Mill Creek MetroParks opened two 18-hole courses by Donald Ross to the public in 1928, including the North Course. Contemporary park publications and regional tourism materials consistently attribute both courses to Ross and give 1928 as the opening year.
The park’s current hole-by-hole layout provides the clearest available evidence of what the North plays like today: a par-70 with two par-5s (#7 at 469 yards and #15 at 519 yards), a finishing par-4 of 475 yards at #18, and four par-3s that vary notably in length (#3 at 155, #8 at 144, #14 at 199, #16 at 181).
No evidence has surfaced in public sources that Ross returned to the site after opening for a second phase or redesign.
Unique Design Characteristics
The clearest, documented single-hole expression of Ross’s work on the North is the short par-3 eighth: a compact, uphill play to an elevated green guarded by three bunkers. Local tourism material flags #8 as the course’s signature hole, and the park’s scorecard confirms the hole’s scale (144 yards from Blue). The combination of elevation change and surrounding sand at this distance produces a precise target that has become the North’s visual identity.
Across the round, the par-3 set is unusually balanced for a municipal course and gives the North much of its cadence: a mid-iron (#3), a short-iron test with elevation (#8), a long-iron or hybrid (#14 at 199), and another mid-to-long iron with modest carry (#16 at 181). This variety is not a generic “Ross trait” asserted in the abstract; it is verifiable on this course today from the park’s published yardages. The long par-4s at #9 (440) and #18 (475) further frame the nines with demanding tee shots into narrow, tree-defined corridors—an effect noted in local descriptions of the North’s character. Together these specifics describe a course that punishes positional mistakes while offering scoring chances at the two par-5s, particularly #7.
Historical Significance
Mill Creek is unusual in Ross’s portfolio for being municipally owned and operated as a dual-eighteen complex; according to commentary published by the Donald Ross Society in a regional newspaper, Mill Creek is the only municipally owned facility in the United States with two 18-hole Ross courses. That status gives the North Course added context within Ross’s Ohio work (Inverness, Scioto, Manakiki, among others) as an example of high-caliber public access design by Ross rather than a private-club commission.
Tournament history further grounds the course in contemporary play. The American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) has used Mill Creek annually since 2016, and at least one year—the 2019 Mahoning Valley Hospital Foundation Junior All-Star—the competition was staged on the North Course. More routinely, AJGA championship rounds have been conducted on the South, while the North hosts sectional and regional junior events, Northern Ohio PGA junior competitions, and club/park tournaments. This event history does not speak in clichés about “championship pedigree”; it documents the North’s ongoing suitability for organized play.
Current Condition / Integrity
The park initiated a bunker restoration program in the late 2010s. Work began on the South Course in autumn 2017 (36 bunkers with associated drainage), and planning documents identified North Course bunker restoration as a 2018 capital project; subsequent local reporting noted that bunker work proceeded on the North that year along with signage and short-game improvements. The park has continued to invest in course infrastructure—cart-path improvements were announced in 2020 and stream-channel/drainage upgrades are part of the 2025 capital plan—measures that affect playability without changing the North’s routing or par.
Based on the current park layout and scorecard, the routing remains an 18-hole loop with the hole sequencing described above; #8’s elevated green site, widely cited as the course’s signature feature, plainly survives. Because original Ross drawings are not publicly posted, the exact fidelity of bunker lines and green edge geometry to 1928 cannot be asserted here; what can be said is that the park’s recent projects are described as restorations rather than redesigns, implying intent to retain the Ross scheme while improving condition and drainage.
Sources & Notes
Mill Creek MetroParks — “Mill Creek Golf Course” (official overview page). Confirms Ross authorship and 1928 public opening; describes North’s tree-lined, natural-hazard character; details facilities (Fieldhouse, Hole #55, Indoor Player Development Center).
Mill Creek MetroParks — “Course Layout & Scorecard” (official hole-by-hole). Provides current par and yardage for each North hole (totals 6,422 yards; par 70).
Explore Mahoning — “Mill Creek Golf Course (North).” Identifies the par-3 8th (elevated green, three bunkers) as the North’s signature hole and summarizes the North’s wooded, hazard-inflected character.
YoungstownLive (Mahoning County CVB) — “Youngstown Course Guide” (PDF, 2022). Lists the North as par 70 with Blue-tee rating/slope around 71.6/125 and gives a descriptive note on streams and natural hazards; recognizes facility accolades.
The Vindicator — “Preserving Mill Creek’s Donald Ross-designed courses” (Dec. 19, 2021). Quotes the Donald Ross Society noting Mill Creek as the only municipally owned facility with two 18-hole Ross courses; reiterates Ross authorship and public opening.
Mill Creek MetroParks — Press release: “Mill Creek Golf Course bunker restoration project to begin” (Sept. 28, 2017). Documents South Course bunker restoration (36 bunkers; drainage); contextualizes the broader bunker program.
Mill Creek MetroParks — “Future Capital Improvements 2018–2022” (PDF). Identifies “North Course Bunker Restoration” as a 2018 project line item (budgeted).
Boardman News — “Mill Creek Park’s North And South Golf Courses Continue To …” (2018). Notes bunker restoration continuing on the North in 2018 alongside signage and short-game area improvements.
The Vindicator — “Mill Creek Park golf course to see improvements” (Aug. 15, 2020). Announces cart-path and surface work at the golf course (course-wide).
Mill Creek MetroParks — “Capital Improvement Plan” (Jan. 14, 2025). Includes stream-channel restoration and stormwater improvements at Mill Creek Golf Course, partly funded by Ohio EPA.
AJGA — “Mahoning Valley Hospital Foundation Junior All-Star” (2019). Event page specifying competition on the North Course that year. Later AJGA communications usually specify the South; included here to establish North’s tournament use.