Longaberger architect Arthur Hills pays a CPC visit

By Bob Denney

NASHPORT, Ohio (PGA.com) -- Veteran golf course architect Arthur Hills of Toledo, Ohio, was one interested member of the gallery Saturday morning at Longaberger Golf Club.

The course that he completed in 1999 earned his own high marks for the way it was presented this week to the 156-player field in the 37th PGA Club Professional Championship.

Hills, who has been involved in building 200 courses and 125 renovations since 1966, had a smile on his face as he watched the play progress on one of his favorite designs.

He stepped into the CPC Media Center and reviewed the scores on a monitor, noting the 12-under-par performance of third-round leader Jeff Coston of Blaine, Wash.

“I think that what you can gain from looking at their scores is that the weather is benign, very pleasant soft breezes,” said Hills. “The golf course is visibly dry and in very good condition. The greens are true and playable in the 11 to 11½ range (on the Stimpmeter), and that the cups are in places where you have the opportunity to score well.”

“These players are excellent players. They are near tour-caliber golfers and have chosen for one reason or another to be club professionals,” he added. “Generally, 12-under-par on a course of this caliber tells you that these guys are good players.”

Hills said the slope of the greens and the depth of bunkers presented the challenge that all players have experienced while playing Longaberger Golf Club.

“What we intended was that there would be room off the tees to find the ball and not severely penalized if you are in the rough or a little off line,” he said. “We intended that the green complexes would present challenges, that there would be a reward for getting into the right quadrant on the green. There was a lot of attention paid to the strategy of the green complexes.

“We’re really pleased the response that we have had over the years since the golf course opened. All the feedback we have gotten is very, very favorable,” he added. “It’s beautifully maintained, it’s in a large acreage, there’s nothing around it except golf and trees. It’s an idyllic setting for golf.”

To keep things idyllic, Hills said that Longaberger Golf Club’s 12-minute interval between tee times helps attract customers and prevent the customer from feeling “pushed.”

“There’s no recreational activity other than golf where you are constrained by time,” said Hills. “There’s such a focus on how long it takes to play golf. But if you go fishing in Lake Erie, it’s going to take the better part of the day to do that. If you go skiing, even the closest skiing resort it’s going to take you all day.

“As I drove here today, we passed several courses where guys were standing on the tee waiting because the tee times are so close to one another. That’s a major part of enjoying the game today.”

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