Ohio Golf Journal October 2017

While most of the news in the golf industry centers around golf shops closing, foreclosures or courses shutting down, Lincoln Hills Golf Club, a 9-Hole facility outside of Upper Sandusky, built in 1927, recently opened a new short course. With thegolf craze in full swing during the “Roaring 20’s,” a group of local businessmen decided to commission a golf course be built on an 80-acre tract, east of town. The grounds featured rolling hills and a meandering creek that affects play on seven of the nine holes. It is a local gathering place and you will not find a small community, anywhere in the world, with a higher percentage of avid golfers. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Wyandot County has a total population of 22,000. The county seat and largest city, Upper Sandusky has just under 6,600 residents. Up until a couple of years ago, this golf-mad community supported four golf courses. With the closing of Hickory Grove Golf Club, it still supports Lincoln Hills, plus two others. In 1947, the original owners sold, The Evergreen Golf Club, as it was known, to a pair of brothers, Walter and Ralph Bastel. The name was changed to Lincoln Hills, as it sits alongside the historic Lincoln Highway. It has been owned by the Bastel family since that time. Ralph’s son, Dave returned from military service in WW II and was hired as the club manager and professional. Dave and his wife Barbara began a family and raised their three daughters, Carolyn, Jane and Linda, plus their son, young Dave, on the course. Working on the course and in the shop provided a place to keep the kids busy and out of trouble. With minor tweaking, the course remains primarily the same as it was in 1927. Dave Sr. was killed in a car accident near the course on Highway U.S. 30 and the family pitched in to help their mother keep the course open. When young Dave graduated from Bowling Green State University in 1979, he returned to become the Head Professional, Manager and Greens Superintendent. He and his wife Debbie have become an institution in Wyandot County and have served the golfing public for nearly 40 years. In 1985, the family purchased a plot of land adjoining the course. A driving range was added, with plans to build an additional nine holes. Dave began clearing trees and laying out a course, but when the economy took a turn for the worse, after 9-11, and the golf industry entered a downsizing phase, he put those plans on hold. Finally, with golf returning to popularity over the past few years and with the encouragement of some local Golfaholics, Dave decided to revisit his expansion plans. Jack Nicklaus and leaders in the golf industry have touted Lincoln Hills Adds 4-Hole Loop By: Fred Altvater Ohio Golf Journal Ohio Golf Journal