Most Affordable Golf Trips In Ohio

Best Value Golf Trip in Ohio (on site)- apple valley golf course & apple valley condos

Apple Valley Golf Course (Ohio) Review

Since it’s inception in 1972, Apple Valley’s championship par 72 course has thrilled golfers of all skill levels. Apple Valley offers a blend of challenging holes along with several gettable hole to bring one of the more enjoyable rounds you will play!

The golf course does a great job at seamlessly blending the course with it’s natural surroundings to create a top tier layout that still persveres the beauty of the landscape. One of the most picturesque shots you will ever play is on the par 3 fifth, a short, downhill par 3 with a lake short of the green with bunkers and pine trees surronding the green.

Holes 8-11 feature the toughest stretch of holes and is often referred to the as “The Amen Corner of Apple Valley”. A mix of rolling hills on a gentle terrain and woodlined holes, it is simply one of “Ohio’s must play” courses.

One of the best value golf courses in the Midwest! You get to golf at a top 20 public course in Ohio with spacious, affordable 6 person condos right next door. The golf course is very well maintained with tee boxes ranging from 6946 yards to 5109 yards.

With a restaurant with a great menu on site as well, there is no reason you will ever have to drive anywhere your whole golf trip! I would advise eating breakfast there, the biscuits and gravy is some of the best I’ve ever had! They definitely do not skimp on the amount of sausage in the gravy. The pancakes are also crispy on the edges just like Mom used to make them!

Apple Valley Golf Course Details

Golf Course Details:

• Address: 433 Clubhouse Dr, Howard, OH 43028
• Peak Summer Rates: Walk/Ride = $44/$64
• Rated 4 stars by Golf Digest
• Reviews: 4.7/5 out of 284 Google Reviews & 4.3/5 out of 57 GolfPass.com reviews
• Tee Boxes:
  • Black = 6946 yards
  • Blue = 6544 yards
  • White = 6070 yards
  • White/Gold = 5560 yards
  • Gold = 5109 yards
• Driving Range and Putting Green
• Fully stocked pro shop includes golf balls, shoes, accessories, and fashion apparel.
• Bar and Grill Restaurant open to public during golf season
• Banquet room seats 120 guests

Rental/Hotel: Apple Valley Condos

Rental/Hotel Amenities-

• Website/ Phone #: https://www.applevalleycondos.com/ & 740-202-9798
• Costs: Family Condos- $200/$230 night and Golf Condos- $270/$350/ night
  • Pro Tip: To save money, stay at a Family Condo! (may have to drive .33 miles to the course instead of walking)
  • 5% due at time of booking
• Bedrooms: 3
  • Configuration 1: bedroom 1= king bed, bedroom 2= king bed, bedroom 3= two twin beds
  • Configuration 2: All three bedrooms have 2 twin beds (6 twin beds total)
• Bathrooms: 2 (Full)
• Kitchen
  • Coffee Machine, Cooking Utensils, Oven, Refrigerator, Dishwasher
• Large Living Room with 2 couches and 50″ TV
• High speed WiFi
• “Apple Valley Guest Pass” for just $50 per stay (up to 7 nights)
  • Includes use of the Apple Valley Pools and Beaches- all 1 to 4.5 miles away
• Cancellation Policy:
  • 100% refunded if canceled 20 days prior to arrival
  • 50% refunded if canceled 7 days prior to arrival

Other great value courses where you can stay on property are Maumee Bay State Park Golf Course (20 minutes east of Toledo), Salt Fork State Park Golf Course (90 min east of Columbus), and Majestic Springs Golf Club (40 minutes Southeast of Dayton).

Best Value Golf Trip in Ohio (vrbo/airbnb)- vbro Country Home in Springboro, ohio

For my annual golf trip with my family, we usually have 16-20 of us and need a good size house with plenty of activities to do after the rounds with great value golf courses nearby. This house delivers that and then some! Outdoor pool, volleyball court, ping pong/foosball, indoor basketball court, etc. We didn’t take advantage of it, but it’s also 12 minutes from the Miami Valley Gaming Casino!

Age range is 24-63, so golf course value is probably the most important factor on where we play so the more experienced golfers are content with a great golf course and the younger guys don’t feel the burn on their wallet trying to pay for a $150+ course.

VRBO House Highlights:

Pool with diving board

I mean there’s not much more refreshing then chilling in the pool with a beverage in hand recounting all of the great shots/ embarassing shanks you had during the round that day! The pool is also heated with a safety cover, so you can put the cover on and heat it up to use during the chilly nights!

