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.