By Fred Altvater
The 2025 Golf Digest listing of the ‘Best Public Golf Courses’ in the country includes only one Ohio course. Firestone Country Club’s South course is truly historic, but it barely made it onto the list at No. 91. In contrast the ‘State Up North’ has eight of its courses ranked in Golf Digest’s Top 100 listing.
In the 1950’s, Robert Trent Jones was hired to punch up Firestone’s South Course that was originally built thirty years prior primarily for the enjoyment of the employees of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. When Firestone South was picked to host the 1960 PGA Championship, the membership wanted to make it a difficult test for the professionals. Jones had updated Oakland Hills South into a “monster” prior to the 1951 U.S. Open and he seemed the logical choice to beef up Firestone.
Jones added dozens of bunkers, closed off green fronts, lengthened it to over 7,000 yards and installed several new water hazards. He accomplished his goal and the pros found it a true championship test. If complaints from competitors were used as an indication about its difficulty, the remodel was a huge success.
Even today, the South Course is still a demanding tournament venue and quickly identifies the best ball-strikers. Jack Nicklaus won seven titles at Firestone, including the 1975 PGA Championship. Tiger Woods amassed eight of his PGA Tour record 82 victories at Firestone.
The club is part of the Invited Clubs (formerly ClubCorp) network and can be played by the mass public. The club updated its lodging options and offers superb dining onsite. The stay-and-play packages are a hit with golfers, who visit from all over the country.
Firestone has hosted a multitude of professional events over the years. The first being the Rubber City Open, 1954-1959. The American Golf Classic came to Firestone 1961-1976. In the days of the World Golf Championship events, it hosted the Bridgestone Invitational on 18 occasions. The NEC World Series of Golf was held at Firestone 1962-1998. Since 2019, It has hosted the Senior PLAYERS Championship. Don’t forget that the 1960, 1966 and 1975 PGA Championships were held on the South Course, as well.
Firestone was such a challenging course that some years it hosted three PGA TOUR events.
Visitors to Firestone also enjoy playing the North and West (Fazio) courses. Although they are not included on Golf Digest’s annual list, they both are fantastic and in this author’s humble opinion are more enjoyable to play, for the average golfer, than the historic South Course.
In the past several Ohio public courses have been honored to be included in Golf Digest’s annual listing, but with the proliferation of great golf resorts like, Bandon Dunes, Sand Valley, Whistling Straits, BOYNE Golf, as well as many others with upscale public courses, Ohio public courses have been relegated to a more minor status.
Ohio does possess several top-flight private courses, but publics have taken a back seat according to Golf Digest.
