In the 1930s, the great golf course architect, Alister McKenzie - designer of Augusta National and other famous courses – finished plans for two brand-new playing sites at the Ohio State University Golf Club.
The Scarlet and Gray Courses in Upper Arlington were completed in the late 1930s. Around the same time, one of the greatest — if not the greatest — golfers of all time: Jack Nicklaus, was born in Upper Arlington.
The Golden Bears of the high school’s boys’ golf team may have sensed the cosmic shift from the birth of a legend, because in 1941 they earned the program’s first state championship title. It was the first of 17, an OHSAA division 1 boys’ state championship wins record not likely to be broken anytime soon.
Their next title came in 1956, thanks to Nicklaus, the team captain, shooting 144 - a new state record at the time. Though Upper Arlington didn’t take home the team title that year, Nicklaus was named the best high school golfer in Ohio two years in a row. Not many have managed to match that feat.
Did you know? Jack Nicklaus was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame at age 34, was the first golfer to receive the Vince Lombardi Award of Excellence, has won each major championship at least three times and is the recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal for his service to the Nation in promoting excellence, good sportsmanship and philanthropy.
Nicklaus went on to golf at The Ohio State University, winning two U.S. Amateur titles and an NCAA championship.
He also met his wife, Barbara, a Columbus native, while at Ohio State. They married in 1960 before he began his professional golf career in 1961. The success and accolades that followed made him one of the most prominent faces of golf, and made Barbara the “First Lady of Golf.”
Nicklaus’ competitive playing career came to a close in 2005 and the couple turned their focus back to Upper Arlington. He and his company, Nicklaus Designs, renovated the Scarlet Course in 2006, aiming to restore the glory it possessed when he was born.
In summer 2007, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship (NCC) was held for the first time on the newly refurbished Scarlet Course. The tournament was started by the Nicklauses as part of the Korn Ferry Tour to benefit research and treatment of pediatric cancer at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Nicklaus kept in touch with his old team and was inducted into the Upper Arlington High School Athletic Hall of Fame in April 2017.
In attendance at the Scarlet Course clubhouse for the induction ceremony was first-time coach Troy Arbaugh who is now the head coach of the UAHS boys’ team.
Every year, Arbaugh expresses the gravity of the program’s history to his players.
“I tell the kids every year, first day of tryouts, ‘You have no idea. You guys are so young now, do you have any idea of how cool this is?” he says. “What I’ve always said is that I’m the head of the golf program that Jack Nicklaus was a part of. I think that's the coolest thing in the world.”
After seven years, Arbaugh is working to honor the team’s history even more. Last year, the team debuted a new logo: a golden bear in a polo, raising a putter over its head in Nicklaus’ signature pose.
He knows the history goes deeper than just the Golden Bear himself, though.
Between Nicklaus’ departure and Arbaugh’s arrival, Upper Arlington won 15 team state championships.
The most recent came in 2006 when now-professional, Bo Hoag, won the individual title for the Golden Bears. Thanks to his success and Arbaugh’s efforts, players can now earn the Bo Hoag Sportsmanship Award, commemorating the success and character of another formidable figure in Upper Arlington’s golf history.
Last year, the boys’ team finished fourth, building its way back towards the program’s historic success. There have been more moments of excellence, too, from players including Brady Catalano, who shot 64 on a par 72, setting an all-time Ohio record at the Coffman Invitational in 2022.
Sporting patches loaded with Golden Bear history, the team will swing its way into the 2024 season bearing all that comes with its legendary past.
Jake Ruffer is an editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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