The Quarry is in a hilly part of Stark County where all the roads have bends.
So do many of the 18 holes on the golf course that opened in 2006 and was in danger of closing a few years ago.
Elevation drops seem steep enough to pop your ears. Rock walls from the days when The Quarry was just a quarry cast shadows on ponds and streams in a retreat kind of setting.
The peaceful, easy feeling abates when the course is full and play is slow enough for golfers to count the houses on adjacent developments.
But that’s life in the big city when your track is in demand. And, yes, The Quarry is in Canton, as of 2007 when the city hopped the boundaries of two townships to annex it.
The Quarry originally came in when other Stark County public courses were going out. Edgewood, Tam O’Shanter, Skyland Pines, Rolling Green, Lake View and Seven Hills all have closed since The Quarry opened, two miles, as the crow flies, from historic Clearview Golf Club.
Doug Titko says The Quarry would have joined the list of golf venues that turned into something else. Partly to make sure it didn’t, he, his brother and three other partners bought it in 2019.
“The reputation was it was a beautiful course, but it was so expensive to play,” said Titko, whose business interests include owning four Audi Horizon stores. “It was mine and my brother’s favorite course to play. It’s totally unique.
“I worked on a formula for a week and said, I think we can double and maybe triple the amount of play simply by addressing the time slots.
“Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, based on going through their old tee sheets, they just weren’t getting anybody to play in the mornings.
“Who can play in those times? Seniors. I put together a senior special right off the rip, which we still honor. Monday through Thursday … weekends … we dropped all the rates.
“Our first year we more than tripled the rounds that they had ever had out here.
“When we came in, they had three season memberships. We put together a big breakfast the first day we were open and sold 54 season passes. We’re up over 100 now.”
This is the fifth year for the current ownership group.
A long conversation with Titko makes this almost a rhetorical question: So, plans are to keep The Quarry open as a golf course, long-term?
“Absolutely,” he said.
Titko, 62, grew up in Brimfield and played football for Field High School. He attended the University of Akron, imagining a career in sports broadcasting.
“I soon realized there was not a whole lot of money in that,” he said.
His dad introduced him to golf, which became a life-long interest.
He has golfed pretty much everywhere, in most of the 50 states. He was part of a scramble at Skyland Pines the last day it was open in 2021.
“Skyland closing was unique because Amazon was interested in the property,” he said. “They’d probably still be a course if that hadn’t happened.
“I was very surprised about Seven Hills closing. It was under new ownership. The owners came out here looking for some ideas. It seemed sudden when they shifted gears and decided to sell.”
Golf buff Gary Taylor, founder of InfoCision Management Company, was the primary owner of The Quarry at the start. Taylor’s family kept a stake in the business after he died in 2013 at the age of 59. The family also retained ownership of a Medina golf course, Shale Creek.
The Taylors live in Medina and still own Shale Creek. Five years ago, they opted to sell The Quarry, which they had turned over to a management company.
Titko knows of no other potential buyer who planned to keep The Quarry a golf course.
“Looking back now, I can almost assure you that had we not stepped in, it would not be a course any more,” Titko said. “This is a big shoe to fill. It’s a big property with a lot of expenses. I’m not sure anyone else would have stepped in.
“Home owners out here are loving us, because they could have been looking at another Tam O’Shanter.”
Tam O’Shanter’s 36 holes closed in 2018, giving way to developments and a park.
“Tam O’Shanter was a unique, cool property,” Titko said. “You almost cry when you go by there now.”
The Quarry includes a 27,000-square-foot clubhouse that features The Granite Grille, which includes a huge, striking patio overlooking the 18th hole from close range.
An indoor-outdoor banquet facility has room for nearly 200 guests at weddings, more for some events.
“We had 660 people at a Las Vegas Raiders Hall of Fame party last year,” Titko said. “Diana Ross sang on the patio. We’ve got a Bengals Hall of Fame party this year and the Raiders again next year.”
Another attraction is a swimming pool next to a full bar with food service.
Current ownership bought 33 housing lots, since sold and built on, and 33 additional acres that may or may not be developed.
“I’m sure if you’re just a golf course, it’s a lot harder struggle than it is with having other streams of resume,” Titko said.
An unusual golf course attracting players from all around is the face of the place.
Bill Flower of CanadianGolfer called the layout “very challenging and rewarding to play, with so many spectacular holes and views that I could have posted 50 photos.”
Golfweek has ranked The Quarry among Ohio’s top courses a couple of times in recent years. The course also ranks No. 7 on ohiogolf.com’s 2023 list of the best public courses in the state, after Fowler’s Mill (Chesterland), Manakiki (Willoughby Hills), The Virtues (Nashport), StoneWater (Highland Heights), Boulder Creek (Streetsboro), and Stonelick Hills (Batavia).
The Quarry is ranked ahead of No. 8 Little Mountain (Concord), No. 9 EagleSticks (Zanesville) and No. 10 Cooks Creek (Asheville).
By way of example, the weekday fee for 18 holes and a cart in one recent check was $60 at Fowler’s Mill, $54 at Boulder Creek, $49 at The Quarry and $48 at Manakiki.
Fun fact: A San Antonio golf course named The Quarry charges $126. At The Quarry in Canton, a $41.99 online special pops up for some weekday tee times.
Tee times are 10 minutes apart and often hard to get.
Ken Hyland, who has seen hundreds of courses as a college golf coach at Malone for 51 years, shared this quick Quarry take last week:
“I love it. The layout doesn’t fit Canton, Ohio. You feel like you’re in the Carolinas with the creeks and the ravines.”
Reach Steve at [email protected]
On Twitter: @sdoerschukREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Stark County’s The Quarry not one of closed Ohio golf courses