At its peak, Hidden Hills Golf Course had 39 leagues and multiple high school golf teams played home matches there, including Lake, Woodmore, Clay, and Rossford.

“At one time, 60 percent of the high school golfers came from the clinic. We’ve had nine schools that have used our course as their home course but since that time a lot of other courses have opened up that they moved to,” managing partner Mickey Pierce said.

“I think one of the best things we did was starting a youth program 30 years ago. We opened the course up to youth and we have an eight-week clinic and we’ve had as much as 108 kids in one clinic,”

At 2 p.m. on July 23, the course on County Road 16, Woodville, will be auctioned after being family-owned for 44 years. Hidden Hills was built by Mickey’s parents, the late Oral Devell Pierce and wife Edith Elizabeth Pierce, 92, and opened in 1968.

According to websites specializing in golf, it is considered a good course for beginners because of its wide open fairways on the front and a short back nine. That does not mean just anyone can expect to score low. The PGA rating is 70.2 and the slope is 66.

“I’ll tell you what, a lot of people have said, ‘It’s not as tough as this, it’s not as tough as that,’ but I’ve cleaned out thousands of golf carts after people played and I’ve looked at dozens of score cards, and very seldom do I see par on the score,” Mickey said. “Golf is played with the brain a lot. You have got to program where you are going to be.”

The course record is 69, set by Floyd Goodwin of Perrysburg. The oldest continuous league still playing is an all-female group called Hill’s Angels, which dates back to 1971.

“It got that name because it was the (television show) ‘Charlie’s Angels’ time. Last year was the last time one of the original ladies played. It’s one of my best leagues,” Mickey said.

Many fundraising scrambles have traditionally been held at Hidden Hills. For the past 32 years, the course has hosted a ladies day golf outing in July to benefit Hospice of Northwest Ohio in memory of Paul Johnson, Ralph Pierce, and Bill Berry.

If you ask Mickey Pierce which holes are his favorites, he doesn’t hesitate. He includes the two long par 3s on the front.

“I think No. 8 (par 4) is my favorite hole because it’s got eight different tees. It’s long enough with a pond, and it’s got real challenges to it. No. 9 (200-plus yard par 3) is a hard hole to play because of the distance and the creek,” Mickey said.

“It’s (nearly 200 yard par 3, No. 4) a long hole, and when you play from the blue tees it can be a tough course. As far as the back, my favorite hole is 13 because it’s got the creek, it’s got the pond, and you’ve got to place what you are going to do.”

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