Binge Golf - Dave’s Midwestern Ohio Memories

A Series of Guest Blogs by an out-of-state Fish Report reader originally from this area about fond memories of growing up in Midwestern Ohio during the 50’s & 60’s.

Binge Golf

Ever since retiring, I’ve been invited every year by a fraternity brother to play Double Eagle Golf Club, shown in the aerial photo above. The Club is in Galena, Ohio, north of Columbus and the goal for their guests as shown below is “to enjoy the game of golf in near perfect surroundings”.

Double Eagle’s founder, John McConnell a WWII Iwo Jima veteran, was the owner of Columbus-based steelmaker, Worthington Industries, until his death in 2008. The land where the golf course is located was once a hunting preserve for his employees. When it became known that the land was to be converted to a golf course, a number of employees wrote a letter asking for a meeting with him to request that the land be kept as a hunting preserve. Now Mr. McConnell was a cigar-chomping, old-style, tough-as-nails businessman, who upon their arrival, purposefully took the tip of his cigar, lit the letter in the corner and threw it in the waste basket. That burnt remnant of the letter is now framed and prominently displayed in the front lobby of the Double Eagle club house that is visible behind our binge golf participants shown in the photo below. Mr. McConnell’s and his wife Peggy’s ashes have been spread over the par three 16th hole shown in the above aerial view where his wife once scored a hole-in-one while they were playing together. There is a monument plaque in the ground behind the green commemorating their lives. The couple's former home on the golf course grounds is now used for conferences and overnight golfers.

Double Eagle represents quite a contrast to the local courses I first played years ago, Shelby Oaks and Arrowhead, both literally carved out of “cow pastures”. Never having a lesson back in those days, I honed my "grooved swing" over the years, adjusting on the fly to whatever worked. Click on this previous blogpost about my first round while in high school. Ironically, as stated in the blog, I scored a 45 on my first ever 9 hole round, and that is just what I scored to close out our last nine at Double Eagle this past week. Some things never change!

The eight of us had a great time playing binge golf last week. Our host is on the far right and that’s me on the far left. We departed at 5:30 in the morning for the three hour trip, played 36 holes the first day (thus the “binge golf” moniker for this annual event), followed by dinner at the Club. Each of us brings a bottle of wine to share, and all 8 bottles somehow always disappear as the evening progresses. We started that practice years ago after one of the guys (Mark Mathews - second from right) who claims to be a wine connoisseur, ordered the most expensive vintages from the Club's fine wine list. Our host made this discovery when he eventually analyzed his monthly bill from the Club so the costs could be divided. Ouch! The next year, our host brought along a bottle of Two Buck Chuck (Charles Shaw Winery) and had the Club decant it so Mr. Mathews, with the self-proclaimed "fine wine palate" that cost us big time the previous year, couldn’t see the label. He tasted it and really thought it was an outstanding wine, exuberantly describing the nuances of the flavor and aroma. Then the empty bottle suddenly appears and we all had a hearty laugh at his expense. This year, he brings a cheap bottle of wine from of all places, Mathews winery in Washington state that was not spectacular. Next year we’re already planning to have fake labels made up with each of our last names to paste on our respective bottles.

After arriving at the Club, I was assigned to a locker right across from lockers of two famous Double Eagle members as shown in the photo below. For all you Buckeye fans, I did leave a maize and blue deposit in Urban’s locker!

After 36 holes, wine and dinner, we then proceeded to the illuminated putting green to play “putting for dollars”, eventually adjourning to our on-site cottage with bedrooms at each corner and a large great room in the middle to watch the last quarter of the Cavs-Warriors NBA Finals game on a huge big screen HDTV.

After a restful night’s sleep, we were up again bright eyed and bushy tailed the next morning to play another round. The finishing hole is a long par five over water from both the tee and to an elevated green behind the Clubhouse as pictured below. I don’t ever recall having made par on the hole! Most likely neither has our host, as after any errant shot, he puts the blame squarely on his once-broken collarbone that occurred back in college during a pick-up football game when I tried to block a punt he was kicking and my arm come down on his collarbone, breaking it in several places! He’s earned many, many handicap adjustments out of that incident from 50 years ago!

After the round, we enjoyed lunch, dividing up the winnings and sharing stories of the round before heading home. On the way back to Michigan, we were lamenting that our gracious host is in the process of selling his home, with plans to eventually move to Asheville, NC (he claims the arthritis in his collarbone is forcing him to warmer climes!). Unfortunately, once the move occurs, he will probably give up his membership at Double Eagle - boo hoo! But then we suddenly realized that Augusta National is only 3 hours from Asheville. We challenged him to get a membership there (right!), so we can upgrade our “enjoyment of golf from near perfect to perfect surroundings”.