Yankee Run Golf Course in Brookfield, Ohio (near the PA border) will host a 5-Man Scramble on Sunday, April 26 with a 9 a.m. shotgun. Teams may consist of 5 ams or 1 pro & 4 ams. Entry fee is $100 per player and includes entry, carts, skins and a ‘burger buffet’. First place is $4,000 based on 36 teams. Complete details on the event can be found at the Yankee Run GC website here.

– Allen Freeman

The SCAGA 2-Man Scramble at Zoar GC on Sunday, April 26th will be a shotgun start at 8:00 A.M. This creates a few challenges to tee off on time, so we need players’ help.

If all players could send a check or money order to SCAGA at P.O. Box 8483, Canton OH 44711 prior to the event, it will help to assure we tee off on time. [Read more →]

Entry blanks are posted online now for all of the 2009 Ohio “state amateur championships” as conducted by the Ohio Golf Association. Players can download these entry blanks at the Ohio Golf Association website:

OHIO AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP:
07/13 – 07/17/2009, Moraine Country Club

OHIO AMATEUR QUALIFYING EVENTS:
05/26/2009  Country Club at Fox Meadow
05/26/2009  Oasis Golf Club
05/26/2009  Springfield Country Club
05/26/2009  Rattlesnake Ridge Golf Club
06/01/2009  Alliance Country Club
06/04/2009  Red Hawk Run Golf Course

OHIO MID-AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP:
06/15 – 06/17/2009, Sylvania Country Club

OHIO SENIOR AMATEUR:
08/17 – 08/19/2009, Congress Lake Club

OGA FOUR-BALL:
08/31 – 09/02/2009, Columbus Country Club

– Allen Freeman

If you want to try a different set of events this year, give the Cleveland version of the Golf Galaxy Tour a shot.

Yes, they pay gift certificate prizes to Golf Galaxy, and yes, the fields may not be quite as deep and competitive as some. But the roster of courses is top-notch, the events are well-run, and the costs to play are pretty reasonable.

In fact, you can save even more money: get another $10 off on those already reasonable entry fees by using the promo code NEOHGOLF every time you register online for an event! [Read more →]

More golf rumors, whispers, innuendos and half-truths:

- Add this one to the ‘bogus story’ category: rumors that the Country Club of Ashland is in financial distress and may not open for the 2009 season are FALSE.

“I don’t know where these things come from,” sighed Dan Priest, head pro at Ashland. “The club is open, we are still private and expect a great year. The dining room is now open for business to the public, but that has no affect on the club or course. The Ashland Am-Am is on the schedule for June 13-14 and we’re looking forward to it.”

Good news for one of the top Northeast Ohio golf tournaments of the summer…

– Allen Freeman

More golf rumors, whispers, innuendos and half-truths:

- An ‘open letter’ to every greater Cleveland area golf association and tournament director for 2009: with guys more than willing to keep their money in their pocket this year due to a roller-coaster of an economy, it is CRITICAL that every golf event show true value for the entry fee dollar. [Read more →]

UPDATE – March 19th: Still one month in advance of the event date, an incredible 29 teams have already registered to play! That means there is only one open team spot left! Additional teams will be placed on a waiting list, then contacted should any of the first 30 not confirm their entire team a week prior to the event. Great work by Dave Morgan and Dave Weisenberger in building a worthwhile kick-off event for the 2009 season… –AF

After a successful first-time event this past fall, the fun and well-conditioned Eagle Creek Golf Course in Norwalk will play host to a Spring 6-Man Cash Scramble on Sunday, April 19th.

Teams may consist of 6 amateur players or 1 pro and 5 amateur players. The event will have a 10 a.m. shotgun start. Entry fee is $100 per player, which includes everything: the tournament entry, golf, cart and skins game entry. [Read more →]

In an effort to make the schedule more flexible for some of the multi-day events, and to add more one-day events to the rotation, the Akron District Golf Association has announced a series of changes with the release of its finalized 2009 tournament schedule. [Read more →]

The 2009 schedule for the Cleveland Skins Game will be finalized and released on April 1st, states Director John Niedzialek.

Look to the Northeast Ohio Golf website for this release, and as always players can reach the Cleveland Skins section of the site directly via http://ClevelandSkins.com…

Some early season golf rumors, whispers, innuendos and half-truths:

- Although dates have been posted to the Tournament Calendar for the ADGA and CGA, watch for some schedule changes coming soon in an effort to eliminate conflicting events and to make it easier to get guys to play in the multi-round formats;

- John Niedzialek and the Cleveland Skins Game plans to make its case to the Metroparks pros running the Greater Cleveland Amateur Championship to include their top five players into the Am’s “exemptions list”. Here’s hoping that happens;

- Big fun for the old guys this year! The 2009 Ohio Senior Amateur Championship will be played in Northeast Ohio, at the beautiful Congress Lake Club in Hartville August 17-19. Details to be posted soon at OhioGolf.org;

- NOGA’s 2009 Northeast Ohio Am will be played at Lake Forest, Oberlin and Lakewood Country Clubs this year — a fun, challenging, ‘all private’ rotation;

- The local qualifiers this spring for the 2009 Ohio Amateur are at the Country Club at Fox Meadows in Medina and at Alliance Country Club. The 2009 Ohio Am proper will be played at Moraine CC in Kettering, near Dayton. Entry blank available here;

- 2008 ‘Public Team’ captain Joe Ungvary Jr. has made it his mission to get some “new blood” (i.e. players) into the Shaw Cup this year, and to expand the event itself and the extra-curriculars, too. It will be interesting to see what expansion he can manage in a tough economy;

- Speaking of the economy, it also will be interesting to track overall league and tournament participation this year. Some people are struggling financially, and others aren’t really struggling but are worried that they might struggle at some point in the future. A lot of golfers fall into the latter category. The screaming media has everyone guessing, and fear may make golfers stay at work and away from the course. Let’s hope some rational thought takes over soon;

More ‘golf chatter’ later…

– Allen Freeman

The Stark County Amateur Golf Association has named the Northeast Ohio Golf website its official golf news site, and its Director will post all 2009 information, tee times, scores and results directly to NEOHgolf.com for the association. [Read more →]

It’s no big secret that the economy is in bad shape. That being said, the Stark County Amateur Golf Association is trying its best to keep competitive golf in Stark and surrounding counties alive and well. And to that end, we’ve made some changes for 2009. [Read more →]