Woods/Meadows at Hickory Sticks Golf Club

Hickory Sticks Golf Club sits in Van Wert, a small city in northwestern Ohio near the Indiana border, in a region characterized by flat to gently rolling agricultural land. The facility features two eighteen-hole courses, with the Woods and Meadows nines forming one of the primary combinations. William J. Spear, an Ohio-based architect active in the mid-to-late twentieth century, designed the layout. Spear's work appears primarily across Ohio and neighboring states, typically emphasizing playability for a range of skill levels while working within the natural terrain and budget constraints common to municipal and daily-fee facilities of that era.

The Woods and Meadows routing likely reflects its name, with the Woods nine incorporating tree-lined corridors and the Meadows nine offering more open, links-influenced playing corridors across former farmland. The topography in this part of Ohio tends toward modest elevation change, so strategic interest typically comes from bunkering, water features, and the positioning of hazards relative to approach angles. Courses in Van Wert serve a local and regional membership base, with the club functioning as a community golf amenity rather than a destination facility.

The setting provides a straightforward test of golf without dramatic landforms, relying on sound design principles and course conditioning to create an enjoyable round. The combination of wooded and open holes offers variety in shot-making and visual character across the eighteen holes.