Clover Valley not on Oldgolfdawg's must-play list

As if the fact that all the major indexes for the stock market have fallen below their 200-day moving averages wasn't enough to tell you the economy isn't in the best of shape, Oldgolfdawg can't resist adding fuel to equity holders' fears by reporting that golf owners and operators in central Ohio are going through a very rough patch, too.

I played Monday through Friday last week and, despite the stretch of excellent weather folks in central Ohio enjoyed, the courses I played were lacking for customers. If last week's great weather couldn't draw a crowd to the courses, you've got to wonder what will.

I played East Golf Club, my home course, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and felt as though the track was there for me and my playing partners alone. I played Cumberland Trail on Wednesday with Jeremy Lynch, who once again got us Golfnow.com deals that allowed us to play for $14 apiece. We teed off at 7:30 a.m. and were done a few minutes after 10:15 a.m. We had the place to ourselves. The weather couldn't have been better. Jeremy, aka Lynch Mob, noted it was San Diego weather, and he should know, having lived in San Diego for a considerable time.

Friday I finally got around to playing Clover Valley Golf Club in Johnstown, a course I had never played and had been wanting to test out for a long time. I was joined by Scott Minister, the art director of The Columbus Dispatch and a longtime friend. I used a Buy-1-Get-1-free coupon from Fairway Magazine to lower our cost to $17 apiece. The weather was perfect and for the first time all week the parking lot showed signs of life, perhaps because it was the start of the Fourth of July weekend.

Even so, I fear the combination of an over supply of good golf courses and a dwindling supply of golfers is going to continue to make things difficult for owners and operators while the economy struggles to shift into a higher gear. The senior deal being offered by East Golf Club for duffers 55 and older is a steal. Seniors can play the best public golf course within convenient driving distance of Columbus for $29 if they play before 11 a.m. Otherwise, check out Golfnow.com for better deals. They are out there because the courses are hurting for business.

Sadly, at a time when all golf courses could use a boost, I have to report I wasn't blown away by my Clover Vally Golf Club experience. The staff was pleasant, the clubhouse was attractive, the course was in relatively good shape (greens, traps were well maintained) and the layout was interesting with a variety of challenges. But I didn't have fun. The fact that the course spanked me like a misbehaving red-haired stepchild might explain my feelings. But I think it goes deeper than that.

Here's a list of things I didn't like: 1) The roller-coaster greens with severe slopes and undulation promoted three- and four-jack putting not scoring -- many greens should have had windmills or clowns mouths, especially the ninth green, which I think is the most-poorly designed green in central Ohio. Minister suggested it needed the Benny Hill television show sound track and I had to agree; 2) the course played rock-hard firm from tee to green and we've had a lot of rain lately; 3) too many shots had to be hit to mystery locations and oftentimes the greens didn't present themselves to the mind's eye for visualization; 4) the overall ambiance of the course didn't inspire.

Please take these criticisms with a grain of salt. If I had broken 80 on the course, I would have probably been singing its praises and wouldn't be so negative. But that chance went out the window when I double-bogeyed the first three holes of the back nine. At that point, my panties were in such a bunch that almost nothing could console me. I began thinking the course might be better used as a gravel pit for a cement company. And that's definitely over the top.

The course promotes itself on its website as being "Voted Top 100 must-play Ohio courses by GolfStyles magazine." http://www.clovervalleygolfclub.com/

I suggest you check it out for yourself at least once. In an effort to be fair, I'm throwing it 2 1/2 dog biscuits on my latest best-places-to-be-play-in-central-Ohio list:

5 dog biscuits: Longaberger (the alpha dog)
4 1/2 dog biscuits: Cooks Creek, East Golf Club
4 dog biscuits: 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, Clover Valley Golf Club, Crystal Springs Golf Club, Mentel Memorial, National Golf Links, *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.