The Course
Located in southeastern Cincinnati, Ivy Hills Country Club is a visually stunning transformation of a former gravel quarry into an Americanized links style layout designed by Steven Smyers, an up and coming golf course designer. In an environment devoted to golf, Ivy Hills Country Club allows players to thoroughly immerse themselves into the game. The risk / reward challenge is carefully sculpted into each shot of this 18-hole masterpiece. The casual player can take the safe road while the better player has the opportunity to measure their game against a backdrop of heroic shot making.
From the Championship tees at 6764 yards, the par 71 course can and will play much longer than the scorecard depicts. At the same time, Ivy Hills offers three other sets of tees with generous landing areas, which allows every skill level of golfer to enjoy the course. In the final analysis, the length of the course is not the major factor in the level of complexity at Ivy Hills. The true challenge is in the abundance of elevation changes throughout the property, the variety of shot choices into the green complexes, a variety of bunkers, large undulating greens and the gusty westerly winds. Oh, and there is the native heather grasses…did we mention the heather?
The golf course is as diverse as its scenery, yet tests every facet of the player's ability. With narrow fairways and firm, fast greens surrounded by dramatic and strategic bunkering, players quickly realize that they'll need every club in their bag to score at Ivy Hills. Holes 10 through 13 make up what has become known as “Amen Corner” at Ivy Hills. If a player can successfully navigate this series of holes, there are plenty of other opportunities to score. A player at the top of their game will be faced with strategic and at times heroic options on every hole. As a result, Ivy Hills is a thinking man's course.
In recent years, the course has been modified to take out some of the bite that the original design presented. However, the course is still quite demanding with a current course rating of 73.3 and a slope of 133.
Ivy Hills is one of Ohio’s best-kept secrets. There are few courses that that offer such beauty and uniqueness while testing the player's mental and physical abilities.
Unique to Ivy Hills is our version of "Man's Best Friend", a 10-year old Border Collie named "Ivy" who aids in the elimination or minimization of geese on the golf course. Many days, Members may see Ivy riding side-by-side with our Superintendent or members of his staff, taking a swim in one of the few water hazards or doing what she loves best, chasing geese.