Ohio Golf Journal September 2020

layouts lie just across the state line in southeast Michigan —The Legacy by Arthur Hills, in Ottawa Lake, plus Stonebridge Golf Club and Leslie Park, both in Ann Arbor. Two are in northwest Ohio – Stone Ridge, in Bowling Green, and Maumee Bay State Park, on the shores of Lake Erie in the town of Oregon. “There’s probably 10-12 good Arthur Hills designs in the Toledo area,’’ said Altvater. “Down the road we hope to have them involved as well, but these five are within 45 minutes of Toledo and have great lodging and fantastic places to eat nearby as well.’’ Altvater is also banking on other nearby attractions, like a world-class zoo, museum, botanical gardens, as well as the AAA Toledo Mud Hens to entice visitors. Hills’ footprint in the area touches far more destinations than are represented on the present trail. He designed nine courses in Ohio and another 17 in Michigan. The Michigan layouts include one of his very best – the Arthur Hills Course at Boyne Highlands Resort in Harbor Springs – and 27-hole Bay Harbor, a masterpiece overlooking Little Traverse Bay. The first course Hills created was in Toledo — Brandywine, in 1967, and he has completed renovations at the historic Inverness Club, site of the 2021 Solheim Cup. He received degrees from Michigan, Michigan State and the University of Toledo. Hills is indeed a native son of both states. As for the five Trail courses, the toughest is Stone Ridge – the home course of Bowling Green State University golf teams and is just a long tee shot from the campus. The bunkering there is one of Hills’ finest works, and the course is surrounded by rolling hills and dissected by small creeks and water hazards.