A short time ago I blogged about the variety of private-club golf riches in Columbus, Ohio. But what if, unlike Tony Soprano, one isn't "connected?" Columbus-bound private club devotees are, as a Scotsman might say, "spoiled for choice," but in the public-golf arena there's just one clear choice: Visit the course as distinctive as its name: Longaberger.

Designed by Ohioan Art Hills, Longaberger Golf Club in Nashport, Ohio is one of the finest public golf experiences in the nation. Now a decade old, this parkland beauty rises and swoops through some of the finest farmland in the Midwest. (In fact the club was put together after the purchase of a half-dozen separate family farms.) This up-and-down sensibility culminates with a 135-foot drop from tee to fairway on the par-5 fourth hole.

Longaberger was the first public golf course in Ohio to achieve certification through the Audubon International Signature Program and was designated as a Certified Signature Sanctuary in 2001. So both birds and avid golfers flock to this lush facility, with its competitive green fee structure, full-service pro shop and beautiful, hilltop clubhouse. It's won nearly as many major awards as there are holes on the course, the highlights of which include the #1 Public Course in Ohio, as designated by both Golfweek and GOLF Magazine, and with two notable awards from Golf Digest: Cited as one of America's Greatest 100 Public Courses, and as one of just 16 Five-Star Public Courses.

With a top-end rate of $99, and cheaper still in shoulder season, Longaberger Golf Club is both a blast and bargain concurrently.

Click here to leave a comment for Joel Zuckerman, AKA The Vagabond Golfer.

[Editor's Note: Reader our readers' reviews of Longaberger Golf Club.]