The course originated as a private commission by Manakiki Country Club, a group organized from the Willowick Club that acquired the 200-acre Hanna estate east of Cleveland. Contemporary accounts place the club’s debut on June 29, 1929, with Donald Ross engaged to lay out a full eighteen during 1928–29. The Cleveland Metroparks’ own history corroborates that the golf course was built as part of the transition from estate to club, and multiple secondary references tie the design directly to Ross and to the 1929 opening.
Ross’s work coincided with the country club’s build-out of the Hanna mansion as clubhouse. The present routing still reflects decisions attributable to the initial plan: a front side of rolling doglegs culminating in a stout 8th, an inward nine defined by deep ravines crossed at the 10th and 18th, and the long par-3 15th situated by water. While the club’s minutes and Ross’s original field notes were not available for this study, Metroparks’ historical summary confirms these hallmark features as part of the early course character.
Manakiki’s private phase ended after World War II. In 1944, owners James and Fannie Brown sold the property to Cleveland Metroparks for one dollar on the condition that it remain a golf course. The park district leased the facility back to the private club until the lease was not renewed; the course opened for public play on January 1, 1961. (Case Western Reserve University’s Encyclopedia of Cleveland History notes a 1960 court order leading to public play; Metroparks records specify the opening date as January 1, 1961.)
During the 1950s, Manakiki twice appeared on the PGA Tour schedule as host of the Carling (World) Open—1953 and 1954—further cementing the course’s stature in the region.
Cleveland Metroparks adopted a master plan in 1990 “to renovate the golf course and restore much of its original character.” Specific projects included a new irrigation system, building a pond at the 3rd and restoring a pond at the 15th, rebuilding/restoring tees on holes 6, 8, 9, 13 and 15, and adding continuous cart paths.
The agency also stated its intent to “gradually” restore bunkers removed over the years. The public materials do not name an outside golf architect for this plan; primary documentation of authorship would require consulting Metroparks’ board files or the plan itself.
Unique Design Characteristics
Ross’s routing at Manakiki capitalized on the estate topography by stringing together doglegs that ask for position rather than raw distance and by using the Chagrin River valley’s tributary ravines to shape memorable carries. The mirror-image canyon holes at 10 and 18—both traversing a deep chasm to elevated targets—remain the defining structural moments of each nine; Metroparks continues to present them as the course’s signature features.
The par-4 8th illustrates Manakiki’s exacting mid-length tests in Ross’s sequence, and its reputation was such that, during the Carling Open era, it was considered among the tour’s more demanding two-shotters.
At the par-3 15th, the restored water feature fronts a long iron or hybrid shot to a perched green, producing one of the area’s most recognized one-shot holes. A historic electric trolley once carried players up from the 15th green to the elevated 16th tee—a reminder of how Ross’s routing embraced the property’s severe slopes without resorting to contrivance.
Modern aerial analysis of the 2nd hole by The Fried Egg documented how subsequent decades of tree growth and fairway/green shrinkage have muted some of the hole’s original strategic options—especially the ability to challenge the inside of the dogleg—while implying how widening and recentering could better reveal Ross’s intended angles. This case study provides a tangible example of how the course’s present set-up, rather than the underlying architecture, often governs day-to-day interest.
Based on the public record, the clearest surviving expressions of Ross’s work at Manakiki are the routing (notably the canyon crossings at 10 and 18 and the back-to-back par fives), the sequencing of doglegs on rolling ground, and several green sites that sit naturally on benches or plateaus. Confirmation of specific green contours that are original versus altered would require examination of early aerials and any extant Ross hole drawings.
Historical Significance
Within Greater Cleveland’s portfolio of Golden Age public courses, Manakiki is notable as a Ross‐designed private club that transitioned to public ownership while retaining its basic skeleton. Its hosting of the 1953 and 1954 Carling Open placed it, however briefly, on the national professional stage, and contemporary guidebooks and media still cite its Ross pedigree as central to its identity. The course’s continuing inclusion in “public Ross you can play” roundups underscores its accessibility relative to private Ross venues in the region.
Current Condition / Integrity
The routing integrity appears high: the dramatic ravine holes, the consecutive par-5 stretch, and the general progression of doglegs are consistent with the course’s early decades. Metroparks’ 1990 plan targeted infrastructure (irrigation) and specific water/tee restorations; it also set an intention to return certain bunkers toward their original footprints over time. Where the plan has been implemented, the 3rd and 15th ponds now frame their respective shots much as historical accounts suggest. Nonetheless, secondary analyses (e.g., of the 2nd hole) show that green and fairway perimeters have contracted and treelines encroached, affecting original angles and recoveries; these are reversible maintenance-of-architecture issues rather than permanent redesigns.
As a public, high-play facility, Manakiki necessarily balances pace-of-play and turf durability with architectural fidelity. Board of Park Commissioners materials from recent years show ongoing capital and maintenance investments at Manakiki (irrigation, greens work, and a new management center), although they do not detail architectural restoration scopes. Future research should consult Metroparks’ project files to trace which bunkers were restored and when, and whether any green surfaces were rebuilt or modified.
Sources & Notes
Cleveland Metroparks, “Manakiki Golf Course” (official course page; history/features; 1990 master plan items; 1944 sale; Jan. 1, 1961 public opening; hole-specific notes for #8, #10, #15, #18).
Cleveland Metroparks, “Manakiki Scorecard (2025)” (official yardage/par; header crediting “Donald Ross – 1929”).
GreenBook Cleveland, “Manakiki Country Club” (opening date June 29, 1929; club origins from Willowick group; post-war disposition to Metroparks).
The Fried Egg, Andy Johnson, “Restoring interest: The 2nd at Manakiki” (aerial analysis of hole #2; discussion of fairway/green shrinkage and tree impact).
Golf Compendium, “Carling Open (PGA Tour Tournament)” (event played at Manakiki in 1953–54; winners Cary Middlecoff, Julius Boros).
Encyclopedia of Cleveland History (Case Western Reserve University), “North Chagrin Reservation” (notes 1944 addition of Manakiki; public play following a 1960 court order).
GOLF.com, “Muni Mondays: How beer is helping Cleveland fund its golf courses” (secondary narrative confirming $1 sale in 1944; used here only to triangulate with Metroparks history).
Top100GolfCourses.com, “Manakiki Golf Course” (editorial note on early-1990s upgrades intended to restore design intent; secondary context on post-1961 public status).