It’s a Greatest feeling ...

I had the chance last week to feature the 100th anniversary of golf at Youngstown Country Club.

In a club book that chronicles much of those first 100 years, a part of it says that as the club grew, “many members were even known to take in a round of golf on a work day.”

A steel company magnate reasoned: What good is a company to its workers if they can’t occasionally enjoy an afternoon of golf during the week?

The second annual Greatest Golfer of the Valley kicked off Friday with 190 golfers teeing up on a work day, not intentionally in honor of the steel boss’ views — but we’re happy to oblige.

Golf is big in the Valley seven days a week, and the Greatest was built to honor that passion.

The 2011 Greatest started in May with a salute to 18 Greatest Golf Holes of the Valley. On Tuesday, that series closes with our 18th hole of the season, and it’s a beauty.

Today, we will crown our Greatest Golfer of the Valley in seven divisions. Play begins at 9 a.m. at The Lake Club. A field of 62 golfers will advance today from the original 190, with the best of the best players teeing off just before noon.

This is great for the Valley — that’s the opinion shared by the golfing community.

But we’re also comfortable that there are many great things going on here. We just have to have the patience and decorum to rise above the negative that many hold on to with more vigor than is necessary or healthy.

Success is easier with friends, and we’ve had that with the Greatest.

Great golf minds have been with us since the start — Dennis Miller at Mill Creek, John Diana at Trumbull Country Club and Mike Ferranti at The Lake Club.

Great sponsors of golf are vital, too. We’re glad to have with us Farmers National Bank, Superior Beverage, Mark Thomas Ford and Cole Valley Cadillac — all great local golf supporters.

This has been fun for The Vindicator. If you’re not busy today, join us at The Lake Club for a taste of The Greatest.

Todd Franko is editor of The Vindicator. He likes e-mails about stories and our newspaper. E-mail him at tfranko@vindy.com. He blogs, too, on vindy.com.