 Raymond Memorial:
One of the Best Deals
You'll Ever See
By Carl W. Grody,
Staff Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Robert Trent Jones was one of the greats of golf course architecture.
When Augusta National needed someone to re-do its 11th and 16th holes, they called on Jones. When Oakland Hills wanted its south course retooled for the 1951 U.S. Open, Jones was "the man." He designed Spyglass Hill, the Firestone Country Club, and Hazeltine National.
And because he went to an Ohio State football game in 1949 with Columbus Mayor James Rhodes, he agreed to design a public course in Columbus that you can play for $14 on a weekday or $19 on a weekend.
Don't rub your eyes. The numbers aren't playing tricks. In the world of public golf courses, Raymond Memorial is one of the best deals you'll ever see.
Of course, Raymond wasn't always a bargain. Because it was built in the early 1950s, it didn't have irrigation until 1985. Before that, the course was better known for being a dust bowl than for good golf, even though it hosted a LPGA tournament from 1967-70. Now, with the extra attention being paid to the course by head professional Kelly Trent and greens superintendent Arin Hawkins, Raymond hosts 60,000 rounds a year.
 At first glance, the course doesn't look remarkable. It's sandwiched into a square of land between busy city streets and a glorified executive course, but Raymond more than meets the test when you play it. It's 6,812 yards from the blue tees with a rating of 71.5 and a slope of 116. From the whites, it's 6,424 yards with a 69.7 rating and a slope of 113.
But the real test comes not from the length but from Jones' subtle course design and classic touches around the greens. Large bunkers dot the landscape around each hole, and even though the greens are a fair size, the actual target areas are small.
Just hitting the green is no guarantee of par, and if you mishit the ball a touch, you're almost sure to be in the sand. Jones' plan was, "Easy bogey, tough par," and if you miss the greens, Jones gets his wish.
All of the greens slope from back to front, and you want to be below the hole to make a putt. Even a shot that lands hole-high can be a problem because of the slope of the greens. But the greens aren't that quick, with the exception of downhill putts on the par-five sixth hole which putts above the hole on the first green when the pin is on the front.
 The course also features a couple of design quirks. The first is an alternate hole for each par three. Jones put them on the course to keep the pace of play brisk even at the busiest times.
The twins rarely have been played together, although the alternates have been used to relieve stress on the main holes. The alternates serve more as a testament to creativity than to brilliant golf course design.
The second quirk is the fourth hole, a 332-yard par four from the white tees that doglegs 90 degrees right around trees about 165 yards from the tee. If the tees are played up, a big hitter can drive the green, but one has to knock the ball over the trees, which are older than your grandmother and taller than Paul Bunyan.
The best bet on this hole - especially from the blue tees, which play 359 yards - is to punch a shot down the middle to the corner, then try to knock a seven-iron between two large bunkers in front of the green.
Raymond is an open golf course and doesn't look too tough, but the holes that look the simplest give you the most trouble. For example, the 10th hole looks innocent from the tee - it's straight, wide open left of the fairway except for a few small trees and only dangerous on the right if you slice. But if you slice, the ball goes through some trees and down a fifteen-foot drop onto the alternate 13th hole. Pull your tee shot left, and you're in rough with a sidehill lie and those annoying little trees blocking your view of the green.
Even if you hit a perfect tee shot, the landing area is into the side of a hill, which kills the roll. Often, you'll be frustrated to realize your ball is still more than 200 yards from the green, which is huge but hidden by tall bunkers. When you leave this hole with a par, it feels more like you made birdie, and the hole is listed as the toughest on the scorecard.
The 12th hole is a doozy, too. The card says it's just 400 yards, but the tee shot is uphill into a severe dogleg to the right. You can't cut the corner, and if you hit your tee shot straight, you run through the fairway. Lay back with a three-wood, and you're left with 200 yards over a valley, a Creek, and your shattered confidence. This is another of the holes where Jones emphasized easy bogey, tough par.
 Raymond's signature hole is the 196-yard par three 13th. In the background are the 14th tee, the clubhouse, the ninth and 18th greens and a lovely covered bridge. The tee shot is again downhill over the creek, but the green is mostly hidden by bunkers that intimidate more by their size than their difficulty.
The bunkers are taller than you are, but the shot out of them isn't hard unless you short-side the green. If you do, the green's bowl shape won't let you stop the ball within 20 feet of the flag.
After the 13th hole, the course degenerates into a sameness that often curses city-run courses. The par-five 16th is interesting, but it's eerily similar to the par-five first with its deceptive bunkers 50 yards short of the green. And the 17th and 18th holes are almost carbon copies of the eighth and ninth: a medium par-three followed by a dogleg left, par four of about 400 yards that steers you back to the clubhouse.
But don't let that keep you away from Raymond Memorial. Overall, it's a tougher test of golf than you expect, and at least you can tell your friends you played a Robert Trent Jones course without having to refinance your house.
Raymond Memorial
3860 Trabue Rd.
Columbus, OH 43228
Phone (614) 645-3276
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