Woodlands/Lakeside at Shaker Run Golf Club

When my friend booked the tee time, I was aware of a season-long litany of complaints that conditions had really slipped at Shaker, so I had some trepidation as to what we might find. Having played our round, I think it only fair to report that those fears were largely unfounded, particularly for this time of year. Conditions were actually quite good for November golf. Greens on the Lakeside nine had been more recently aerated and still had a significant amount of gridding, but the Woodlands nine must have been done first, because conditions on that side were actually quite playable. The fairways seemed fine and ground cover by leaves looked to have been well-tended to (either by the course or Mother Nature, or both). Topping it off with a $21 greens fee o a layout as strong as this and we felt like we got great value, which is nice to be able to say and isn't necessarily something I would say all the time of Shaker during mid-season play.

The Meadows course is neglected. The bunkers on Lakeside and Meadows are not maintained. The greens were recovering from aerification, but was not posted on Golfnow when purchasing the tee time. The greens had not been cut for a few days. The course management does not give the group finishing the ninth hole the right of way to begin immediately on the 10th tee. Choosing to call the course three separate nine hole courses is confusing and causes long waits in the middle of a round. There is nothing more frustrating than having a new group cut in front of you on the 10th tee with management's direction to do so. GPS yardage on Meadows is inaccurate.

Growing up in Middletown and regularly playing shaker run I was always amazed at how well maintained and how well the course played. I felt the same even with the housing development that is now present, up to about two years ago. I brought an out of town coworker to play after bragging on the course in August 2015. What a DISAPPOINTMENT AND EMBARASSMENT! One fairway actually had NO grass, the tee boxes were in horrific shape, and then to reach the greens to find traps with no sand, standing water (with weeds actually growing through the water) I wanted to ask for my money back. Needless to say I won't be going back. No ahve had numerous conversations with others who have visited since that came away with the same feeling; once a GREAT course that has been neglected and should be shut down until it is restored to its former status. Pics were taken to substantiate these claims.

Golf Now is the ONLY place to book your tee times. Played Shaker Run for $18. ( incl. the fee ).

We played Meadows ( the newest 9 ) and Lakeside. Both were in great condition.

The ONLY issue we had, there were lots of leaves on many of the greens. Understandable somewhat this time of year.. Shaker has lots of trees.. lol

Regardless, GREAT value.

Thanks
Don

Started at 10:30 took 5:20 to finish. Course in great shape, greens quick and smooth. Just takes a little too long to get around.

Had a great time . Course was in good condition. Friendly staff. Great prices . Highly recommended

There's been a lot of reviews claiming this course isn't what it used to be and that may be true but it's still really nice. This was my first time playing here and I'll be back. The greens, bunkers and tee boxes were fine for the most part. Fairways were a bit harsh in areas but considering the time of year you really can't expect perfection. My only real complaint is the confusion in playing the Meadows course. It doesn't match the "GPS caddie" app on my iPhone and is difficult to navigate unless you've played it before. The Monday morning pace of play was great. I finished 18 in about 3 hours 15 minutes (even after wandering around lost for a bit). Staff was friendly and helpful but I can't comment on food and beverage as I didn't visit concessions. Carts were in good shape and ran fine.

The course had great views and was well laid out. Lots of open area. Having never played there before there could have been more info on hole lay out and where the next holes were located.l Pace was great and staff was very friendly and helpful. Condition was OK and as expected for a late season public course. Small things could have been better like water in the ball washers and trash cans at the tees. Some of the cart paths were in bad shape. Over all a good time and I will most likely play there again.

Shaker Run used to be perhaps the finest public golf course in Ohio, but over-development and a general management policy that does little to respect the original qualities of the course have consistently degraded the experience. I've twice booked this course specifically with the promise of playing the original 18 holes and twice the course has moved me to the meadows 9 due to outings or general booking errors without proper compensation.

This behavior is fundamentally unfair and disrespects their customers. The condition of the Meadows 9 is so bad; it's nearly unplayable. Shame on you, Shaker Run. I dearly hope this course finds the leadership to rescue this course and bring it back at least partially to it's former glory.

For the most part it was in very good condition. Unfortunately, they had just aerated the greens on the Meadows course. But, they have to do them sometime.

If you can find a steal of a deal online, play here and enjoy the beautiful change of season at hand out at Shaker Run. Nice layout for golfers of all skill levels...

What normally is a great course was in bad shape. Fairways were in average shape. Tee boxes were in horrible shape and had uneven ground. Greens were in decent condition.

A different layout, you get a little bit of everything, open and tight fairways, a lot of water shots, long and short holes. Overall a great course, however a few of their fairways were a little rough as well as all their bunkers.

Great layout, but the conditions are not what they have been in the past. If the conditions improved, it would be a HUGE attraction.

It was first time I played Shaker Run in years and the course was not in good shape. Tee boxes were terrible, fairways were so so, greens were decent but not nearly as good as I remembered them being.
The layout is tremendous just which it was maintained better.

I am by no means an expert or a great golfer. I found this to be a very challenging course. There were a few fairways that needed some attention as they were muddy. The food at the clubhouse was very good for a golf course. I will play here again.

My memories of playing were wiped out by the sad condition the course was in.
tee boxes chopped up and full of weeds
fairways had lots of bare ground instead of grass.
greens on Woodlands full of unhealed aeration holes.
Lakeside greens full of Bumps like someone let the cattle graze.
The course should be ashamed for they price charged.
Should have known how bad it was when starter said the course was not in the best of shape
Jack

When you book a round, it would be nice if they told you about 1) recent aeration and 2) chemical applications/no cutting of greens - Woodland still a great layout, but greens might have rolled 3 on the stimp with the aeration holes and long grass. Meadows has in overall good condition, though greens were still a little slower than in the past. The lack of on course basics is a major flaw - only 2 water coolers on the 18 holes (first one not til 7th hole), and no basic layout info (no signpost info, no basic map on scorecard). A couple of pins were not in the quadrant that the daily guide said they would be in. Of course, using a laser solves that.

The course is a little dry and crusty in some spots; but it's still a beautiful course. The lake looked a little low so maybe they aren't getting a lot of rain? The greens are in great shape although it looks like the woodlands 9 was plugged a week or so ago. That caused a little bumpiness on the back 9 but overall we were very happy. I love playing Shaker and i will be back this Fall.

I've played Shaker Run many times and the Woodlands 9 is the worst I've ever seen it. It was in the worst condition of any course I've played this year and rivals the worst I've ever played. The Meadows was in much better shape, but that just brought it to average. I was disappointed a year ago when I played here so I don't plan on coming back.