Maumee Bay Resort course a nice bonus for a state park
By 
OREGON, Ohio - Want to know how family oriented the Maumee Bay Resort is? Right there, coming down the third fairway, was a father playing golf with his wife and 6-month old baby boy along for the ride. While Dad tried to break 100, Mom cradled the infant, fed him baby food, and changed his diaper on the hood of the cart.
"We're here for the weekend and I wanted to get some golf in," said dad.
"They wanted to come too, so here we are."
Now that's some family golf.
"As long as they aren't slowing things down, we allow riders to go along," said the ranger from his cart. "The resort is a state park not a golf resort really, but it's not a bad place to play, is it?"
Not bad at all.
The Maumee Bay Resort is the newest state park facility in Ohio and the tax dollars are really put to good use here. The 120-room stone lodge at the resort, with its massive beams and huge lobby windows, sits right on the shores of Lake Erie about 15 minutes from downtown Toledo. And for most people who come here the lake is the center of attention. There's boating and fishing, swimming and hiking along the water's edge.
But, if you play golf, the course at the resort is a nice bonus.
The course is the design of Toledo's native son, Arthur Hills. And that's a good and bad thing. Although Hills' architectural strategy throughout the layout is superb, what it demands of you may be too much for a resort-style course. Even from the white tees, measuring at just 6136 yards, the slope still stands at a hefty 122. Remember, the resort does not focus on golf, so you have plenty of people who come for a few days, bring the clubs, and play their first and last round of the season on this course. That can equal slow play at times.
Still, there's much to admire here.
The first tee and clubhouse sit about 300 yards from the lodge entrance just west of the lake. It's too bad Lake Erie couldn't have been used as more of a direct feature to this course, but the lake winds certainly remind you how close the lake really is.
The virtually treeless terrain begs one to describe Maumee as a links-style course, but without an ocean, and with its cushy fairways and wetlands, it really is not a true links course by strict definition. However, Hills did incorporate humps and bumps in the fairways and tricky pot-style bunkers around the softly rolling layout.
The first hole is a rather pedestrian, straightaway par-4 measuring out at 373 yards from the middle tees. But things change quickly. Holes 2-5 are much stronger.
The 2nd is the short par-4 with a huge fairway bunker on the left side forcing you to keep your tee shot in the narrow fairway to the right. Stretching out to just 317 yards, a 3-wood or 5-wood might be the suggested play from the tee for a middle handicapper. Oh, yes, don't get caught up in the three bunkers on the right side of the fairway either and stay clear of the native grasses. Losing your ball in that stuff is liking trying to find it in Cindy Lauper's hair.
The 361-yard, par-4, 3rd is a dogleg right with a big lake guarding the right side all the way to the green. The 4th is the shortest hole on the course. A bunker-less par-3 with water to the right and an eggplant shaped green. And the 5th hole is the longest at 510 yards. Water hugs the right side nearly the entire length of the fairway. At 100-yards out, the hole takes a sharp skip to the right giving you a view of a green tucked into mounds.
The first four holes on the back nine are not particularly memorable. But 14, a snake-like par-5 that slithers around ponds, is easily the toughest hole on the course. Eighteen is also a good finisher. The par-5 is only 467-yards from the white tees, but there are nine menacing bunkers along the fairway and directly in front of the green.
The Maumee Bay Resort is a good spot to mix family and golf, but unlike some family resorts where the golf is an afterthought, Maumee gives the game equal status with all the other available things to do. So, after the fishing, the dip in the pool, or the sand castle building, and you feel like a quick nine, go for it, bring the entire family, and don't forget the diaper bag.
Where to stay
The first choice, obviously, is the lodge at the resort itself. But there are at least two chain motels nearby - Sleep Inn and Suites, and the Comfort Inn.
Where to eat
There's a grill at the golf course clubhouse offering the typical bar munchies. But inside the resort is the Deck of Water's Edge Restaurant. It sits just behind an enormous glass picture window that looks out over Lake Erie. The food can be fancy, or family style. Whatever you're looking for.
In the immediate area around Oregon, Ohio you'll find Ralphie's Family Sports Eatery; a casual family atmosphere. Just a few minutes away in Toledo there's the Maumee Bay Brewing Company with home brewed beers and Cousino's Steakhouse.
Fast Fact
From Maumee State Park you are only 90-minutes from one of America's great amusement parks, Cedar Point. Detroit's Comerica Park is only 75 minutes away. The Henry Ford Museum is only an hour away in Dearborn, Michigan.
June 21, 2004
Dave Berner is a long-time journalist for CBS radio in Chicago and has freelanced for CNN, National Public Radio, and ABC news. He created and produced the popular radio feature "The Golf Minute" for CBS-owned radio station WMAQ in Chicago along with writing a regular column for Golf Chicago Magazine. He is also author of "Accidental Lessons: A Memoir of a Rookie Teacher and a Life Renewed."
Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management.
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shirley hollman wrote on: Oct 4, 2009
I tried to contact someone today but didnot get to speak to anyone. All I would like, is for you to send me infortmation on your golf packages. I would like to bring 20 women next Sept.
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