Brookside’s present course dated to the club’s relocation from Myers Lake to a larger tract west of downtown Canton. The site search concluded in 1920, and in 1921 the club engaged Donald Ross to “design and build 18 holes of golf.” Construction followed immediately and the course was in play by 1922, with the official club opening celebrated the next summer (1923) with a gala. The club’s own history identifies this as a ground-up Ross build rather than a reworking of earlier golf, and it preserves the chronology—land secured in 1920, Ross plan and construction 1921–22, formal opening 1923.
Ross’s intent is unusually legible because nearly a century later the club and its restoration architect described in detail what they sought to “recapture.” The 2003–04 work reinstated perpendicular fairway bunkers Ross originally designed, recovered lost green edges, and re-established width that had been choked by tree growth; the architect’s contemporary explanation—that Brookside’s greens were designed for side-specific angles of approach and “distinct, individualized pin placements”—reads as a practical gloss on Ross’s original brief for the property. Those choices, together with the routing’s deliberate use of Sippo Creek, framed Brookside’s playing character from the start.
There is no evidence in the club’s history that Ross returned after opening. Later alterations were by others. The club’s published timeline records Robert Trent Jones Jr. making architectural adjustments in 1983 “for more flexibility of length and improved definition,” while other published summaries attribute a Robert Trent Jones Sr. upgrade to 1962 or list a Sr. remodel around 1982 (see “Sources & Notes” for the competing claims). What is not in dispute is the early-2000s restoration led by Brian Silva: the course closed after Labor Day 2003, removed ~600 trees, rebuilt tee complexes and irrigation, restored Ross’s fairway bunkering and green perimeters, and reopened in June 2004, with a rededication on August 13. The club then completed the still-unbuilt elements on Hole 18 in 2012, and followed with a 2020 bunker-recovery program “restoring the course’s bunkers to the original Donald Ross design.”
Unique design characteristics
Ross’s routing concentrated strategic decisions along Sippo Creek, which the modern club tour and independent profiles still highlight. The par-3 4th (about 224 from the back tee) plays to a split green beside the creek; the par-4 11th and par-4 16th turn left toward approach shots that must account for water cutting across in front of the targets; and the par-3 14th is a shorter, heavily protected one-shotter that the club describes as a “Donald Ross Classic.” Brookside’s close—back-to-back par-5s at 17 and 18—is a defining flourish on the property, using elevation and uphill approaches to test pace and trajectory at the finish.
Green contours remain the clearest surviving artifacts of Ross’s hand. Prior to restoration, Brookside already possessed what were called “18 of the country’s best-preserved, Donald Ross-designed greens,” and the 2003–04 work concentrated on recapturing lost perimeter and opening the fronts so that intended ground or aerial entries could function again. The club’s hole notes emphasize those contours repeatedly: No. 6 (“slopes significantly from back to front”), No. 10 (“green slopes from back to front”), No. 12 (another split green playing into the prevailing wind), and No. 15 (a pronounced false front) are typical of how the course still defends itself at the targets rather than with forced carries alone.
Silva’s restoration also re-expanded roughly nine acres of fairway and restored the cross- (perpendicular) fairway bunkers that Ross had used here to punctuate lay-up zones and swing angles. Those hazards, long muted or grassed in, again dictate lines—particularly on the par-5 3rd (a tight drive playing between flanking bunkers) and the par-5 17th (a long, rising three-shotter where angle selection matters as much as length). In aggregate, the creek exposures at 4, 11, 16, the compact, tightly defended 14th, and the closing pair at 17–18 are the most reliable surviving windows into Ross’s plan as it presents to players today.
Historical significance
Within Ross’s Ohio portfolio, Brookside stands out for how thoroughly its original routing and putting surfaces persisted, then were deliberately re-revealed. The club’s record that its “hole routing and greens remain true to their original design” corresponds with Silva’s observation that Brookside’s greens each ask for specific angles. For historians, that pairing—intact routings and intact (now re-expanded) green pads—makes Brookside valuable evidence of Ross’s 1920s Ohio work on rolling, creek-cut terrain.
