More than 40 members have joined the club in the last several months and membership now stands around 180.
A quality Donald Ross layout, Acacia Country Club is trying to rebuild its membership while looking for new ownership.
• Hole of the week: No. 10 at Good Park | Hey, T.R.! | Bud Shaw tips video | Charity listingsCLEVELAND, Ohio -- John Clapacs wants people to know that things are looking up at Acacia County Club in Lyndhurst.
Clapacs, the club's membership director, said more than 40 members have joined the Lyndhurst club in the last several months and membership now stands around 180. The club, however, still is for sale.
"We are seeing the culture and personality of the club changing," said Clapacs. "We are becoming more vibrant, more younger. I think we are creating a more fun environment."
The club is offering several new membership packages with in hopes of bolstering the membership, which at one time topped out at several hundred.
"Our top goal is to generate enough members in order to enable the dues for our shareholders to return to their normal levels," he said. He estimated that in recent years shareholders are paying nearly double of what normal dues had been.
"Acacia is a fantastic place," he said. "It is a Donald Ross course that is always in tournament shape and our location is awesome."
For membership information contact Clapacs at jclapacs@acaciacountryclub.com.
Full house: A total of 128 players, hailing from five countries and 14 states, have entered the 32rd annual Hudson Junior Invitational, to be played June 15-16 at the Country Club of Hudson.
Boys champion Boo Timko, from Girard, will return to defend the title he shared last year with Texan Trey Sullivan. Girls champ, Florida's Jordan Lippetz, will not defend. The field includes 92 boys and 36 girls.
Tournament officials have decided not to induct anyone into the tournament's hall of fame this year for lack of suitable candidates. Some of the past inductees included Phil Mickelson, Ben Curtis, John Daly, Jim Furyk, Mike Weir and Grace Park. Daly and Mickelson also are former champs.
Spots open: Applications are being accepted for the 73rd annual Phil Rogers Good Park Junior tournament -- the longest-running continuing junior tournament in the country -- to be held July 7-8-9. Entry deadline is June 30. Call 330-864-0020.
Remembering: The passing of John Wooden reminds us that the former UCLA coaching great was also a pretty good golfer in his day. In fact, in 1947 he had a hole-in-one and a double eagle in the same round at South Bend Country Club.
Heading west: The sixth annual Ohio Women's Open will be held at Kettenring Country Club in Defiance, June 21-22, with a projected purse of $25,000. Women do not need to be residents of Ohio and the event is open to all female golfers whose maximum index does not exceed 14.0. Entry fee is $200 for professionals and $150 for amateurs. Registration is open until June 12. Go to ohiowomensopen.com.
On to the Open: Stow's Ben Curtis is the only local player to qualify for the U.S. Open. The former British Open champ was one of 15 players to make it out of the 36-hole sectional at two courses in Columbus.
Some notables who failed to advance to Pebble Beach out of Columbus included Rocco Mediate, Justin Rose, Tim Petrovic, Bubba Watson, Bobby Clampett, Woody Austin, John Cook and Robert Gamez. Mediate has a chance for a reprieve, as he is the first alternate losing a six-man playoff for the final spot.
Hudson's John Hahn, who chose to attempt to qualify at the sectional played in Springfield, also missed the cut by four shots.