YMCA Golf League’s 96 Year Old History

96-years of consecutive history!

Arnold Palmer: “Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated”

Ben Hogan: “The most important shot in golf is the next one”

When the famous golf course designer from Scotland, Donald Ross, came to the Mahoning Valley and designed Mill Creek Golf Course a community treasure was created. And what better way to celebrate this gem than to form a golf league the year after the course opened, in 1929. The Youngstown YMCA Golf League remains the oldest league in the Valley and is celebrating it’s 96th year! Over the many years, there have been thousands of participants and rounds of golf played. A highlight of that history is that two of the golfers who share the course record for 9 holes did it while playing in the YMCA Golf League. Frank Bellino and Andy Santor both shot a 29 (that’s 6 under par) on separate nights of league play.

An unprecedented event also happened this past year when the same team won the league for a record 3 times in a row. The Royal Oaks team, captained by Jim Zarlenga accomplished this feat that had never happened in the 96 years of league play. As the popularity of golf as a “safe activity” during Covid continues to rise, the YMCA Golf League is poised to continue making history.

This story was also publish in the Business Journal: https://businessjournaldaily.com/article/youngstown-golf-history-runs-through-ymca/