Raccoon Valley Golf Course
About
Editor's Note: Course closed for business in 2024.
Raccoon Valley Golf Course (formerly known as Raccoon International Golf Club) sprawls across gently rolling woodlands, featuring scenic vistas of the surrounding countryside. The course is known for being home to the longest par 5 in the state, the notorious 17th hole. This treacherous hole measures in at a devilish 666 yards that will challenge even the longest hitters. Although the terrain is mostly flat and open, there are some surprisingly dramatic undulations in the greens that will cause tricky uneven lies. There are several lakes that come into play throughout as well as a number of strategically placed bunkers. In addition to the penultimate hole, notable holes at Raccoon Valley include the par-4 eighth, which requires a 220-yard carry, and the 11th, a par 3 that plays over a lake to a two-tiered green guarded by a bunker.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | 72 | 6700 yards | 71.0 | 122 |
| White | 72 | 6194 yards | 68.5 | 120 |
| Gold | 72 | 5446 yards | 68.0 | 109 |
| Red (W) | 72 | 5127 yards | 68.0 | 117 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue M: 70.6/117 | 342 | 356 | 411 | 526 | 140 | 402 | 563 | 334 | 190 | 3264 | 368 | 141 | 452 | 546 | 178 | 377 | 348 | 666 | 352 | 3428 | 6692 |
| White M: 68.3/111 | 331 | 326 | 370 | 484 | 117 | 371 | 514 | 313 | 175 | 3001 | 346 | 121 | 409 | 517 | 155 | 362 | 331 | 570 | 324 | 3135 | 6136 |
| Gold M: 68.0/110 | 296 | 302 | 350 | 424 | 110 | 293 | 424 | 308 | 155 | 2662 | 304 | 97 | 308 | 440 | 130 | 322 | 308 | 512 | 305 | 2726 | 5388 |
| Red W: 68.9/112 | 274 | 263 | 290 | 394 | 105 | 268 | 414 | 304 | 136 | 2448 | 280 | 93 | 300 | 387 | 116 | 289 | 275 | 426 | 257 | 2423 | 4871 |
| Handicap | 14 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 11 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 15 | 1 | 13 | |||
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 36 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
SnacksReviews
Reviewer Photos
Course in good condition.
Fairways and greens in very good condition but looks like the bunkers have been allowed to fill in with weeds. Enjoyed the round but it did slow up in the back side 9.
Good Course
The course was in good shape. It was a very long course, one hole was 620 yards. It was fun, and challenging. Greens and fairways were in good shape, many of the holes had elevation changes which made it interesting. My only complaint would be the carts, the cart paths, and the bunkers. The carts would barely start, and the cart paths were more like a group of potholes to follow. The bunkers appear to be in the process of converting to all grass. It was fun however, and I would definite go back.
Simple course with lots of straight shots
I am a pretty inexperienced golfer so I don't know much but this course is one I plan on returning to. For the price you get a well maintained course (minus the traps) with some fun hills. As mentioned the bunkers were overgrown but the rest of the course was maintained properly.
Worth the money
Overall the course condition was great. The gentleman on the clubhouse could have been more inviting and there could have been more gear to buy. I was out of golf balls and he only had one selection of balls and about 10 used to buy. The carts could have already been dried off and ready for play but not a serious issue. My only true complaint is the conditions of the cart paths, which were very bumpy which caused me to re tie my clubs numerous times. I would recommend this to a friend and will be back myself.
Not plush, but fun and a great deal on GolfNow
This is not a plush course, but it was in pretty good condition with the exception of the sand traps and the lakes. It looks like they are just letting the sand traps return to grass bunkers and the lakes are full of algae. However, the golf course has a really interesting mix of tight/wide open, short/long holes and a nice layout. Including a par 5 at over 600 yards - FROM THE WHITES! It really is fun to play - and a GREAT deal at $12 per person for 18 holes including cart from GolfNow.
A fun course
Not exactly a pristine course so don't set you expectations too high. But it was a fun course with some very nice hole layouts. And the fees were great. $20 bucks with cart on Golfnow. And only charged my 11 year-old son $7 to play 18. So if you are looking to save some money and looking to play a 666 yard par 5, then this place is for you.
Holiday Golf
Great staff!
A perfect day for golf.
Course in very good shape considering all the recent rain.
Needs work
The course was very muddy, but that is to be expected with all of the rain. However, there were a couple of other problems. Apparently they double booked our tee time and we were right in the middle of 3 groups playing a scramble together. The greens were pretty good, a little inconsistent speedwise, but I credit that to the wet conditions. The biggest problem is the bunkers. They apparently have just given up on having sand bunkers and have let the weeds take them over. They were horrible. No sand, 75% covered in weeds and grass. I probably won't drive all the way to Newark to play this course again. Too many other options.
Great course!
For the amount of rain have gotten in central ohio raccoon has keeped their course in very good shape. It was a little swampy on 13 & 14 but still very playable. The staff is always very friendly.