The pool is about 8 feet deep at the diving board end and goes to about 3 feet at the shallow end. The diving board is not springy at all, so don’t expect to be able to soar through the air and do multiple flips!

Sand Volleyball Court

The owner of this house played professional sand volleyball (AVP) and the quality of the sand shows. It is some of the softest sand you will ever feel, we had no issues diving after balls and not feeling it the next morning!

The sand volleyball court also works great for spikeball, we had 2 seperate games going on for our (hopefully annual) Spikeball double elimination tournament. It has netting around the whole court so you never have to chase the ball too far, and has a good amount of lighting if you want to get some volleyball or spikeball in after dark!

Indoor Half Court Basketball Court

Honestly, I was shocked this didn’t get used more for our group. The rim is extremely stiff, almost like a double rimmed hoop you would see at your local park. It has concrete flooring and free throw, 3 point lines, etc.

With tall 22 foot ceilings, you can shoot a high arcing shot without ever worrying about hitting the ceiling. It was fun to get a quick game of PIG in randomly during the day or night if you weren’t in line to play volleyball, ping pong, cornhole, cards, etc.

Game Room (ping pong/foosball/ NES (Nintendo)

Not a whole lot of time was collectively spent in the basement’s open area game room, but it was fun to get a random game or two in of classic video games or modern games like Madden during the trip.

It was fun to bring back some nostalgia and try to beat Mike Tyson’s Punchout! (spoiler alert- I didn’t make it as far as 10 year old me used to). They also had a PS4, but I don’t think anyone touched it. Plenty to do at this house if you would happen to be stuck there on a rainy day.

Upstairs and Downstairs Patio

The upstairs patio is about 400 sq. ft and overlooks the pool and is perfect for a nice relaxing game of cards or that morning coffee!

The downstairs patio is extremely large with plenty of lounge chairs next to the pool along with 2 patio tables. If you are one who enjoys being the grillmaster/chef, you will LOVE the 2 grills and the wood fired stone pizza oven all right next to the pool! We got great use out of all of this, making marinated pork chops and homemade pizzas!

The cabin is close to the best public courses Dayton has to offer!

• Heatherwoode Golf Club is 5 minutes away
• Shaker Run Golf Club is 10 minutes away
• Yankee Trace Golf Club is 15 minutes away
• Pipestone Golf Club is 18 minutes away

Rental/Hotel Amenities-

• Website/ Phone #: VRBO.COM & 740-202-9798
• Costs: $822 average per night
• Bedrooms: 7
  • 8 beds and 2 bunk beds
• Bathrooms: 5 (Full)
• Kitchen
  • Large, open concept fully equipped with stainless steel appliances.
    • Coffee Machine, Cooking Utensils, Oven, Refrigerator, Dishwasher
  • Large Kitchen Table that sits 8 with island that sits 3
• Large Living Room with wrap around couch and 70″ TV
• High speed WiFi
• 3 Flat screens in Basement
• Gym in basement (treadmill, weight bench, dumbbells)
• Cancellation Policy: Non Refundable

Heatherwoode Golf Club Review

The first word that comes to mind to describe Heatherwoode is pristine. This is one of the better kept courses in the Ohio/Indiana area, and if it was located in Indianapolis or Columbus, I could see greens fees being $40-$60 higher.

This is the best course of the bunch. It hosted the 1993-1998 Nike Miami Valley open on the Web.com Tour (now Korn Ferry Tour). I honestly think it would continue to host other Korn Ferry Tour events if not for the technological advances in the past 25 years making courses like this 6950 yard, par 71 course obsolete.

It plays a lot longer than its yardage suggest though, as there are several shorter holes such as 5, 13, 15 that require a layup. The course has a ton of character in it as over half the holes have either some sort of water hazard in the form of a lake or a meandering stream. It’s great for golfers of all skill levels, as the 6 sets of tees range from 4,113 yards to 6,950 yards.

