Straight makes good at intriguing Crooked Tree Golf Course in Mason

MASON, Ohio -- Straight is the only game that scores well at Crooked Tree Golf Course.

Crooked Tree, designed by Denny Acomb in 1988, might lack championship-caliber yardage, but it plays deceptively long at 6,443 yards with water on 14 holes. Rolling land gives the place a nice personality, as does its quirky but lovable design. With six par 3s and five par 5s, this par-71 layout can be ripe for a low score with good course management.

Like a game of Frogger, golfers must hop safely from point to point, avoiding obstacles along the way. Trees, creeks and ponds all hem in the narrow fairways (amazingly, there are only 10 bunkers). Three par 5s in the first six holes demand shot-making right out of the gate. Players who hit a good drive off an elevated tee at No. 1 might be tempted to go for the elevated green in two.

The round finishes with a flourish: A cool elevated tee shot at No. 17, a dogleg right par 4, and the par-5 18th, the course's No. 1 handicap hole that requires two carries over creeks along the way.

"It's definitely tight," said Jeremy Howard, a Mason resident who had just finished up his round. "I don't think the scorecard shows it as long as it felt. It is definitely a placement course from shot to shot. It's not just grip it and rip it."