Akron Life August 2022

YEARS 20

PAGES

R A D A R

by Kelly Petryszyn

AKRON LIFE CELEBRATES 20 YEARS!

THEN & NOW: FIRESTONE COUNTRY CLUB

seen + heard

August 2003: For decades, golf legends have descended upon Akron to tee off at Firestone

Country Club in August. The club, built in 1929 by Harvey Firestone for his Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. employees, held its first professional tournament, the Rubber City Open, in 1954. It’s most known for hosting the World Golf Championships that showcases the best golfers, including Tiger Woods, who won it a record 18 times. Akron Life ’s 2003 story by Jim McGarrity about the World Golf Championships’ NEC Invitational champi oned volunteers who did everything from picking up players arriving on private jets to sitting at the hospital bedside of a player’s wife. The event’s name changed to Bridgestone Invitational in 2005, and the tourna ment held its last round at Firestone in 2018. Summer 2022: Firestone

photo provided by Firestone Country Club

GLAM SQUAD Add shimmer to your next

114 Whiffle ball teams competed in the Twinsburg World Series of Wiffle Ball last year, earning a spot in the “Guinness World Records” as the world’s largest whiffle ball tournament. Organizers are expecting to surpass that with about 175 teams facing off at the eighth annual event Aug. 12 to 14 at Liberty Park. The event donates money to Twinsburg youth baseball and has funded a new kids’ baseball field at Liberty Park. While there’s serious competition, the mood is light with comedic team names like Wiff That and Premier Dad Bods Select and playful activities including a dunk tank, mechanical bull and the Players Club pop cover band fronted by “Vanilla Thunder.” worldseriesofwiffleball.com

remains a destination for pro golfers, only now it hosts the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship fea turing the best golfers over age 50 in July. This year, explore major upgrades at the private club, which features three courses including the north course that has consistently been named a “Top 100 Modern Course.” Find upgraded hotel rooms, a new cafe along the course, a new fitness center and the new La Vetta Italian chophouse. Nonmembers can now enjoy it, especially later this fall with the completion of the 22,500-square-foot BigShots golf and dining venue with 44 interac tive tees that will invite the public to play at the spot where golf history has been made. 452 E. Warner Road, Akron, firestonecountryclub.com

backyard bash with the Boozy Blonde’s sparkly drink mixes. Combine them with a bottle of wine or liquor and freeze for an adult slushy that shines all night with edible glitter. Handcrafted by a Green resident and former AllRecipes contributor, glimmery slushies ($15) come in eight fla vors such as blue raspberry and passion fruit pineapple. And if you need a party dish, impress with one of the 30 flavored dip packets, like beer cheese you can mix in cream cheese or lemon cream you can mix in whipped cream. boozyblondeohio.com

10

a k r o n l i f e . c o m | A U G U S T 2 0 2 2