Fulton County Ohio Media

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A well-known method of elevating skills, abilities and igniting motivation in any sport is to challenge the strongest competition available.  In the sport of golf, however, the toughest competition often comes not from your opponents, but from the golf course itself.   In early July, Swanton senior golfer Mazin Rukieh, the NWOAL reigning Player of the Year with a long resume of medalist honors and low score rounds, was offered the opportunity of a lifetime .  Mazin was extended an invitation to join 23 other talented American golfers from around the country to play seven days of golf in the Scotland Junior Golf Invitational and challenge himself by playing against some of the most demanding golf courses in the world at St. Andrews in Scotland.

For golfers who are passionate about the sport, and Mazin places himself among them, a visit to St, Andrews is not just a golf trip.  It’s a pilgrimage, in this case of almost 3700 miles, to the mecca of the sport, near where it was born sometime in the Middle Ages.  To not only visit and walk the hallowed grounds of St. Andrews, but to compete where all of history’s golfing greats battled for golfing immortality, has to be a dream come true.  When the dream became reality, reality was extremely eye-opening for this teenager from Swanton, Ohio, with the unusual course layouts and the quickly changing Scottish weather.

The courses at St. Andrews, which hug the coast of the North Sea are “links style” courses, a firm sandy soil with few, if any trees, relatively flat landscape, but lots of heather (small shrubs), tall grass and the infamous deep bunkers. “Links golf.  It’s the hardest golf I’ve ever played in my life.  The first day was a practice round just to see what it’s like to play in Scotland.  And boy was that humbling.  It was rough,” recounted Mazin.  “And the weather was crazy sometimes with the winds gusting at 30 miles an hour with rain.  There were times I had three jackets on.”

There are seven different courses associated with St. Andrews and the American contingent played on several of them.  On the third day Mazin and another American were paired with two Scottish players for a true international golfing experience.  “They are really good over there,” exclaimed Mazin of his Scottish opponents.  “I mean they are born into golf.  That’s what they do.”

Despite everyone in the group speaking English, the thick Scottish accent combined with the local jargon proved to be a bit of a language barrier.  Adding to his culture shock was the local food favorites.  Mazin liked the fries or “chips” as they are called in the United Kingdom, but he did not care much for haggis, the national dish of Scotland, made with the heart, lungs and liver of a sheep and traditionally cooked in the animal’s stomach.

The final day of golf was a match play tournament among all the American players.  Mazin did well, finishing fourth overall.  “The golf was fun, but meeting new friends, it was awesome.  I still stay in touch with some of them,” he said.  From there, it was back to the United States after an unplanned one day stop in the Netherlands for Mazin and his father, Sy, who accompanied him on this incredible adventure.  His summer golfing, however, was far from over.

Mazin picked up where he left off and rejoined the competition with the Toledo Junior Golf Association (TJGA).  As in the summer of 2023, he qualified among the top golfers in the area to play the final TJGA round and at the prestigious Inverness Golf Club in Toledo.  In its 123-year history, Inverness has hosted the world’s best golfers contending for many PGA major championships like the U.S. Open and PGA Championship as well as U.S. Amateur and NCAA Championships. 

Last year Mazin fired an impressive 79 on the very challenging course.  This past Monday, he bettered that score by an incredible six strokes with a 73, finishing in sixth place.  Later that evening, the Club and the TJGA hosted an awards dinner for all the golfers and their caddies (close friend and fellow Bulldog golfer Adam Lemon in Mazin’s case).

Next Wednesday, August 7^th, the Swanton Bulldogs Boys Golf Team begins their home schedule with the Bulldog Invitational at Valleywood Golf Club with an 8:00 a.m. tee-time.  Mazin has personal goals for his final high school campaign such as repeating as the league’s POY and advancing through the state tournament all the way to Columbus.  He also has team goals like capturing the NWOAL Championship and continuing deep into the state tournament as well.  “Our team is looking pretty good here.  We’re all looking pretty solid,” explained Mazin of his team’s chances for success this season.  “I want to make it to “state” which we can do as a team if we’re all on our “A” game.  That would be awesome.”

As Mazin enters his last year of high school, he has a lot to ponder regarding his future.  What academics will he need to focus on, what college he may apply to and will he be able to continue his golf career at the school he believes he is best suited.  One thing is undisputable.  Mazin has put the work in and is as prepared as possible for the next chapter of his golfing life.

Click on the link above to access photos from Scotland provided by Sy Rukieh and photos from Inverness Golf Club provided by the fultoncountymedia.com website, Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing,

Photo: Mazin and Sy at St. Andrews in Scotland