NOHIO Golf News

Perhaps it’s time for Northeast Ohio tournament players to examine a different kind of charity “Cup” that moves past the dated ‘public vs. private’ concept and creates a better team competition for an improved donation amount.

The idea of teams made up of players coming from either public or private courses stopped being relevant when the economy hit the skids — not the recent financial slowdowns, mind you, but the one ten years back in 2002.

Those early ‘ought’ years turned the golf business on its head for good and changed where most golf was played, how golf was paid for (and written off), and what it meant to be a member at many clubs.

So why is the area’s most recognizable competitive charity golf event — which, to be candid, has lagged in interest and donations the last few years — still using the contrived formula of ‘public vs. private’?

Let’s kick around another idea that might improve the interest level, the media coverage, and the amount of money donated to a worthy cause.

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Recruiting for this year’s Shaw Cup, the annual public vs. private team match event, has just begun. But word from some of the recruited players who have heard from the team captains of the event is that the tournament is lessening its focus as a fundraiser for the Edwin Shaw Hospital, and that it plans to step on the September dates of the Akron District Golf Association’s Golfer of the Year Tournament.

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The groupings and starting times for the 36-hole June 4th Columbus, Ohio U.S. Open Sectional Qualifier have been released, and because it’s being played the week after the Memorial Tournament it’s a who’s-who of Tour players who aren’t exempt into the U.S. Open. But there are some recognizable Northeast Ohio golfer names sprinkled in as well:

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In their meeting Monday night, the Aurora City Council approved an agreement to use Ohio EPA taxpayer funds to give a whopping $3.9 million to current Aurora Golf Club owner Hunter Banbury, so together they can shut down the golf course and turn it into a park and river restoration project.

Even with the inflated $3.9 million dollar purchase price, Banbury still retains ownership of the 10 commercially-zoned acres around the clubhouse and its main buildings — a sweetheart deal by any definition. Banbury paid $2.5 million for the entire property in 2007.

So what, if anything, can still be done?

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