Heatherwoode Golf Course Details:

• Address: 88 Heatherwoode Blvd, Springboro, OH 45066
• Peak Summer Rates: Walk/Ride = $65/$75
• Rated 4 stars by Golf Digest
• Reviews: 4.7/5 out of 415 Google Reviews & 4.1/5 out of 92 GolfPass.com reviews
• Tee Boxes:
  • Black = 6,950 yards
  • Blue = 6,470 yards
  • White = 6,001 yards
  • Gold = 5,445 yards
  • Silver = 4,968 yards
  • Red= 4,113 yards
• Driving Range and Putting Green
• Fully stocked pro shop includes golf balls, shoes, accessories, and fashion apparel.
• Bar and Grill Restaurant open to public during golf season
• 2 elegant banquet rooms as well as a tented pavilion suited for parties or weddings

Shaker Run Golf Club Review

Shaker Run Golf Club is a great layout that is usually in great condition and has very scenic holes. The course has 3 sets of 9 hole courses (with the original Woodlands & Lakeside being the best 2 to play).

There are several amazing holes on each 9. Lakeside #2 is a gorgeous downhill par 3 with water short and bunkers long, requiring a precise mid iron to the green. Lakeside #7 is a downhill dogleg left where you must fly a bunker or flirt with OB right with your drive. The beautiful downhill approach has views of the lake behind it and requires an accurate approach as anything long, left, or right will most likely be a lost ball.

The woodlands 9 requires more precision with your drives as holes 3-7 meander through the beautiful forest with tall, mature trees on both sides of the fairways. Hole 9 features a “cape” hole, requiring a drive over water. How far you have in for your approach depends on how far you are willing to hit it over the water. The approach doesn’t get any easier as it is hit to a peninsula green.

The three 9s have similar lengths and each have unique, outstanding holes with scenic views. The undulations make it exciting as there are a few blind shots and a few uneven lies await. The main con I have of Shaker Run is that there are apartment complexes dangerously close to the course, kind of cutting into the uniqueness and beauty of several holes.

Overall, I highly recommend this course as it is probably one of the more scenic courses you will find in the Dayton/Cincinatti area. It was a lot of fun trying to judge the uneven lies with the elevation changes, and the greens were fast and rolled true.

Shaker Run Golf Course Details

Golf Course Details:

• Address: 433 Clubhouse Dr, Howard, OH 43028
• Peak Summer Rates: Walk/Ride = $44/$64
• Rated 4 stars by Golf Digest
• Reviews: 4.2/5 out of 428 Google Reviews & 3.8/5 out of 322 GolfPass.com reviews
• Tee Boxes (Meadows/Woodlands/Lakeside):
  • Black = 3,597 / 3,496 / 3,407 yards
  • Blue = 3,369 / 3,291 / 3,207 yards
  • White = 3,169 / 3,048 / 2,901 yards
  • Yellow = 2,884 / 2,748 / 2,707 yards
  • Red = 2,568 / 2,468 / 2,454 yards
• Driving Range and Putting Green
• Fully stocked pro shop includes golf balls, shoes, accessories, and fashion apparel.
• Bar and Grill Restaurant open to public during golf season
• Top wedding and Reception destination- Best Pick of 2010 by The Knot

The Golf Club at Yankee Trace Review

The Golf Club at Yankee Trace is a top tier muni with 3 unique 9 hole courses. Reguarly rated 4.5 stars by Golf Digest and a top 10 municipal course in the country, it also gets voted #1 golf course in the Dayton area by Dayton Business Journal, Dayton Daily News, Dayton Magazine ,etc.

There are several amazing holes on each 9. I’ll try not to let my bias of the worst 9 holes of the year on Heritage affect my rankings but if I had to rank the 9s it would go Vintage > Heritage > Legend. They were all very similar and closely ranked together. I would not be mad if my next time at Yankee Trace would be any of the 2 nines.

Vintage had to be my favorite because of the different assortment of holes it provided. There were short, dog leg par 4s where a precise tee shot was required as well as long par 4s & 5s where you could swing away with the driver.

Heritage’s layout is accentuated by the visually intimidating sight lines you have to take with your drives. There is usually trouble on each side’s driving zones, which I unfortunately encountered on my way to my highest 9 hole score of the year.

Legend was the lowest ranked of the 9s for me, but still would highly recommend it. It had several scenic par 3s, and a few par 4s with lakes hugging landing zones and greens.

Golf Club at Yankee Trace Details

• Address: 10000 Yankee St, Centerville, OH 45458
• Peak Summer Rates: Walk/Ride = $60/$75
• Rated 4.5 stars by Golf Digest
• Reviews: 4.2/5 out of 428 Google Reviews & 4.4/5 out of 322 GolfPass.com reviews
• Tee Boxes (Heritage/Vintage/Legend):
  • Black = 3,508 / 3,191 / 3,645 yards
  • Blue = 3,325 / 3,053/ 3,427 yards
  • White = 3,104 / 2,854 / 3,223 yards
  • Yellow = 2,846 / 2,603 / 2,929 yards
  • Green = 2,596 / 2,323 / 2,570 yards
• Driving Range and Putting Green
• Fully stocked pro shop includes golf balls, shoes, accessories, and fashion apparel.
• Bar and Grill Restaurant open to public during golf season
• Top wedding and Reception destination- 32,000 sq. ft clubhouse can hold up to 250 guests!

