The most interesting story as I attempted to catch up with the logo ball collection had to do with the Oxford Country Club in Oxford, OH. When I was a freshman at Miami University, I often played this nine hole course. Late during my freshman year, Hueston Woods State Park Golf Course opened several miles north of the campus. Being an 18 hole course with some length, the new course became the go to course in Oxford and in fact, was the home course for Miami's golf team.
Years later when I visited Oxford for sporting or alumni events, I would drop by Oxford Country Club to see if I could score a logo ball. Finally, after years of attempts, I struck gold; but not in the traditional way. The Oxford Country Club’s Head Professional understood the importance of the logo ball to me as I had been bugging him. Although Oxford CC did not yet have any logo balls, one year he communicated to me that they had recently drained a pond in front of the 9th hole and collected years of lost golf balls. One of the balls was a red-striped ball from many years past that was stamped on one side with the name “Jim Korn”, a former Head Professional, and on the other side with “Oxford Country Club”. The Head Professional had displayed the ball on the club’s fireplace mantle but graciously presented the ball to me.
Now as you can see, this ball is not straight out of the box. It was a range ball at one time and who knows how many times it was hit in practice. Then, one of the esteemed (ahem) members at the course used it in play and knocked it in the pond where it remained for an untold duration. I LOVE IT!
For several reasons, while not even a logo ball in the traditional fashion, it is my most highly prized ball. First, it's from my college town. Second, they still don't sell logo balls. And third, I worked hard for that ball!
Years later when I visited Oxford for sporting or alumni events, I would drop by Oxford Country Club to see if I could score a logo ball. Finally, after years of attempts, I struck gold; but not in the traditional way. The Oxford Country Club’s Head Professional understood the importance of the logo ball to me as I had been bugging him. Although Oxford CC did not yet have any logo balls, one year he communicated to me that they had recently drained a pond in front of the 9th hole and collected years of lost golf balls. One of the balls was a red-striped ball from many years past that was stamped on one side with the name “Jim Korn”, a former Head Professional, and on the other side with “Oxford Country Club”. The Head Professional had displayed the ball on the club’s fireplace mantle but graciously presented the ball to me.
Now as you can see, this ball is not straight out of the box. It was a range ball at one time and who knows how many times it was hit in practice. Then, one of the esteemed (ahem) members at the course used it in play and knocked it in the pond where it remained for an untold duration. I LOVE IT!
For several reasons, while not even a logo ball in the traditional fashion, it is my most highly prized ball. First, it's from my college town. Second, they still don't sell logo balls. And third, I worked hard for that ball!
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