Grass Roots Golf | Spud Run
December 8, 2024
"It's like we're in Star Wars."
The increasing snowfall made it seem as if Southern Ohio was in another galaxy. Winding our way around the subtle hills of Appalachia, Z and I were on our way to brave the elements at America's Number 1 Backyard Golf Course.
As far as I can remember, Z has always lived in the far out. His given name (Alexander) doesn't have any Zs but one day it happened to hit and has stuck with him since. During high school, as myself and so many others did our best to fit in, he had no issue with standing out.
A creator at heart, he filmed vlogs of our summer days spent at the river and winter league basketball games. A passion for the outdoors and cinematography traveled with him out to school in Montana.
"What is Z doing?" We asked back in Ohio.
While we spent our free time within the safety of bars and tailgates, we watched Z and his crew live life to the extreme. They jumped off bridges, swam in streams, rode rails engulfed in fire, and lived an adventurous life up in the mountains.
Given his background outdoors, I gave Z a call this past summer curious to hear his thoughts on combining adventure with golf. The conversation flowed. We reveled at the possibilities in Ohio and Montana, let alone the rest of the country. Yet with schedules constantly in flux, nothing was able to pan out.
We picked up where we left off the night before Thanksgiving. After a night out, we brainstormed and watched a few videos of Spud Run Golf early Thursday morning. The next day we were on our way as Jeremy graciously allowed the idea to unfold.
During the game's inception, golf professionals were craftsmen. Pros designed, built, and maintained courses. They also handcrafted wooden clubs. Pro shop attendant and player were just a couple of the many hats they wore.
Jeremy is doing it all at Spud Run , his backyard golf course in Southern Ohio. He's documented his journey of designing and maintaining the course the past four years. It contains one green with nine tee boxes of varying lengths placed around the grounds. All of the buildings and structures are made from trees off the property. During the warmer months, people from all over the globe play and stay at the Airbnb on property.
"What has been your favorite part of the journey?" I asked him.
Standing underneath an American flag inside this snow globe of a mini golf village, he responded, "Seeing an idea that I had in my head come to life. There were a lot of doubters, but here we are."
I long to say the same one day.
Campgrounds on Golf Courses , a short-term surrender to the elements away from creature comforts. An opportunity to play at sunrise and sunset without leaving the course. It is a different, enhanced form of connection people can have with each other, nature, and themselves. To traverse a property in the darkness is to traverse one's own soul. The beauty of rushing streams and whispering wind allows silence to dance. The subtle warmth of the sun screams as it peers above the horizon.
