350 yard par 4 first hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
We headed out to Darby Creek Golf Course in Marysville, Ohio. I hadn’t been to Darby Creek in ages. Actually, the last time I had been there was for the Beek Open. Normal walking rate on a weekday afternoon is $26. There’s a $3 discount if you book online and print out the coupon to show them. I went with the Divot Card and paid $11. The Divot Card saved me $12. I’ll have to use the Divot Card about six times to break even.
The first hole is a dogleg left. You’d probably be fine with a five or six iron off the tee. It doesn’t play anywhere near the 350 they claim.
Approach to 350 yard par 4 first hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
This green is slightly elevated so if you miss it just right or just left, the ball will take a mean bounce off the mound. My approach hit the left mound and bounced/rolled all the way to the tall stuff resulting in a lost ball and a double bogey. Oh well, so much for easy pars.
374 yard par 4 second hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
The second hole is a dogleg right. The bunker on the right was fairly easy to clear even with a hurting wind.
Approach to 374 yard par 4 second hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
You’ll be left with an uphill approach to the green with bunkers guarding both sides.
169 yard par 3 third hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
The blue tees aim you right over those bunkers on the left, especially with that flag placement. It’s a fairly large green and should be easy to hit.
529 yard par 5 fourth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
The first par 5 didn’t seem to play as long as they claimed. You have an uphill tee shot with a bunker to the right side.
Approach to 529 yard par 5 fourth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
Another generous green awaits you at the fifth. There were no gimmes out here today. The greens were fast and the pin placements were difficult.
339 yard par 4 fifth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
The fifth plays as the easiest hole on the course. The bunkers look intimidating off the tee but are easily cleared.
Approach to 339 yard par 4 fifth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
Darby does toughen the hole up with a smaller green but notice the absence of the bunker in the front left of the green.
486 yard par 5 sixth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
This is a short par 5 that is a slight dogleg left. It has bunkers guarding the left side of the fairway. I lost it to the right and ended up in the second hole’s rough. No matter, it’s a par 5 and there’s plenty of time to right the ship.
144 yard par 3 seventh hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
This par 3 has a very large green so should be easy to hit but hitting the green won’t assure you anything as I was left with a very long birdie putt.
144 yard par 3 seventh hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
My buddy plugged his tee shot to two feet on this hole though. Nice job, Nuke!
418 yard par 4 eighth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
The photo doesn’t reveal it but that’s water that you have to go over. Or you could bail out to the left. It’s about 268 to the 150 marker and 255 or so to carry the water. It’s kind of nice when you can still hit a fade yet bomb it over the water with 10 yards to spare.
Approach to 418 yard par 4 eighth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
If you go left, you’ll have an approach similar to this on your second shot.
438 yard par 4 ninth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
Straight or to the right off of this tee will only result in a really long second shot. There’s no bunker on the left so try to cut a few dozen yards off your second shot.
Approach to 438 yard par 4 ninth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
I went a little right and had well over 200 yards to the hole.
Darby Creek Golf Course Clubhouse
Here’s a shot of the clubhouse from the back.
309 yard par 4 tenth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
This is a short par 4 that is strengthened by fairway and greenside bunkers. While we were waiting on the tee, a group came out of the clubhouse. One guy walked straight up to the tee and mumbles something to the effect that he was on the tee. He hits. His two playing partners come out and are astonished that he had taken the tee from us while they had lollygagged in the clubhouse at the turn. One of his partners mentioned that he was a pastor somewhere as if he should have known better. The group in front of us had already played through them so this threesome was in the clubhouse long enough for almost two groups to play through them.
A-hole for the month of May
Without further adieux, here’s the asshole of the month who insisted on stealing the tee despite sitting on his ass in the clubhouse. Hey Pastor, what do they say? You reap what you sow. Whatever happened to golf etiquette? Being an asshole allowed him to finish five minutes ahead of us and earned him lasting fame on ohiogolfblog.com. Hope it was worth it, buddy.
par 3 168 yard eleventh hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
Hey, there’s our buddy just hanging out on the green. Funny, a few minutes ago he was in an all fired hurry to make up for sitting in the clubhouse. Anyways, don’t lose it right on this hole.
par 4 411 yard twelfth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
Approach to the par 4 411 yard twelfth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
I know those “woods” to the left well. In my youth, I once threw a five iron up into the air there. It didn’t come down. I wasn’t able to find it. After the round, I came back and continued my search. I finally shook a tree in frustration and heard a clank, clank. I shook again harder and my five iron returned to earth. The lesson here – always throw the club down at the ground if you have to throw one. I haven’t thrown a club since.
par 4 435 yard thirteenth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
You can actually hit it too far off the tee. There’s a steep incline and you can get caught with a downhill lie.
Approach to par 4 435 yard thirteenth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
The evil groundskeeper had placed the flag just beyond those bunkers in front.
par 5 492 yard fourteenth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
I hit a high fade on this one and still drove it to the end of the fairway. I had forgotten about the creek which was just 20-30 yards further. I was also left with another downhill lie on the approach. Is there a tougher combination then a downhill lie to an uphill flag?
par 5 492 yard fourteenth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
They’ve bunkered the hell out of this miniscule par 5.
par 4 419 yard fifteenth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
They gave this one a 9 handicap. I’m not sure why.
par 3 188 yard sixteenth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
This green can be fairly tricky. My buddy found the big bunker on the left.
par 5 540 yard seventeenth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
Water lies beyond this heather to the left. The wind was helping us today as it pushed everything back to the right.
Approach to par 5 540 yard seventeenth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
I hit it on in two from here and finally worked a little magic for a birdie.
par 4 452 yard eighteenth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
Water lies way ahead and should only come into play on the approach.
Approach to par 4 452 yard eighteenth hole at Darby Creek Golf Course
Here’s the final shot in. We played Darby in just under four hours. It was fairly busy for a Tuesday afternoon. I can see it attracting a lot of golfers from the Dublin area, but it’s still a hike even from Dublin. No wonder they’re on the Divot Card. They’re trying to get new golfers out there and keep them coming back. I didn’t find the course that difficult except for the greens. I didn’t hit it in one bunker all day and they have bunkers all over this course. I’ll be back though now that I have more familiarity with the course. I can also just review my photos for a quick refresher as well.
Darby Creek Golf Course
800-343-2729
937-349-7491
19300 Orchard Road
Marysville, Ohio 43040