The Apple Valley Golf Course at 433 Clubhouse Drive in Howard, has been a local favorite since it was established in 1972, and among the events it hosts, including the Ohio Public Golfers Associations Mid-Amateur (over 25 years of age), which is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, May 20 and 21. The course is home to the Monday Golf League at Apple Valley. According to league event-runner James Long, who has been in the league for more than 40 years, it began as the Mount Vernon Business Men’s League.
“The person who ran the league joined around 1980, that was Rick Shaw,” said Long. “Around 2000, Roland Hanna took over for another 20 years. Both guys did a very nice job, and for the last three or four years, the league was run by Shawn Whitehead of Loudonville. I assisted Shawn the last two years and now I am ‘in charge’ of things.”
League action began earlier this week – Monday, May 8 – and Long is certain that there will be some great play this season. “We had a hole-in-one many years ago and went for a long stretch until Sean Whitehead (son of Shawn) had one on hole five two years ago. Then last year Larry Salve also aced number five,” Long said.
Anyone interested in joining the league should contact Long. “If someone wants to be in the league, they should contact me,” Long said. “We have eight teams and 32 players. We also have an extensive sub-list, and if anyone wants to play this year, they would be on the sub-list and be considered if someone drops out. They can also ask to be considered for 2024.”
Long said new players can still sign up but until the league gets underway, there are no openings. Long does advise that “due to the age of many of us, injuries and job changes, etc., one or two openings happen most years.”
The season will last 16 weeks, of which 14 weeks are regular play – no play on Memorial Day and July 4 weekends. The league ends in late August and there is a league outing on the second Sunday of September in which there is an 18-hole event, a steak dinner, and season prize money/awards are rewarded.
To determine the eight teams, Long and his associates take the 32 players and separate them by handicaps, mostly from previous seasons or what they bring with them if they are new. There are four flights, and the eight lowest handicaps will be on the first flight, the next lowest on the second flight and so on. Players will only compete against others on their respective flights. After handicaps are established, they are adjusted every two weeks to keep play as even as possible.
The league is still selecting sponsors. For information, contact James Long at jamrlong45@gmail.com.
Crouch advances to the Open qualifying final
In other local golfing news, a local golfer has qualified to compete for a spot in the U.S. Open. In the May 1 U.S. Open qualifier at Scioto Reserve Country Club in Powell, Ohio, local golfer and instructor T.T. Crouch advanced to final qualifying, where he will compete for a spot in this year’s U.S. Open at The Los Angeles Country Club from June 15-18. He will have a choice of 11 final qualifying sites with most of these qualifiers taking place on June 5. Crouch played community golf in Mount Vernon as a teenager, played golf for and graduated from Mount Vernon High School in 2010 and received a full scholarship to play golf at Florida Southern College, where he won back-to-back Division II national championships, before turning pro. He won the Ohio Open in 2016 and was the 2018 PGA Tour of Canada champion. Crouch currently is an assistant golf coach at Mount Vernon Nazarene University.
