By Vinnie Manginelli, PGA
Located in Cincinnati, Ohio, Maketewah Country Club is a long-standing Golf Range Association of America (GRAA) Top 50 Private Facility, having earned the honor every year since 2013. Cincinnati native, Dave Bahr, the PGA of America Head Golf Professional, recently kicked off his 19th season at Maketewah and shared some club highlights for this GRAA Award Winner profile story. Bahr is a Quarter-Century PGA Member and the 2018 Southern Ohio PGA Section Professional Development Award Winner.
The club has been at its current location since 1910 and was one of five founding members of the Greater Cincinnati Golf Association. In 1919, Donald Ross redesigned the layout and the new Ross course was opened in 1921. Maketewah has a rich history that provides a fitting backdrop for some of the best modern golf in Ohio.
With almost 390 golf members (160 single-digit golfers) and another 80 social members, Maketewah Country Club has amenities to satisfy anyone’s interest – bowling, an outdoor pool, platform tennis and an indoor golf learning facility. In the latter, Bahr and his team of golf professionals help members hone their skills to achieve their goals in the game.
That staff includes PGA of America Member Brett Slater, a full-time teaching professional, and PGA Associate Ian Pratts, who specializes in club fitting, but does some teaching as well. In addition, PGA of America Member Chad Ammer teaches many lessons, while PGA Associate Ian Jensen is their junior golf leader. Gina Bamberger is the golf shop manager and recently entered the PGA’s Professional Golf Management Program. Bahr himself still maintains a significant instruction load while administering to the bevy of head professional duties on his agenda.
The membership at Maketewah is skilled in golf and active in their event participation. “Tournament participation is off the charts,” says Bahr.
He says they have 65 teams on their Member-Guest waitlist and 25 teams on the waitlist for their secondary Member-Guest event. After all, with food and beverage and headline entertainment, no one wants to miss these very memorable events.
With golf being the bread and butter at Maketewah, the practice facilities drive participation and help members keep those handicaps low and enthusiasm for the game higher than ever.
They expanded their practice range to 24 hitting spots a decade ago and have a stellar short-game range that gets much use from Maketewah members. With one green for putting, chipping and bunker practice and four additional target greens, members can practice any shot within 100 yards. In addition, Bahr has turned the range into a Par 3 layout in the past and hosted special member events, closest to the pin contests and Big Break competitions. They’ve even held concerts out there, proving that having some imagination and utilizing all your land can certainly pay off for maximum member enjoyment and engagement.
Finally, the indoor teaching studio was a 2012 collaboration with Xavier University that offers an indoor putting green where golfers can also chip and pitch. There are five hitting bays with video, clubfitting and Trackman simulator technology. The Xavier golf teams use it for a few hours a day from November to February, but otherwise, members have full access and even enjoy food and beverage in this social and fun indoor golf setting. They participate in leagues, take lessons and relax in a member lounge that has a full bar at their fingertips.
Bahr says despite all these bells and whistles, his members simply love the game of golf. With such vibrant and active participation, it’s no surprise they’re excelling at the game and getting the full member experience every time they’re on the property.
