June 2021 Ohio Golf Journal

D onald Ross receives the credit for the Inverness Club design, but before Ross, S.P. Jermain, who designed and built Ottawa Park Golf Club, laid out the first holes at Inverness. Jermain had become intrigued with Tom Bendelow’s efforts to operate Van Courtlandt Golf Course in New York as a public facility. As the Director of Toledo Parks and Recreation, Jermain felt a portion of the land at Ottawa Park would best be used as a public golf course. The first nine-holes at Ottawa Park opened for play in 1898 and became the first public golf course West of New York. A group of Toledo golfers became so enamored with Jermain’s public golf course, that they asked him to select ground and build another course that was to be a private club. A suitable site was located on Dorr Street, that eventually became the Inverness Club. Jermain and his friend William Rockerfeller designed and built the original few holes, but later Donald Ross was contracted to do a complete 18-hole layout. Inverness has hosted numerous major championships and will host the 2021 Solheim Cup in September. S.P. Jermain and Donald Ross receive the credit for the construction of Inverness, but the idea was originally inspired by Tom Bendelow’s efforts to open golf to the masses in New York. Who Was Tom Bendelow? A Scottish immigrant, Tom Bendelow became the “Johnny Appleseed of American Golf.” He was one of the most prolific golf course designers in the late 1890’s and early 1900’s. His name can be found as the original designer on over 700 courses around the United States, with his most famous being, Bloomfield Hills, in Detroit, as well as, Olympia Fields and Medinah in Chicago. Several courses in Ohio can trace their heritage to Bendelow. Findlay Country Club, Shawnee Country Club, Kettenring (Eagle Rock) in Defiance, Moundbuilders, Maketewah and Mt. Vernon Country Club, as well as several other Ohio courses. The ‘Johnny Appleseed of American Golf’ left his mark on Ohio Golf. In these days of looking for unique places to play without traveling to the ends of the earth. Look no farther than our own backyard in the Buckeye State. Ohio golf, thanks to Tom Bendelow, has a lot to offer. Was TomBendelow Indirectly Responsible for The Inverness Club? By Fred Altvater