Stir the Spirit at Ohio's Little Mountain

As an artist whose work will be measured by the caliber and total number of drives, irons, pitches and putts throughout his 18-hole excursion, the avid golfer will find no better muse than the breathtaking Little Mountain Country Club.

One of the Buckeye State's most acclaimed semi-private facilities, Little Mountain borders on aesthetically overwhelming. The pride of Painesville is only a vigorous jog from the shores of Lake Erie and affords its visitors views of the Great Lake’s sparkling seas.

Water is indeed the defining element of Little Mountain. Unspoiled Ellison Creek traverses through the layout and empties into a four-acre spring-fed lake. Spectacular images of the creek and its waterfalls as well as Lake Erie are visible from many of the holes. The experience is further enhanced by dramatic elevation changes of up to 150 feet and a smattering of mature trees from tee to green. The spectacular look and feel of Little Mountain greatly contributed to Golf Digest giving the layout a prestigious Five-Star rating, putting the course in the same category with world-famous golf destinations like Pebble Beach and Pinehurst.

Little Mountain was also rated as one of the nations top golf courses by Zagat Survey, which produces a series of paperback guidebooks and maintains a website dedicated to providing important reviews and restaurants and travel destinations.

But don’t expect the atmosphere to be the least bit stuffy. The experience at Little Mountain includes a chalet-style clubhouse filled with the sounds of new age music where you might just run into one of the lovely ladies from the Girls of Little Mountain calendar; one of the out of the box ideas implemented by course operator Hanlin Golf that features some of the golf course’s bartenders and cart girls. If anything in Ohio comes close to a Vegas type getaway, Hanlin says it’s Little Mountain.

In addition to offering traditional memberships, packages of 25, 50 and 100 rounds can be purchased for Little Mountain, as well as any of the other Hanlin Golf properties.

Little Mountain offers a variety of “Stay and Play” packages, and has partnered with many different hotel, dining and entertainment accommodations in the area.

The course is easily accessible from all directions and is less than an hour drive from downtown Cleveland. For more information on everything Little Mountain has to offer visit www.littlemountaincc.com or call (440) 358-PUTT.