Meh, it was fine for 12 bucks, I guess
I used to play this course quite a bit from age 15-23 and I liked it. It was always in good shape. The greens were fairly consistent and it was a challenging enough course, but very easy to score well on when your game was off.
Well, a friend recommended Golf Now to me and I've been spending at least $50 a round so far this season, so I thought I better start watching the budget and take advantage of a good deal. $12 including cart at Raccoon was a shocking surprise so I called my elderly father to join me. Well, let's say that going back to Raccoon as a 40 year old grown up left me a little sad. Nothing has changed, and by nothing I mean what's left of the sand that was in the traps 20 years ago is all that's in them now, as well as a ton of weeds. And the carts may be the same carts from back then. And I'm pretty sure the carpet is even the same that was in the clubhouse 20 years ago. I don't really care about those things if a course is well designed, groomed, and run, but it wasn't. Having now played golf at courses of varying quality all over the country at this point in my life, I realized that Raccoon was just a run down course whose only real draw was convenience and price, and maybe being easy enough to make a 10 handicapper look like a scratch. The fairways are cut too long, the rough isn't much different. The traps, as I mentioned, are either being phased out or just in disrepair. The staff is grumpy. The carts are even slow.
But, I would play there again with friends that are not serious golfers with no money to be blowing on a nice course. The greens are in decent enough shape, and the acreage the course in laid out on is gorgeous. Somebody could turn this course into a beautiful country club if so inclined, and it's fun to picture what it could be as you're playing.
For 12 bucks including cart, nobody would regret playing there. For a dime over $25, I wouldn't even consider it.
good course for what it is
this is a good course for what it is, an unpretentious 18 holes of golf. mostly wooded, fairly tight driving, and small greens. inexpensive and decent conditions. don't expect plush fairways, and nice clean traps and you won't be disappointed. friendly staff, no attitude here. good place to get started or get your kids into the game.
fair holes/good par 3s
Understand that we have had a lot of rain, but the bunkers were a disaster. Grass growing out of them. Drained pretty well, just a couple fairways that were still wet. Greens rolled true. 5 hours to play, though. This course should be played in 4 hours. I know its early in the season, but 5 hours with a cart? I will try again another day because it is close to home.
Fast Greens
Really fast greens. First few holes start going uphill and end going downhill. I played with two fireman from Granville who knew the course. They gave a lot of help on the uphill blind shots. The #1 handicap 17th hole is a 600 plus yard nightmare. Thankfully it is straight and mostly downhill.
Got what I paid for
All tolled I got decent value -- a beautiful day, (by luck) enjoyable playing partners, greens and fairways in pretty good condition. But cart in need of a tune-up (#20) and cart paths in desperate need of work, same for sand traps. Considering the the number of players at mid-day on a Thursday, it would seem they should be getting enough revenue to fix these things. One might be better off walking - dry conditions have made virtually everywhere on the course a bone jarring ride.
Great value for the money
Cart paths need some work, but most fairways and greens were in great shape.
Very Disappointing.
Very disappointing day at the golf course. We arrived for our 11:00 tee time to discover there was an outing of over 50 retirees that dominated the entire course. Every hole consisted of a foursome on the green, a foursome on the fairway, a foursome on the tee box and then me and my buddy behind them. After doing 7 holes of the back nine we decided to go have a beer in the clubhouse in hopes it would clear out some. The guy inside said they were all but done with the outing and it would move quickly from here on out. So we headed back out onto the front 9 only to face the same problems. After nearly 5 hours of play and only 12 holes in the books, we had to leave as we had to go to work. I just don't understand why the course would list tee times on the website for purchase knowing full well this outing was taking place.
As far as the course itself, the rough was incredibly thick and deep resulting in many lost balls where it shouldn't have been possible, and bad second shots because balls were plugged so deep. The fairways had many bald spots where I was hitting off of dirt rather than grass. The greens were very hard to read as one would be incredibly slow and then the next incredibly fast. And as others have said, the bunkers were non existent. They were either completely grown in with grass or filled with mud and dirt. We drove 50 minutes for this course and came away incredibly irritated and disappointed. Definitely will not return.
Great Course
Previous reviews pretty much hit the nail on the head. There were about 5-6 holes where grounds keepers were mowing the fairways. I wouldn't consider this there fault; just bad luck on our part. Very fun course, fairways and greens are well maintained. The sand traps were hardened mud but your ball shouldn't be there in the first place.
An average course
We had fun playing. The women's tees were not in good shape and no sand in the traps but none if us hit the traps. An average course but play was good and conversation was awesome.
Good course for higher handicappers..
Overall the course was in good condition, fairways and greens were in good to great shape, but the bunkers were not playable at all: no sand, either mud or weeds. We played the course in wide-open conditions (no traffic) and perfect weather so it was a fun and stress free round, but there's plenty of tree trouble to get into if you tend to spray the ball off the tee.
Great Time !!
We had an enjoyable round of relaxing golf with great friends !!
Would recommend making the drive to wonderful golf course and surrounding community !!
Will be back soon!!
Thanks for everything