Catching up on some local golf happenings after an all-to-brief vacation in Florida:

Country Club of the North Sold

    The hottest golf news in Dayton this week is the sale of Country Club of the North.

David McDonald, a partner in Escalante Golf of Dallas, Texas, informed members of CCN last weekend that his organization has purchased the private club in Beavercreek and its real estate from Oak Tree Capital LLC.

    Escalante Golf, founded in 1991, owns or manages golf and yacht clubs in Colorado, Florida and Texas. Escalante is privately held by three operating partners, Elcio Silva, Bobby Silva and McDonald. All three attended the University of Oklahoma.

    In a letter to CCN members, McDonald said: “We think Country Club of the North is a perfect fit for our company. We look for unique opportunities all around the country and tend to find some of our best ventures in smaller markets like Dayton.”

   
    McDonald said all of the CCN employees, including General Manager Paul Malonson, will be offered positions with Escalante Golf. He said, “Capital will be spent up front and on an ongoing basis, as we believe that maintaining the club at a high level is a key to long-term success.”

   
    Capital Golf Management LLC, a subsidiary of Oak Tree Management of Los Angeles, purchased CCN in August of 2003. In an effort to covert CCN from strictly a golf club to a more appealing country club, it spent $1.5 million adding a swimming pool, a two-story fitness building and two clay tennis courts.

Local Chick Evans Caddie Scholarships
   
    Five high school seniors from the Dayton area are among 30 Ohioans who have been awarded Chick Evans Caddie Scholarships by the Western Golf Association.

   Connor Chambers of Oakwood, Ryan Emmons of West Carrollton, Anthony Marlow of West Carrollton, Clay Petty of Dayton and Eric Schreck of Centerville will receive full tuition and housing at the Evans Scholarship House for the 2009-10 academic year.

   Schreck will attend Miami University; the others will be going to Ohio State. Chambers caddies at Dayton Country Club and the other four work at Moraine Country Club.

   The scholarships, which are renewable for four years, are awarded based on the applicant’s strong caddie record, excellent academic performance, financial need and outstanding character.

eClub visits NCR Country Club

    The first eClub event of the season is scheduled for May 6 on the South Course at NCR Country Club. This rare opportunity to play NCR South is one that should be appealing to eClub members. Registration, which closes Friday (May 1), can be made through the eClub website: http://eclubmiamivalley.ghinclub.com.

Demo Day at Kittyhawk
   
    The City of Dayton’s Kittyhawk Golf Center complex will host a “Demo Day” featuring several major golf equipment companies on Friday (May 1) from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. There will be equipment demonstrations and club fitting services for area golfers.

    Manufacturers participating in the Demo Day include: Titleist, Cobra, Bridgestone, Callaway, Ping and Powerbilt.

The Memorial Sponsors SOPGA Junior Golf  

    The Memorial Tournament has agreed to sponsor the Southern Ohio PGA Junior Golf Tour, which will have 12 events this summer. The tour is open to all juniors in the state of Ohio ages 9-18. Candidates under 9 years old need an endorsement letter from their PGA Professional. Last year 200 players participated.