Goat-ranch warning needs explanation

Oldgolfdawg's best-places-to-play guide needs a mulligan. Thanks to some feedback on Facebook from old friend Rob Oller, it was pointed out to me that there are two courses off old Rt. 40, and I was directing you to the wrong one. My bad.

National Road, a course in West Jefferson probably better utilized as a goat ranch, belongs in the 1 dog biscuit category, or perhaps more aptly said, "Let's not go there." Oldgolfdawg has never played it, but if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it's probably a duck.

The course I meant to direct Chase The Pea followers to is National Golf Links, which is farther west off Rt. 40 in South Charleston, a stone's throw from I-70 and about 38 miles from downtown Columbus. Oller, a top-notch sports writer and a faithful follower of the little white pea, considers National Golf Links to be his home course, and that's saying a lot. Robbie knows a good golf course when he sees it. He's covered the Masters for The Dispatch and has gotten to play Augusta National on a Monday following the tournament. When he says National Golf Links has the best overall layout in Clark County, it makes me want to check it out again. The course has some holes running parallel with I-70. Here's a link to the course: http://www.nationalgolflinks.org/

It has been more than 10 years since Oldgolfdawg last played National Golf Links, and it appears it has been his loss for not returning sooner. The last time he played it, it had only recently added nine holes to become an 18-hole course. Since then, Oldgolfdawg has received a lot of positive feedback from folks who have played it and now National Golf Links will be joining his list of want-to-play courses along with Kings Mill and Phoenix.

In the future when he updates his best-places-to-play guide, Oldgolfdawg is going to qualify his biscuit ratings with an asterisk for courses he has not played in more the five years. Some courses you can play just once and know things will never change. But that's not always the case. The whole idea of the best-places-to-play guide was to make it easier for faithful followers of the white pea to decide where to play. That's why I always appreciate feedback of any kind on any course any follower of Chase The Pea has to offer. If I pass it along to other followers of this blog and it helps them have a more enjoyable golf experience, then my mission will be accomplished. We all want to avoid goat ranches whenever possible.

Here is Oldgolfdawg's updated best-places-to-play guide:

5 dog biscuits: Longaberger (the alpha dog)
4 1/2 dog biscuits: East Golf Club (another classic Arthur Hills layout)
4 dog biscuits: Cooks Creek, Cumberland Trail, Eagle Sticks, Deer Ridge, Golf Club of Dublin, The Players Club at Foxfire
3 1/2 dog biscuits: *Apple Valley, Bent Tree, Blacklick Woods, Chapel Hill, Champions, Granville, Indian Springs, New Albany Links, The Links at Echo Springs, Royal American Links
3 dog biscuits: Darby Creek, Glenross, Mentel Memorial, Raymond Memorial, *National Golf Links, Turnberry, Westchester
2 1/2 dog biscuits: Blackhawk, *Licking Springs, Safari Golf Club, *St. Albans, *Table Rock
2 dog biscuits: *Airport, *Mill Creek, *Oakhaven, *Bridgeview, Marysville Golf Club, *Minerva Lake
1 1/2 dog biscuits: *Wilson Road, *Big Walnut (executive courses)
1 dog biscuit: Let's not go there

* Indicates Oldgolfdawg has not played the course in more than five years and needs feedback from others to adjust any ranking.