Price is right at National Golf Links

Revisited National Golf Links yesterday for the first time in a long time during a round with Steve Blackledge and Mike Munden and had a very enjoyable time. We walked the links-style course for $18 and wore ourselves out chasing the pea.

The course, designed by Jody Kinney and opened in 1995, plays 7,200 yards long from its longest tees with a rating of 74.2 and a slope of 138. That was a bit more than we wanted to try to chew so we opted for the white tees, which played 6,618 yards long with a course rating of 71.5 and a 132 slope.

The large greens were in good shape and rolled nicely. The fairways were in decent shape but nothing to brag about. The rough was ... well, kind of rough in spots and the traps weren't anything to brag about either. The course management was very pleasant and appreciative of its patrons. If you like links-style golf and don't demand pristine conditions, this course is a viable option, especially because of its reasonable prices.

I enjoyed the layout, especially the back nine, which included several drives off elevated tees and a couple of difficult par 4s (Nos 11, 15). But overall I didn't feel the course merited the 3 dog biscuits I gave it in my original ranking of best places to play in central Ohio. By the number of cars in the parking lot, it would seem as I wasn't alone in that assessment.

http://www.nationalgolflinks.org/

Here is Oldgolfdawg's updated Best-places-to-play-in-central-Ohio list, ranked on a scale of 1 to 5 dog biscuits:

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, EagleSticks, 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, Mill Creek, Turnberry, Westchester
2 1/2 dog biscuits: Blackhawk, Crystal Springs Golf Club, National Golf Links, Mentel Memorial, *Licking Springs, Raymond Memorial, Safari Golf Club, *St. Albans, *Table Rock
2 dog biscuits: *Airport, *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.