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face any terrain in Europe or
the Pacific.
Over the years the club grew
in popularity and a group of
members formed the Riverby
Hills Country Club. Designer
Ben Zink was contracted to
renovate the property and
the current 18-hole course
opened for play in 1963.
One of the club’s founding
members Phillip Ricketts,
a restaurant owner from
Bowling Green, became the
general manager, and quickly
improved the club’s cash flow
by enticing large outings. He
also oversaw the construction
of the banquet hall for parties
and reunions.
Jim Long was a partner in a
successful CPA firm in Bowling
Green and his firm handled the
accounting for Riverby Hills
Country Club for many years.
When the members of the
club wanted to sell and could
not find a suitable buyer, Long
decided it was time to make an
investment in the future and
bought the property in 1982.
He left his accounting practice
within a couple of years
and devoted full attention
to the operation of the golf
course. With the golf industry
experiencing a growth stage
in the 1990’s, Long decided
to add two more properties
to his operation. Woodland
Golf Club in Cable, Ohio, was
purchased in 1999 and Indian
Springs Golf Club,
near Mechanicsburg,
Ohio, was added a
year later. A fourth golf
course, Eagles Landing
in Oregon, Ohio, was
purchased in 2012.
Jim Long is now
semi-retired and has
turned the day-to-day
operation over to his
sons, but still lives near the
Doug Bortz, Annie Bush, Bill Wilson, Mike Rose
Annie Bush
NWO Golf Links