Destination Ohio: Longaberger GC

September 3, 7:55 PMGolf ExaminerDave Seanor

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The 4th at Longaberger, from here to eternity.

(This is one in a series of occasional golf destination reviews.)

COLUMBUS, Ohio – For Day Two of our whirlwind tour of public golf in Ohio’s capital, we put all our eggs in one basket.

That would be Longaberger Golf Club, a pristine Arthur Hills layout that’s owned by the famous basket maker. As claustrophobic as the previous day’s round at Cumberland Trails was at times, Longaberger occupies the other end of the spectrum.

There’s not a home to be seen alongside Longaberger’s 18 holes, which occupy roughly 350 acres of the 950-acre property. Hills was free to follow the natural contours of the land, producing a routing that meanders through meadows and woods – a paradise for birds as well as birdies.

Given such a natural state, the rough can be penal. But the fairways are generous, and Hills created enough risk and reward opportunities to keep things interesting. (In 2004, Longaberger hosted the national PGA Club Professional Championship, and a detailed hole-by-hole description of the course can be accessed via pga.com.)

The man behind the Longaberger project, company founder Dave Longaberger, wasn’t a keen golfer. His daughter, Tami – who took over as company CEO after her father’s death in 1999  – is fond of telling the story about her dad tossing his clubs, bag and all, into a pond after one of his few, and typically frustrating, rounds.

But Dave Longaberger was a savvy businessman, and he recognized the value of providing a place for husbands to play golf while their wives shopped at the nearby Longaberger Homestead. The golf club also serves as a convenient entertainment venue – and nice perk – for the company’s 45,000 reps from around the country.

Unlike so many daily fee facilities that try to jam as many golfers on the course as possible, Longaberger adheres to 15 minutes between tee times. That philosophy merits a sidebar in the book “The Works of Art,” which showcases Hills’ portfolio and features commentary by the architect.

Hills notes that despite raising green fees in each of its first four years of operation, Longaberger continued to sell out its starting times. (Of course, it doesn’t hurt that 70 percent of starting times are reserved for Longaberger corporate customers and vendors.)

“This kind of customer interest and loyalty has happened because Longaberger has created an exceptional, very pleasant golf experience,” Hills wrote. “Players have a beautiful golf course to play on and they rarely have to stand around and wait between shots. To me, the golf industry is killing itself by trying to crowd people onto a golf course. The important economic factor is not how many rounds are played, but rather, the income.”

Moreover, Hills says, “People are going to have more fun. Since they’re not going to be late getting home after a long round, they’re going to come into the clubhouse and have a beer or a sandwich. They’re going to tell people about it, and the course will be in higher demand.”

On a clear day, you can see the iconic Longaberger headquarters building from the second tee. Seven miles west of the golf course on Route 16, the building is an architectural eye-popper, appearing as a giant Longaberger basket.

The golf course offers a good walk unspoiled. It’s difficult, for instance, not to linger on the tee box at No. 4, which is 100 feet above the par 5’s fairway with commanding views of the countryside. For even the longest hitters, reaching the “go zone” delivers no bargain for the second shot, as water borders the entire right side of the green.

Indeed, Longaberger is one of Hills’ better designs, with plenty of strategic options and variety of holes. The sixth is a short par 4, but with all sorts to trouble along the right. The 8^th offers a choice of drawing a drive down the right side with hopes of catching a downhill slot that will guide the ball to within short iron range and a ground route to the peninsula green, or playing to another fairway farther left, which leaves an approach that’s shorter, but entirely over water.

The par 3s each have distinctive challenges, whether it’s carrying the water at No. 9 or avoiding the steep dropoff on the right side of the 14^th green.

The closing hole is a brute. The steep uphill par 4 measures 466 yards from the championship tees and bunkers bracket the landing area.

Longaberger’s stylish clubhouse is a welcome respite after such a demanding finish. It features fully appointed locker rooms as well as dining areas with extraordinary views of the property.

Between rounds we had lunch in the grill. The menu is extensive; I had the soup of the day – a superb vegetable concoction called Harvest Grain – and the California Deli sandwich.

Perhaps too well fed and overwrought with anticipation for the afternoon round, I shot six strokes higher after lunch. Without going into details, I’ll report that my better ball tally for 36 holes was 82.

No worries. Any on-course struggles soon were forgotten during cocktails followed by an elegant and lively dinner hosted by Tami Longaberger. (Like several of us, she ordered the Pasta Diablo – shrimp and scallops over linguine, with a nice little kick to the sauce.)

Listening to Tami tell stories about her father reveals just how much they’re alike. She’s not much of a golfer, but she grasps the game’s appeal.

Indeed, the Longaberger commitment to maintaining such a pleasurable golf experience is apparent to anyone who lingers on the clubhouse veranda at twilight, the silence broken only by songbirds as the vast swath of woods, meadows and turf below fades to black.

LONGABERGER GOLF CLUB

• Green Fees: $99 Monday through Sunday. If you have all day, unlimited golf is $149, including lunch. Twilight (after 4 p.m.): $69. Nine-hole replay: $50

Stay and play packages this fall, with accommodations at The Place Off the Square Hotel in Newark, are $205 per person Monday-Thursday and $220 per person Friday-Sunday until Oct. 4. After that, autumn rates drop to $185 weekdays and $200 weekends. Prices (double occupancy) include one night’s stay and two rounds of golf.

• Layout: Opened in 2000. Designed by Arthur Hills. As pastoral as it gets, winding through meadows and woods on former farmland. The only man-made structures you’ll encounter are the clubhouse and rest rooms.

Five sets of tees, giving golfers the option to play Longaberger from 4,985 yards (63.7 rating/110 slope) to a brawny 7,243 yards (75.0 rating/140 slope). We played both rounds from the blue tees (6,498 yards, 71.3 rating/132 slope).

• Claim to Fame: Widely regarded as the best daily fee course in Ohio. Ranked No. 1 in the state by Golfweek magazine; honored by Golf Digest as America’s best new upscale public course in 2000.

• Web site: www.longabergergolfclub.com