Ohio on par with exceptional golf courses

by Joe Arnold
Staff Writer

From the rolling hills of Dublin to the greens of Galena, the Buckeye State is home to many of the country's premier golf courses.

Ohio has nine golf courses on the ••Golf Digest•• biennial ranking of America's 100 greatest golf courses. Muirfield Village Country Club in Dublin, home to this weekend's the Memorial Tournament, placed highest of the Ohio courses at 17th. The Inverness Club in Toledo ranked 24th and Scioto Country Club in Columbus placed 29th.

According to John Stelzer, a 1996 Ohio University graduate and media relations director for Muirfield Village, the Jack Nicklaus-designed course is one of the best in the state.

"Muirfield Village has always been one of the top, if not the top course in Ohio," he said. "It was designed by the greatest golfer in the game. It's his baby. He was born and raised in Columbus and he really put his heart in it. It really is an immaculate conception all the way around."

Golf's increased popularity has put Ohio ahead of other states in terms of the quality of golf courses, Stelzer said.

"The people in Ohio are really golf-smart people," he said. "They enjoy and support and play golf. I think there's been an increased demand for golf, and designers and builders are just feeding this need. There are a lot more people playing golf. If you go out on the weekends, courses are just packed. Golf courses know that people are going to come."

David Graf, head golf professional at Inverness Club and Professional Golf Association master pro, said that while rating golf courses is helpful, it also is subjective.

"(Rankings) are no different than the NCAA Tournament seeding," he said. "They rank teams from one to 64, but are those seedings reflections of how good the teams are? Sometimes they are, and sometimes they aren't. Golf course rankings are the same way."

Even so, the Inverness Club in Toledo has steadily increased its ••Golf Digest•• ranking. In 1993-94, the course was ranked 48th. By 1999-2000, its ranking rose to 29^th, and it currently sits at the 24^th spot.

"We're pleased to be in the top 100," Graf said. "We've been moving up from the 48th place for a while now. I think we're moving in the right direction and we're optimistic that we'll continue to rise."

Ohio's love for the game of golf has perpetuated the growth of new golf courses and increased the prestige of existing courses, Graf said.

"There are five or six big cities in Ohio alone that have hosted majors, and that is just a reflection of golf in Ohio," he said. "Next to Chicago, I think Columbus is one of the top golf cities in the country. It's home to Nicklaus and (Tom) Weiskopf. Ohio is a very golf-intense state. I don't know of many other states that love golf the way Ohioans do."

Ron Whitten, architecture editor for ••Golf Digest••, said two things set Ohio apart from other states in terms of quality golf courses.

"The state has good golfing land," he said. "There is a lot of rolling terrain that makes it ideal for golf courses. Second, Ohio is fortunate to have a lot of premier golf architects."

An exceptional golf course should provide a golfer, whether pro or scratch, with an outlet for escape, and Muirfield Village does just that, he said.

"Personally, I think Muirfield Village is the premier course in Ohio simply because of its visibility and its connection to Jack Nicklaus," he said. "It's a hell of a golf course."

Ohio's fan base should cement its future as a top golf state in the country, Stelzer said.

"There is a very bright future for Ohio," he said. "The game has great tradition, history and base in Ohio."