Historic Scioto Country Club caught fire on this day in 1951…

On this day, In 1951 tragedy struck the Scioto Country Club clubhouse when a fire broke loose sometime during the evening of December 16. Scioto Country Club is in Upper Arlington, Ohio and designed by Donald Ross. Twelve members were having dinner at the time who all made it out safely. Reports cite that damages would cost up to $150,000…that would of been $1,392,421.15 worth of damage in present day. The New York Times wrote that “Firemen were handicapped during the fire due to cold weather and frozen hydrants. The club had just held the PGA Championship a year earlier in which Chandler Harper was the victor.

Scioto Country Club History

The Club opened 100 years ago in 1916 and has hosted five PGA/USGA tournaments, including a Ryder Cup in 1931. Augusta co-founder Bobby Jones won the second of his four U.S. Open titles there in 1926. One of its co-founders was Samuel P. Bush, was the paternal grandfather of President George H. W. Bush and great-grandfather of President George W. Bush. Scioto is one of only four courses to host the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship, the Ryder Cup, and the U.S. Amateur. The other three are Oak Hill Country Club (east), Oakland Hills Country Club (south), and Pinehurst Resort (#2): all four courses were designed by Ross.

Scioto was where Jack Nicklaus first learned the game

The Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus learned to play the game at Scioto in the early 1950s, mentored by Jack Grout. He originally took up golf at the age of 10, scoring a 51 at the club for his first nine holes ever played. Nicklaus & Grout’s relationship was unique in which Nicklaus would visit Grout at the beginning of each year to review his game. Grout was known as the “first and only teacher” of Nicklaus. Grout groomed young Texan superstars Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson early in their careers. He later attracted the coaching advice from many other players such as Raymond Floyd, Dow Finsterwald, and even sometimes Ben Crenshaw.

Tournaments hosted