Hickory Hills Golf Club

Grove City sits on Columbus's southwest fringe, close enough to the city to draw everyday players but with enough suburban breathing room to support a genuine local golf culture. Hickory Hills fits that mold — a neighborhood golf club in the truest sense, the kind of place where regulars keep a locker, know the staff by name, and have strong opinions about which holes play toughest into the afternoon wind.

The par-71 layout signals something slightly asymmetrical, likely a design that doesn't lean entirely on length to create its challenge. Courses like this tend to reward course management and local knowledge over raw power — the player who knows the quirks, the subtle breaks, and where to miss has a real advantage over the first-timer swinging away.

Central Ohio golf benefits from a long tradition of solid, unpretentious clubs, and the greater Columbus area has produced more than its share of serious players who learned the game on exactly this type of track. Hickory Hills appears to be cut from that same cloth.