The Shaker Heights Country Club

The Shaker Heights Country Club sits in the planned suburb of Shaker Heights, a community developed in the early twentieth century east of Cleveland. The course was designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1913, making it one of the earliest examples of his work in the Midwest. Ross routed the layout across gently rolling terrain characteristic of the region, with mature tree-lined fairways and modest elevation changes that reward strategic positioning over pure length. The design reflects Ross's trademark principles: greens with subtle contours and false fronts, fairway bunkering that influences approach angles, and holes that offer multiple routes depending on skill and conditions. The property's parkland setting provides a traditional country club atmosphere, with the course winding through established neighborhoods while maintaining a sense of seclusion. Sandy Alves has undertaken restoration and renovation work in recent decades to preserve Ross's original design intent while adapting the course to modern maintenance practices and playing standards. The club has served as a fixture in Cleveland-area golf for over a century, hosting regional amateur competitions and maintaining a membership rooted in the surrounding community. The course measures modest by contemporary standards but emphasizes accuracy and course management, qualities that define many classic Ross designs from this era. The layout remains a well-regarded example of early American course architecture in Ohio.