Maketewah Country Club ☆ Follow

Maketewah Country Club, located minutes from downtown Cincinnati, was hand-crafted by Donald Ross with a classically designed course full of character. The course first opened for play in 1910, designed by Tom Bendelow, with Donald Ross redesigning some holes in 1919. Par for the course is 72, and from the back tees the course plays to 6,655 yards. The clubhouse, ninth and 18th greens reside on an elevation at the center of the course, falling down into valleys that crisscross the property at different angles, with the original 1910 routing inspired by the way it traverses and plunges through the ravines toward high greens, and the 1929 Donald Ross renovation bringing the bunkering and short game concepts into strategic focus.

The course features well-bunkered, Donald Ross elevated greens making the approach shot the real challenge, with tree-lined fairways, hilly terrain resulting in many uneven lies, and medium to small-sized undulating, fast greens. Hole #6, a 458-yard par-4 challenge and the #1 handicap hole, serves as the signature hole, requiring a tee shot down a fairway lined by out-of-bounds stakes on the entire left side, then an approach shot to a well-bunkered green. The course is known as one of the longest-standing United States Open qualifying courses, and has hosted local and regional events including the U.S. Pro-Am, the Legends of Cincinnati Golf, the Bob Hope Classic, and Queen City Open.