32 | AUGUST 8 • 2024
J
N
R
on Rycus received a set
of golf clubs for his bar
mitzvah in 1959 and
began playing golf.
Sixty-five years and
thousands of rounds later,
Rycus shot his first hole-in-
one.
History was made for him
July 26 when the 78-year-
old longtime East Lansing
resident aced the 135-yard
par-3 fourth hole with a
7-iron at Timber Ridge Golf
Club in East Lansing, about a
mile from his home.
The hole was the last one
Rycus’ foursome played in a
benefit golf outing. The shot
turned out to be his last of the
day. Rycus’ foursome began
its round at hole No. 5 in the
outing’s shotgun start.
“I’d come close to a hole-
in-one dozens of times,”
Rycus said. “Six inches, eight
inches, 10 inches, 12 inches.
But nothing went in until that
shot.”
No. 4 at Timber Ridge is
a difficult hole made more
tricky July 26 by the pin
placement.
“I could only see the top
of the flag from the tees
because the green is uphill.
It’s surrounded by bunkers.
The cup was located on the
extreme right side of the
green,” Rycus said.
Rycus knew his tee shot on
No. 4 was a good one because
it headed toward the flag. He
didn’t know how good the
shot was until moments after
he let it fly.
“A golfer who was on the
green started waving and
shouted, ‘It went in!’” Rycus
said. “When I got up there,
the guy told me my shot
landed about 10 feet above
the hole and rolled with
backspin into the cup.”
While Rycus plays a lot of
golf, he doesn’t play at Timber
Ridge often, usually only
twice or three times a year, so
it was a surprising spot for his
first hole-in-one.
“I’d describe Timber Ridge
as an ‘Up North’-type course,”
he said.
Rycus’ hole-in-one was the
first shot in the Bart Wegenke
Legacy Classic’s four-year
history.
In addition to earning that
honor, Rycus won a $750 gift
certificate for golf clothing
for shooting a hole-in-one
on No. 4, and $600 in cash
in a skins game that he split
with the other members of his
foursome: Gary Carlson, Brad
Way and John Ezzo.
Rycus also won a framed
picture of Timber Ridge in an
outing raffle drawing.
But he didn’t buy any raffle
tickets. A friend gave Rycus
his tickets because he had to
leave the event.
Rycus is the co-owner of
an iconic Lansing business,
Rycus Flooring. The business
has been around for 34 years
and is known in the state
capital for its “You’ll Like Us
at Rycus” slogan.
Rycus Flooring was a
hole sponsor (No. 7) for the
outing, which attracted 144
golfers. The business has
sponsored a hole since the
outing’s inception.
B.J. Rycus, Ron’s son and
co-owner of Rycus Flooring,
is friends with Wegenke’s
son-in-law. That’s why Rycus
Flooring continues to support
the outing.
Wegenke was the principal
at Haslett High School when
he died from pancreatic
cancer in 2020 at age 53.
Funds from the outing
benefit the Bart Wegenke
Legacy Fund, which provides
financial support to meet
the academic, social and
emotional needs of Haslett
students and awards annual
scholarships to Haslett
students who have overcome
adversity.
Worth the Wait
East Lansing resident Ron Rycus finally shot his
first hole-in-one in his 65th year of playing golf.
STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
SPORTS
Ron Rycus
retrieves his golf
ball after his first
hole-in-one.
Rycus Flooring was a hole sponsor at the
fundraising golf outing where Ron Rycus
shot a hole-in-one.