A chance visit to Columbus, Ohio, turned into a little journey in the history of one of the greatest, Jack Nicklaus. As my host Mike turned the car at the Lane Avenue and took the Riverside drive, my golfer’s eye couldn’t help but notice the signboard which said Scioto Country club. Though I was excited about Mike’s promise to enable a round at the legendary Muirfield Village GC, Dublin OH, the signature course of Jack Nicklaus, where the Memorial Tournament has been held every year since 1976, I had never really heard of Scioto. Mike started by correcting my pronunciation and said it sounded like SCIOTO (as in science) as against my SCIOTO (as in the sky) and then went on to belt out amazing facts about the course. He asked, ‘Ajit, my Golf Travel expert friend, did you know…
- The course was designed by the legendary Donald Ross?
- The 1926 US Open won by the great Bobby Jones was held here?
- The 1931 Ryder Cup, 1950 PGA Championship, 1968 US Amateur, and so many more top tournaments found their home here?
- Scioto was declared the 57th out of the 100 Greatest Golf courses in History?
- Jack Nicklaus spent a good bit of his youth honing his skills with the great teacher Jack Grout in Scioto Country Club?
WOW! I was embarrassed, I was right in front of a course which should be a part of any Golfing Pilgrim’s agenda and didn’t know enough about it.
As we drove down the road, my golfing senses started tingling and I dared to ask Mike if we could postpone our planned meeting and make a quick visit to the course. And so we made our way, in the terrible freezing rain of a Columbus November, to the Scioto Club House. The most charming clubhouse was only bettered by the most welcoming Golf Manager who said he had no problem with us looking around since we were crazy enough to do it in this weather! And so we set foot on the Legend. Through the bad weather, I could clearly see a fair yet demanding course with clever bunkering near each pushed up green. Crazy as it may sound, images of Bobby Jones playing out of the Bunkers, Jack Nicklaus practicing his putting on the tricky contoured greens did come to my mind while walking around!
Thirty minutes later I was back in the car with Mike, still dreaming about what I had not known but had the luck to see, wondering whether we would now need to get to our mundane meeting when my eye fell upon a signboard “The Jack Nicklaus Museum”. A quick glance up at Mike, and a wry smile on his face and we both instantly knew where we were headed next!
