Potter's Park GC Hamilton OH and a cool discovery

[Tom Yost]

I never met my grandfather, George Edward Yost, who passed away at the young age of 56, two years before I was born.

I don’t know too much about him.  Like many, I sadly didn’t take much interest in my family history until later in life, after anyone who could tell stories or answer questions had passed on.  I do know he was the first in four generations to move away from a small farming town in eastern Pennsylvania.  He was a retail management “troubleshooter” brought in to turnaround struggling small businesses.  This occupation led him to a series of moves from town to town, eventually to my hometown, Middletown Ohio, where he settled to raise a family.

I also know he played golf.  I knew this because my father, who also played and passed along the joy of the game to me, often lamented his lack of any holes-in-one by mentioning that my Grandpa had once scored an ace.

I spent a week in my hometown this summer visiting family and friends.  Part of this trip was planned to play as much golf as possible with my brother. As we researched places to play, I moaned about how most of our courses in Arizona are of the modern style and how I was really interested in playing some older school layouts.  Courses defined by the lay of the land rather than bulldozer shaping, real estate routings and “signature holes.”  We came across the name “Potter’s Park.”  Something in the deep recesses of my memory made me think it sounded familiar.  I asked my brother if that was where Grandpa got his hole-in-one.  He didn’t know, nor did he seem to keen to play it, “short, and quirky” was his description.  Well that sealed the deal for me.  We would play Potter’s Park, possible site of the legend of Grandpa’s hole-in-one.

[Tom Yost]

Potter’s Park Golf Course is a City of Hamilton municipal established in 1927.  It is less than 5400 yards, par 69 and has no known architectural pedigree that I could uncover.  It is sited on a gently rolling property, with a general slope from west to east down to a small creek that comes into play on several holes.

A short photo tour of Potter’s Park Golf Course:

The front of the clubhouse with putting green.



Warming up on the first tee.



First hole - uphill dogleg right requires a bit of shot shaping.



View from behind the first green



Greensite of the second hole:



WPA-era shelters are scattered about the course.



The third features a wedge approach over a deep swale to a crowned hilltop green.



Downhill par 5 fourth from the tee.



Uphill approach at the sixth.



All of the amenities are featured at Potter’s



The approach to the sixth crosses the creek and features another WPA era construction.



A stately home overlooks the sixth green.



The ninth is a long uphill par 3



Par 3 Eleventh



The back nine features two more long par 3’s.   Thirteen from the tee.



My tee shot fell short and left this approach.



Fifteen from the tee.



The eighteenth has a blind tee shot and features a lookout platform.

[Tom Yost]

We finished the round and headed inside for a beer.  On the way to the washroom, I discovered a basically empty back room with some ancient plaques on the wall.  



The first one was the Club Championship, the next was the City Championship.  I moved on to a third plaque and discovered the “Potter’s Park Hole-In-One Club.”  



I summoned my brother and we began looking at the names.  The plaque had seemingly not been updated for 40 years as the most recent name was from 1972.  Knowing my grandfather had passed away in 1953, I started in the middle and began perusing the names.  I scaned all the names from the 1950’s.  Nothing.   On through the 1940’s.  Nothing. I move through the 1930’s and am on the top row.  

“Brother, I think our family legend may be in question,” I said.  

Then, I came to the second badge on the very top of the plaque.


We looked at the scorecard and noted the 14th is a par 4, and deducted that the nines had been swapped at some point, so the 14th is now the 5th.  We delightfully told everyone in the clubhouse who would listen of our discovery and then raised a toast to our Grandfather’s hole-in-one and celebrated the authentication of a family legend.

Punchbowl greensite at the par 3 fifth.

[BCowan]

Tom

    Great Post and Story.  I think the course has a lot of great land features and is a gem, will have to try and squeeze a round in there this spring!

[Tom Allen]

Great story, and small world.  I too hail from Middletown (still do, in fact).  I also have played Potter's Park many times.  Interesting layout, and like you again, I can not find any history about the architect, despite several attempts to do so.

Glad you were able to find that plaque!

I am sure you have played Weatherwax in Middletown (a 36 hole Art Hills design). If not, do so soon--it is being sold by the City because it has been operating at a loss for a while.  I am not sure it will continue in operation for much longer.

Tom

[BCowan]

Tom Allen

   The muni's in Toledo are run by private people/companies.  The city used to run them at a loss too, until they went to private management running them and turning a profit. 

[Greg Gilson]

Tom, great post & story. Thanks.

[Tom Yost]

Great story, and small world.  I too hail from Middletown (still do, in fact).  I also have played Potter's Park many times.  Interesting layout, and like you again, I can not find any history about the architect, despite several attempts to do so.

Glad you were able to find that plaque!

I am sure you have played Weatherwax in Middletown (a 36 hole Art Hills design). If not, do so soon--it is being sold by the City because it has been operating at a loss for a while.  I am not sure it will continue in operation for much longer.

Tom

Thanks Tom.  Don't you play out of Brown's Run?  I had made note of your name to throw a shout out but ran short of time.  Maybe we'll have a chance for a meet-up on my next visit. 

I actually just spoke to my brother on the phone last night (perhaps the motivation to finally post this story) and he mentioned the Weatherwax  deal.   We did play all 36 this summer - hopefully not for the last time. 

[JLahrman]

I am sure you have played Weatherwax in Middletown (a 36 hole Art Hills design). If not, do so soon--it is being sold by the City because it has been operating at a loss for a while.  I am not sure it will continue in operation for much longer.

That is too bad but not really a surprise. I grew up in the Cincinnati area and played a lot of golf at Weatherwax (until I relocated 6 years ago). It's a very nice municipal facility, the greens fees are affordable and the courses are good layouts that were in generally good shape. But it was hard not to notice the dwindling number of players.

[Tom Allen]

Tom, I do play out of Brown's Run (at least for now).  Would love to have hosted you!  Perhaps next time.

I MAY be leaving there, just because I play so little there (playing other courses on various trips, two kids' weekend soccer games and weeknight practices taking priority now, stupid polar vortex not letting me play ANY this winter, etc.).

I would love to have seen Weatherwax go to private management in an effort to see it survive.  In fact, I believe they even got a quote from one or two of the larger golf management companies, but they were not able to get a workable deal.

Let's hope the new owner keeps it going for as long as possible.

[Pete_Pittock]

Tom,
Great story, but you need to work on your foreshadowing . Thank you for sharing. 

[Richard Hetzel]

Great story! Must have been cool to discover that ace plaque. I played Potter's a few years back on a cold, spring day. I thought the course was kinda neat and had some character. I will dig up those pics, there were no leaves on the trees yet when I played. Here are a few that I posted on world golf…

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Tom,

Great story and the course looks like it's a fun place to play.

[David Royer]

I learned to play at Potters.  What a great treat to open the thread.  Thanks Tom.