Brookside’s stature has been reflected in rankings for two decades. The club documents a continuous run in Golfweek’s Top 100 Classic list from 2000 onward, and Golf Digest named the reopened course “Best New Remodel” in its January 2006 issue—both recognitions explicitly tied to the restoration’s effect on play and presentation. Independent course profiles continue to list Brookside among the state’s leaders and to identify the course as a Ross design restored by Silva.
As a competitive venue, Brookside has hosted state and regional events and has served USGA qualifying. The club was a 2014 U.S. Amateur qualifying site (Canton, Brookside Country Club, July 7, 2014), and it regularly features on Northern Ohio PGA schedules (including the Junior Ohio Cup scheduled for Brookside in October 2025). Those events reinforce that today’s championship tests unfold largely on Ross’s green contours and angles.
Current condition / integrity
Today’s course is a par-71 configuration that totals 7,155 yards from the back tee set, with bent-grass playing surfaces. The club’s hole-by-hole yardages confirm the total, and the elevation, creek crossings and smallish, sloped greens remain the primary defense. Routing and green sites are Ross-original; bunkering patterns and mowing lines have been moved back toward his drawings; and tree management has restored vistas Ross would have expected on a 1920s build. Where post-Ross work is visible—Jones-era lengthening and bunker moves—it is generally in teeing grounds and select hazards rather than wholesale corridor change.
The 2003–04 restoration (reopened June 2004) and the 2012 completion of No. 18 finished the master plan; the 2020 bunker recovery continued that trajectory, with Silva again advising and Aspen Construction executing. The cumulative effect is a course where the greens and routing are Ross’s, and the presentation—width, angles, sand forms—has been tuned to match surviving evidence while accommodating modern maintenance.
Sources & Notes
Brookside Country Club — “History and Vision” (club PDF). Primary club chronology: relocation from Myers Lake; 1921 Ross “designed and built 18 holes”; in-play 1922; official opening summer 1923; later work including Robert Trent Jones Jr. (1983); 2003–04 renovation scope (irrigation, nine acres of fairway and 1½ acres of greens recovered, bunker rebuild, lengthening); 2012 completion of Hole 18; 2020 bunker recovery under Silva/Aspen; ranking notes and Golf Digest 2006 “Best New Remodel.”
Golf Course Industry (Hal Phillips), “Silva-restored Brookside reopens in Ohio” (Oct. 25, 2004). Restoration specifics and insights into original intent: removal of ~600 trees; reinstatement of perpendicular fairway bunkers Ross originally designed; recovery of green perimeters; nine acres of fairway re-added; comments that Brookside’s greens were designed for side-specific angles and individualized pin placements; closed fall 2003, reopened June 2004, rededication Aug. 13, 2004.
Top100GolfCourses — Brookside Country Club (Canton). Historical summary and hole-specific features still evident today: opened 1922; note of a Robert Trent Jones Sr. upgrade (1962); identification of Sippo Creek holes (4, 11, 16) and the par-3 14th; back-to-back par-5 finish (17–18); attribution of Ross/Silva.
Brookside Country Club — “Golf / Course Tour” (club site). Official hole-by-hole par and yardages; green-contour descriptions (e.g., No. 6 and No. 10 back-to-front slopes; No. 12 split green; No. 15 false front); confirmation of par-71 and a combined back-tee total of 7,155 yards (sum of listed yardages).
USGA — 2014 U.S. Amateur Qualifying Results. Confirms Canton, Ohio — Brookside Country Club as a qualifying site (July 7, 2014).
Northern & Southern Ohio PGA — Junior Ohio Cup announcement (2025). Schedules the Junior Ohio Cup at Brookside Country Club, Canton (Oct. 17–19, 2025).
Disputed or uncertain points
Jones involvement and dates. The club’s history cites Robert Trent Jones Jr. (1983) for adjustments; Top100GolfCourses mentions a Robert Trent Jones Sr. upgrade (1962); and the Robert Trent Jones Society’s location list shows Brookside CC, Canton — 1982 (R) under Sr. These sources are inconsistent and may reflect multiple small campaigns or attribution drift between father and son. This directory treats the club’s own published timeline as primary evidence while noting the alternate attributions.
Opening year. Many directories list 1922 (year of first play) while the club highlights the 1923 gala opening; both dates appear in authoritative sources describing different stages (play vs. formal opening).