Last year, one of McGee’s good friends, Jim Kraft, of WMVH (Woodside, Meadows, Valley View, Highlands) LLC, signed a one-year lease with Myron Bowling Auctioneers Inc., to keep Weatherwax open as a golf course. Both parties declined to disclose the value of the lease agreement, but confirmed it runs through Nov. 1, 2015.
Bowling, a Hamilton auctioneer who bought the 36-hole golf course from the city of Middletown for $1.6 million, said Kraft has an option to continue to lease the property “for as many years as he’d like to after that.”
McGee said he’s planning to keep his driving range, which sits on 41 acres, open a couple days a week when he’s not working at Weatherwax. He eventually may sell part or all of the driving range.
While at OSU, McGee was an integral part of the Buckeyes’ 1979 National Championship Men’s Golf Team.
Kraft called McGee “a great teacher with tons of experience” and said having him on staff was “a great fit for both of us.”
McGee said joining Weatherwax was attractive because he wanted to help Kraft be successful.
Kraft and McGee said they want to improve the junior golf program at the local school districts. They want to start a fourth- through sixth-grade golf program and another for students in grades seven through nine. The program will include instruction and the opportunity to play Weatherwax, a 36-hole course that offers a wide range of tee boxes for beginners through experienced golfers.
Kraft called junior golf “the future of the sport” and it’s important to introduce as many young players as possible to the sport.
Longtime golf director Dave Tieman called Weatherwax “a jewel” for the city, and said it was important to keep it open because of the revenue it generates for area businesses. Tieman has been named head professional at Brown’s Run Country Club.
Kraft has 28 years of experience in the golf industry, which includes having been a golf pro at Pleasant Hill Golf Club in Monroe since 1988. Kraft said he’s looking forward to the first day Weatherwax is open. He’s working on the maintenance equipment, and updating the golf’s web site and social media.
“Right now we’re waiting for the customers and the warm weather,” he said.
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