Cheapest Golf Trip in Ohio (vrbo/airbnb)- Flash Lodge in Hamersville, ohio

Flash Lodge in Hamersville, OH (1 hour SE of downtown Cincinatti) is often used for baseball camps, and is a perfect, cheap place to stay for a golf trip! It has 20 beds (12 bunk beds), 3 large screen TVs, Pool table, foosball, and a large indoor facility with batting cages and workout equipment. For fishing enthusiasts, there is also a large pond full of bass, crappy, bluegill, and catfish along with 3 canoes and lifejackets.

VRBO House Highlights:

Indoor facility with pool table, ping pong table, foosball, workout equipment

It was a blast being able to have several games going on at the same time of pool, ping pong, foosball, cornhole, etc. It’s a great way to have some more competition after a day of golf and to have any additional wagers. 

The workout equipment was not used on our trip but they have a nice combination of treadmills, elipticals, power racks, etc.

Large outdoor area (large yard, backdoor patio with bar and grills, Fishing Pond and treated swimming hole.)

It’s not as nice as an inground pool, but the fishing pond was nice and relaxing to jump into after a hot summer day of golf! This trip could also double as a fishing trip, as there are plenty of good size bass, catfish, crappie, etc. 

We got lucky having great weather on our stay, so we were able to take full advantage of playing cards outside, yard games (cornhole, spikeball, etc.). The backdoor patio and island bar was large enough to fit our group of 18. It was a great time bonding with drinks, food, and outdoor yard games after a fun day of golf!

Fishing Pond and treated swimming pond.

It’s not as nice as an inground pool, but the fishing pond was nice and relaxing to jump into after a hot summer day of golf! This trip could also double as a fishing trip, as there are plenty of good size bass, catfish, crappie, etc.

Rental/Hotel Amenities-

• Website/ Phone #: VRBO.COM
• Costs: $375 average per night
• Bedrooms: 6
  • 8 beds and 6 bunk beds
• Bathrooms: 5 (1 in the house and 4 in the detached shower house)
• Kitchen
  • Fully equipped with stainless steel appliances.
    • Coffee Machine, Cooking Utensils, Oven, Refrigerator, Dishwasher
• Living Room with 2 couches, 2 recliners and large TV
• High speed WiFi
• Fire pit, charcoal & gas grills, swimming pond & fishing lake
• Weight room (treadmill, weight bench, dumbbells), cardio equipment, pool table, and foosball table
• Cancellation Policy: 100% refundable if cancelled 30 days before check in, 50% if cancelled 14 days before check in

Friendly Meadows Golf Course Review

You would never expect it, but you get some mountain type of golf in the picturesque and beautiful Southern Ohio. Only 3 min from Flash Lodge, there is little downtime on driving to and from the course!

It plays slightly longer than the 6,620 yards from the tips due to the frequent elevation changes and mature wood lined fairways requiring some fairway woods and irons off of tees. 

It is a shorter course with only 3 par 3s over 400 yards from the tips and does not have the most interesting layout around. But for its price and being only 3 minutes from the Flash Lodge, there is no better feeling than being back at the lodge after a long day of golf.

We golfed one day at Elk’s Run, which was about 20 minutes away from the cabin. It was a much better course as far as conditions and layouts go. It was also about $25 more expensive than Friendly Meadows. If you are willing to pay for it, it’s definitely worth it in my opinion.

Friendly Meadows Golf Course Details

• Address: 809 State Route 125, Hamersville, OH 45130
• Peak Summer Rates: Walk/Ride = $34/$47
• Reviews: 4.6/5 out of 170 Google Reviews & 3/5 out of 5 GolfPass.com reviews
• Tee Boxes (Heritage/Vintage/Legend):
  • Blue = 6,610 yards
  • White = 6,010 yards
  • Gold = 5,585 yards
  • Green = 4,643 yards
• Driving Range and Putting Green
• Fully stocked pro shop includes golf balls, shoes, accessories, and fashion apparel.
• Bar and Grill Restaurant open to public during golf season

Best large group Golf Trip in Ohio- 20+ people (vrbo/airbnb)- vbro that sleeps 35 w/ private pond in ravenna, ohio

This house sleeps 35, has a private swimming pond, 12 person hot tub, and even a basketball/pickleball court! It’s only 8 minutes from Windmill Lakes golf course, often regarded as one of the better value golf courses in northeast Ohio. 

