Quarry Golf Club has once again been named one of Ohio’s best public golf courses
CANTON – Quarry Golf Club was always meant to be different.
The 18-hole course was built on an old 19th-century quarry, so the 100-foot cliffs and scenic elevation changes are just part of the package. Add to that a multi-million-dollar clubhouse, Granite Grille restaurant, swimming pool, hillside patio and country club-style extras, and it’s easy to see why The Quarry is consistently ranked among the best courses in Ohio.
The most recent award: In June, it was voted the ninth best public golf course in the Buckeye State by Golfweek.
The “public access” criterion meant that The Quarry had to compete not only with top-notch public courses, but also with private clubs that offer limited overnight accommodations and playing options. Three of the state’s top 15 courses are at Firestone Country Club in Akron, whose South Course is a stop on the PGA Champions Tour.
The quarry owners said they appreciated such honors.
“I think we deserve to be up there somewhere,” said Doug Titko, one of the course’s owners.
Five years ago, he and his brother John Titko, along with golf pro and golf director Troy Schonover, Jamie Howell, Fonda Williams and Brock Walters, bought the property. None of them wanted a golf course. It just happened. The Quarry was for sale. They loved it. They wanted to save it.
However, their view from above was not without dangers. The Titkos said conditions on the course were not ideal last year, and they know that with a little care, parts of it could return to their original state.
“He eats, sleeps and breathes grass”
That’s one of the reasons Don Bandy was hired earlier this year. He was groundskeeper during The Quarry’s construction and when it opened in 2006. Now he’s back at the helm.
“He eats, sleeps and breathes grass,” said Doug Titko.
“He knows his stuff. He’s been here since day one,” said John Titko.
They gave Bandy some room to maneuver.
“His mission is to restore it to its original state,” said John Titko.
There is nothing particularly bad about the Quarry these days. GolfclevelandOhio.com once rated it the best public golf course in Northeast Ohio and ranked it second in its most recent top 20 rankings.
But, said the Titkos, it can be even better.
Quarry Golf Club receives praise for the architect and from the clients
Brian Huntley agrees.
He is the architect who designed the quarry. Back to the original developer who soon went bankrupt and when the course was bought by InfoCision founder Gary Taylor, who died in 2013.
The Quarry project, says Huntley, is similar to many projects of that time. The pattern: maximize the number of new building sites (150) and then build a golf course on the land unsuitable for residential housing.
“The quarry was built on a pretty tight budget,” recalls Huntley.
Huntley, who lives in Green, has designed 20 new golf courses and worked on another 80 renovations. Locally, he designed the Raintree Golf & Event Center in Green and the recently closed Sanctuary in Plain Township.
“For me, The Quarry is a relatively easy course if you can control your ball,” he said, adding that the key to achieving low scores is strategy on the course rather than massive 275-yard drives.
Of course, Huntley has a handicap of 2.
“The goal of the Quarry was to have more of a resort feel,” Huntley explained. “An upscale public course… for avid golfers.”
These avid golfers love it.
Canadian author Bill Flower: “A truly unique and challenging golf course”
For seven years of his life, Canadian freelance writer Bill Flower and his ex-wife spent months traveling around the United States to play and review golf courses for the website Canadiangolfer.com.
In 2019, they drove south from Michigan to Florida. The main reason for their stop in Canton was to visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame. While in town, they heard about The Quarry and checked it out. Flower, who lives on Vancouver Island, said he was impressed.
“A truly unique and challenging golf course,” he recalls.
That’s coming from a man who has played on dozens of college courses, 16 PGA or LPGA Tour venues, the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail and British Open hosts such as Royal Troon and Carnoustie.
Flower said he really liked a three-hole section at The Quarry, including the par-4 14th hole, known as the “Rock Hole.” There’s a huge rock formation on a hill between the tee and the green.
Flower said he nicknamed the trio of holes something like “Oh, My God Stretch” in his review, which is no longer available online. The nickname, he said, was intended as a nod to Herbert Warren Wind, the Sports Illustrated writer who called holes 11, 12 and 13 at Augusta National “Amen Corner.”
Interesting facts about the Rock Hole, according to Huntley: Earth was dug out at the top of the hill to expose the rock; bunkers were built next to it as catch basins; the pin was once visible from the tee.
“There were some things we would have done differently with a bigger budget,” Huntley said of the tree-lined and mostly wooded plaza. “I wanted to create more space. … I still would have liked to make it more open.”
Golfers don’t seem to mind this particularly.
The Quarry hosts nine leagues, open play, and an annual Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce golf outing, and is one of the most popular destinations in the Penn Ohio Golf Trail package.
“From our perspective, this is an easy sell,” said Bill Rabel of Hubbard, Ohio-based Penn Ohio, which sells Ohio and Pennsylvania golf packages to regional and national clients.
The Quarry is not just a golf course
He said The Quarry is different from some of the other 60 golf courses it offers in terms of accommodation and playing options.
“There’s something about driving into that big clubhouse and seeing that patio,” Rabel said. “It’s an experience, a destination… Working with Doug and Troy is great. Great place, great people.”
The downside of The Quarry’s resort-like location – southeast of downtown Canton and south of the village of East Canton – is that potential customers mistakenly assume it’s a private club.
It is not.
The Granite Grille restaurant at the Quarry is open seven days a week to golfers and non-golfers. The banquet room and patio are available for private catered events such as weddings, bridal and baby showers, rehearsal dinners, graduation parties, golf outings, corporate, holiday and birthday parties, class reunions, proms and dances, and celebrations of life.
The Las Vegas Raiders rented the entire facility for a private party in 2022 when Richard Seymour and Cliff Branch were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Then Diana Ross showed up to wow the crowd while the intrigued Titko brothers enjoyed some of the perks that come with owning a golf course.
“There are so many moving parts in managing a golf course, but yes, it can be fun,” said John Titko.
This year, the Green Bay Packers rented the venue for a private outing and party. The Hall’s class of 2024 includes two inductees with ties to the Packers – Steve McMichael and Julius Peppers.
Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 or [email protected] X: @tbotosREP
Ohio’s Best Public Golf Courses
Golfweek.com has ranked the best public golf courses in the U.S. Here are the rankings for Ohio:
1. Firestone (South) in Akron
2. Firestone (North) in Akron
3. Fowler’s Mill (lake and river) in Chesterland
4. Manakiki in Willoughby
T5. The Virtues in Nashport
T5. Firestone (Fazio) in Akron
7. Sleepy Hollow in Brecksville
8. Stonelick Hills in Batavia
9. The Quarry in Canton
10. Deer Ridge Golf Club in Bellville
11. Boulder Creek in Streetsboro
12. Pine Hills in Hinckley
13. Small Mountain in Painesville
14. Mill Creek Golf Course (North) in Boardman
15th Elk Race in Batavia
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