In the turf neighborhood

A horrible or good neighbor?

I quietly ask myself this question every time I pass a northeast Ohio golf course.

Golf Course Industry is based in the northeast quadrant of the state, a once-industrial hotbed that includes Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, Canton, and dozens of other fascinating cities and communities. The golf in our region is splendid.

Family-owned courses still dot the terrain, which becomes desktop flat west of Cleveland. Municipalities continue to boost the game by offering residents quality products at affordable rates. Most of the private clubs remaining in the region — recessions aren’t kind to northeast Ohio — are venerable. Ross, Flynn, Colt, Alison, Thompson and Tillinghast designed courses for industrialists and entrepreneurs. Ditto for Jones, Dye and Fazio.

Playing golf in northeast Ohio isn’t exorbitantly expensive or time-consuming. I can leave our office at any moment, head 30 minutes east, west or south (Lake Erie makes it implausible to drive north), and find somewhere to walk nine in less than two hours for under $25. We live in a “buyer’s” golf market.

I strategically curtail personal and work travel from May until October, because I detest missing significant stretches of the prime golf season. I become somewhat despondent in early November when frost emerges and daylight dwindles. I begin to make mental notes of the courses I failed to patronize the previous six months.

Winter isn’t what it used to be in northeast Ohio. I have lived in the region for a decade. Many of those years I have squeezed in a round during all 12 months. Bonus golf can be the best golf.

The real standouts in northeast Ohio are the people responsible for maintaining the region’s courses. Thousands of present and past superintendents were either born or developed in northeast Ohio. Some have moved to warmer places. Those who stick around often experience long and fulfilling careers. Loyalty seems to flow in both directions in northeast Ohio. It isn’t like that everywhere.

Unfortunately, we don’t know as many superintendents working in the neighborhood as we should. Our Golf Course Industry team strives to avoid playing geographic favorites. We wouldn’t be a viable or effective national and international content provider if we told stories originating from the same region. Does that make us bad turf neighbors?

Every year, I tell myself I’m going to schedule one or two local superintendent visits per month. Every year, I fail to hit that target. Similar to the region’s sports teams, it’s a maybe-next-year mentality.

I realized my lack of local connections while editing Jacob Hansen’s profile of the relationship between current Northern Ohio GCSA members and the 100-year-old chapter (page 24). Jacob, our outstanding 2023 summer intern, recently launched his sports writing career at the Chagrin Valley Times in suburban Cleveland.

The NOGCSA is the planet’s first formal superintendent chapter. The camaraderie and idea exchange continually elevating the industry stems from a 1923 meeting between Col. John Morley and his peers at Youngstown Country Club. The challenges and expectations facing today’s superintendents are stark contrasts to what Col. Morley and his peers experienced in 1923. But the impetus behind a local chapter remains the same: support and lift your peers any way possible.

Our editors and writers navigate a murky space. We don’t work on golf courses (anymore) and we’re not chapter members, yet our storytelling duties make us an extension of the industry. We care deeply about the people who make golf the greatest game of all.

There’s no right or wrong answer to the question at the start of the column. I feel conflicted when I pass or play a northeast Ohio course where I don’t personally know the superintendent. As somebody who tries to play 27 holes per week, including nine holes almost every Wednesday at Bob-O-Link Golf Course on Cleveland’s far West Side as part of the Hooligans Golf League, I feel good about financially supporting the people who produce meaningful recreation and protect greenspace in an urbanized region.

Maybe next year, when the NOGCSA turns 101, I’ll develop into a better industry neighbor and find hands-on ways to make Col. Morley proud.