I have not stayed here but really want to after seeing the pictures! You would never get bored here, there’s so much to do!

VRBO House Highlights:

Game Rooms with pool table, shuffleboard, ping pong table, air hockey, foosball

The main house has a regulation size shuffleboard and a pool table while the “barn” has air hockey, ping pong, foosball, and HD TV. 

Even if you unfortunately get rained out, there are hours and hours of entertainment to do inside this VRBO.

It also has a 120” tv with one of the largest sectional couches I’ve ever seen! You can plug your XBOX or Playstation into this setup, could you imagine a Madden/NBA 2K tournament on a 120” HD projector?!?

12 person Hot tub/swim spa and private swimming pond

The ⅓ acre private organically treated pond looks great to swim in as well as kayaking across for a relaxing afternoon after 18/27 holes.

The 12 person hot tub would also be great, enjoying a beverage or 2 at night. It even has a projection screen close by to watch the big game!

Outdoor Entertainment (basketball/picklebll court, yard games)

The fun never ends with this house as it has a half-court basketball court that can also be used as a pickleball court!

There is also an extremely large, private yard that can be used for various yard games such as cornhole, spikeball, bocce ball, croquet, etc.

There are 3 great value golf courses within 25 minutes of the VRBO house.

• Windmill Lakes Golf Club is 7 minutes away
• Boulder Creek Golf Club is 15 minutes away
• Raccoon Hill Golf Club is 22 minutes away

Rental/Hotel Amenities-

• Website/ Phone #: VRBO.COM
• Costs: $702 average per night
• Minimum Stay: 4 days
• 2 places combined into 1! Get the main house as well as the fully renovated Barn on Evergreen Pond
• Bedrooms: 9
  • 21 beds
• Bathrooms: 8 Full and 1 Half
• 2 Kitchens
  • Large, open concept fully equipped with stainless steel appliances.
    • Coffee Machine, Cooking Utensils, Oven, Refrigerator, Dishwasher
  • Large Kitchen Table that sits 8 with island that sits 3
• Large Theatre Room with huge sectional and 120″ projector
• High speed WiFi
• Tennis, Pickleball, Half court basketball, swimming pond, and 40 acres of trails to walk on!
• 12 Person Swim Spa/Hot Tub, 2 fire pits, and a Outdoor Movie Projector
• Cancellation Policy: 100% refundable before 2 months of check in

Windmill Lakes Golf Club Review

Windmill Lakes in Ravenna is about 30 minutes southwest of Cleveland and is home to the Kent State University golf teams. Kent State University has an impressive alum list including current players Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes, and Taylor Pendrith. So you know Kent State is practicing at a good course with 3 current PGA Tour players.

The first thing that comes to mind is the large undulating greens combined with the large fairway and green bunkers.

Prime rates are $60 with a cart, and reviews from No Laying Up forum rave about how it is a gem for Northeast Ohio. It holds the Northeast Ohio Amatuer Championship every year, and it’s easy to see why with its large, undulating greens with 40 sand traps and five lakes in play. 

It plays pretty long at 6936 yards from the tips considering there are only 2 par 5s. If you ever need anything golf related, check out their award winning pro shop! It looks like a mini sporting goods store.

If you are looking for another course to play, the highly regarded Boulder Creek golf course is just 20 minutes away!

Windmill Lakes Golf Course Details:

• Address: 6544 State Route 14, Ravenna, OH 44266
• Peak Summer Rates: Ride = $60
• Rated 4 stars by Golf Digest
• Reviews: 4.5/5 out of 356 Google Reviews & 4.5/5 out of 415 GolfPass.com reviews
• Tee Boxes:
  • Tournament = 6,936 yards
  • Championship = 6,470 yards
  • Regular = 6,141 yards
  • Regular/Silver = 5,834 yards
  • Silver = 5,591 yards
  • Red= 4,809 yards
• Driving Range and Putting Green
• Award winning, fully stocked pro shop includes golf balls, shoes, accessories, and fashion apparel.
• Bar and Grill Restaurant open to public during golf season
• Elegant banquet room seats 80 and overlooks 9th and 18th green

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