bunkers.

No. 9 is a test of your power. The more water you can carry off the tee, the closer you can get to the hole of this 420-yard par-4. The water stays in play up the entire left side until the hole.

The Meadows is the longest of the three nines at 3,560 yards, but it might also be the most forgiving, without the tree trouble of the Woodlands or the water damage of the Lakeside. The toughest hole, the 457-yard second, bends left. Each nine has a distinct personality that can get any golfers' juices jumping.

"You have some short holes and you have some long ones, so you use every club in your bag," Hodel said. "That I like."

What's not to like about this place? Shaker Run continues to improve every year. In the spring of 2000, it opened a new 20,000-square-foot clubhouse.

The state-of-the-art building boasts huge locker rooms for men and women, a large pro shop, a banquet-ballroom and meeting-conference facilities, along with formal and casual indoor and outdoor dining. A brochure also states the building has "overnight accommodations," but it's certainly no hotel.

Playing here is also relatively inexpensive, especially out of prime time. The cost is a bit steep on weekends ($75), but the twilight rates ($35) and the early morning rates on weekdays ($45 on Monday through Friday) are unbeatable.

If Shaker Run is booked, players can always play the other four courses, which the corporation calls the "Shaker Golf Tour Challenge." Walden Ponds in Indian Springs, also designed by Hurdzan, Crooked Tree in Mason, Fuzzy Zoeller's signature Beavercreek Golf Club in Beavercreek and Arnold Palmer's Oasis Golf Club & Conference Center in Loveland are also must-plays if you're visiting the Cincinnati area for business or pleasure.

The Shaker Golf Tour features two package deals - the Birdie 54 holes, which features 18-hole rounds at Beavercreek, Shaker Run and Walden Ponds, or the Eagle 90 holes, where players visit all five courses.

Shaker Run Golf Club
(27 holes)
4361 Greentree Road
Lebanon, Ohio, 45036
1-800-721-0007
www.shakerrungolfclub.com

Statistics from the tips: Woodlands/Lakeside -- Yardage: 6,953; Slope: 138; Rating: 74.0; Lakeside/Meadows -- Yardage: 6,991; Slope: 136; Rating: 73.7; Meadows/Woodlands -- Yardage: 7,082; Slope: 134; Rating: 74.1.

Year opened: 1979 (Woodlands/Lakeside).
Course designers: Arthur Hills (Woodlands/Lakeside); Michael Hurdzan (Meadows).
Green fees: $65 Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; $45 Monday-Friday before 9:30 a.m.; Saturday-Sunday-Holidays $75 before noon and $55 after 1 p.m.; $35 after 3 p.m. every day.
Head pro: Lammi