Hawks Nest Golf Course

Hawks Nest Golf Course was the vision of Wooster's Earl and Betty Hawkins, who built the public layout in the rolling farmland near Creston. Architect Stephen Burns routed the course over dramatic terrain; the first nine holes opened in July 1993 and the back nine followed in May 1994. The result quickly earned statewide acclaim, with Golf Digest ranking Hawks Nest among Ohio's top public-access courses. In 2007 the Hawkins family donated the entire facility to Ohio State University's Agricultural Technical Institute (ATI) in Wooster, a gift valued around $4.6 million and the largest in the institute's history. Renamed Hawk's Nest at Ohio State ATI, the course now doubles as a living laboratory for the university's turfgrass and golf-course-management students while remaining open to the public. Elevation changes, water and strong conditioning still make it a regional favorite.