Ohio State University Golf Club
Designed by Alister MacKenzie
History
There is a peculiar irony in the fact that Alister MacKenzie, the Yorkshireman who gave the world Augusta National and Cypress Point, spent some of his final working years drawing up plans for a university golf course in central Ohio. By the time Ohio State University Golf Club opened its Scarlet Course in 1938, followed by the Gray Course in 1940, MacKenzie had already died in California, in January of that same year, meaning he never saw his Columbus design reach full maturity. The commission had come from the university itself, which sought to build a golf facility befitting a major athletic program — one serving students, faculty, and the broader OSU community rather than a resort clientele or a private membership seeking exclusivity for its own sake.
MacKenzie’s involvement placed Ohio State in rare company, as one of the few university-owned properties to carry his name alongside the likes of Augusta and Pasatiempo. He worked the two courses in tandem, a practice consistent with his late-career interest in designing complementary layouts on shared ground, and his associate Perry Maxwell is understood to have carried the work forward after MacKenzie’s death, seeing the Gray Course through to its 1940 opening.
In the decades since, the Scarlet Course has undergone significant renovation, most notably a restoration effort completed in 2006 under the direction of architect Dr. Michael Hurdzan, an Ohio State alumnus, working to return the course closer to MacKenzie’s original intentions while preparing it for elite competition. That work paid dividends when the Scarlet Course hosted the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship in 2016, affirming its standing as a collegiate venue capable of testing the best amateur talent in the country. The club today operates under university ownership, maintaining its access as a private facility tied to the Ohio State community.
Playing Notes
With 36 holes across two full 18s (the Scarlet and the Gray), plan on a full day if you want to sample both, and call ahead since university play and outside tee times can affect access. Expect rolling central-Ohio terrain rather than flat parkland — enough elevation change to affect club selection on approach shots, especially into greens that sit above or below fairway grade. Bunkering shows up in the landing zones off the tee as well as around greens, so distance control matters as much as direction; missing long on these greens tends to leave a harder recovery than missing short. The layouts are walkable if you're in decent shape, though carts are widely used given the size of the property and the distance between the two courses' clubhouses or turns. Bring extra golf balls for any water hazards that come into play on the back nines, and expect greens maintained to a tournament-ready speed, since both courses regularly host competitive collegiate and amateur events — so practice a few lag putts on the practice green before you head to the first tee to get a read on how fast they're rolling that day. Wind can be a factor in the more open stretches, particularly in fall and spring, so check the forecast and consider a lower ball flight for those exposed holes.