Barnes, 55, was a golfing great because he was great for the game of golf.
People stood in line for nearly two hours, most of the time in the glaring sun and high humidity outside the Hummel Funeral Home in Akron on Monday, waiting to pay their respects to a golfing great.
And, yes, David Keith Barnes was a golfing great because he was great for the game of golf.
He was taken from us way too early one week ago today at the age of 55, a victim of pancreatic cancer.
Many people knew "Barnsey" as the guy in the ever-present Titleist hat standing behind the counter or running golf carts or marshalling the course at either Mud Run or J. Edward Good Park, the two popular municipally run courses where he spent much of his time for the past 44 years. He began playing at Good Park around the age of 10 and became the general manager at both courses. He was much more than that.
Foremost, he was a husband and a father. He was a youth basketball coach who taught kids that sportsmanship and playing with dignity were just as important as winning. He was the vice president of the Akron District Golf Association for 17 years. He was a fine cook, a great storyteller and a guy who knew how to host a party. He had a great sense of humor, an ever-present twinkle in his eye and a smile that could charm a junkyard dog.
Barnes played basketball and golf at Buchtel and to this day remains the only University of Akron golfer to be named a first-team All-American. He finished fifth in the 1976 Division II national championship. He was inducted into the university's hall of fame in 1992 and into the Summit County Hall of Fame in 1995.
If there were a hall of fame for human beings, he'd be in there, too. I will miss Dave Barnes. So, too, will golf.
Sign in: The Northern Ohio PGA is accepting applications for the 87th annual Ohio Open, to be played July 19-21 at Quail Hollow Country Club. The event, sponsored by Minute Men Staffing, is open to all who have been Ohio residents for at least 120 days prior to the tournament, any NOPGA Section member in good standing and amateurs who can show proof of a USGA index of 4.0 or lower. Massillon's Vaughn Snyder is the defending champion, and Walden pro Mitch Camp is the reigning senior champ. Past champions include Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson, Herman Keiser, Tom Weiskopf and Denny Shute.
She's got spirit: Kent State junior Sarah Bradley was named recipient of the Kim Moore Spirit Award by the National Golf Coaches Association last month. Bradley, from Cambridge, New Zealand, was involved in a serious automobile accident in 2008 while attending Oklahoma State. After 18 months away from the game, she transferred to KSU and played in all 12 tournaments this past season. She helped the Golden Flashes advance to the NCAA Championships for the fourth time. Her 77.6 scoring average was third best on the team.
Westwood wins: Westwood won the first of five rounds of team play conducted by the Cleveland Women's Golf Association on May 26 with a score of 217 1/2 at Chagrin Valley in Chagrin Falls. Canterbury was second (193.5) and Kirtland was third (183) in the match-play competition. The second round will be Thursday at the Country Club in Pepper Pike.
A mess: The owners and operators of Thunder Hill Golf Club and the adjoining Little Thunder Golf Club are at odds, and their disagreement will be settled in court. The course is owned by Fore D's Golf. It is leased by TK Golf. Each side has filed a lawsuit against the other over the status of the club and how it is run. Lake County Common Pleas Judge Vincent Culotta has scheduled a hearing on June 10. In the meantime, TK Golf General Manager Kevin Leymaster said the club will remain open.
"We have no plans of going anywhere," he said. "The course is in as good a shape as ever."
Brent Silverman, attorney for Fore D's, declined comment.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: trogers@plaind.com, 216-999-5169