Welcome to the Valley’s Masters

Our first Greatest Golfer of the Valley had not even teed off last September, and George Repasky was already a measure of what the tourney was about and what we hope it will become.

Sitting with some fellow 70-somethings, George was waxing about great golf events in the Valley’s vintage era of the ’60s and ’70s.

In a stoic Clint Eastwood-like tone, he dropped names of great players and events that have long left the Valley golf landscape, and his peers nodded in agreement. He looked at me and said the Greatest Golfer of the Valley could be that, too.

Two long rounds later and a missed cut, George hadn’t changed his tune, except with an Eastwood-like warning to fix the speed of play.

That was last fall. George is among the first of last year’s players to get in line for the 2011 Greatest, and ...

“It’s our local version of the Masters,” said George on Friday. “It’s fun to see many friends entered and trying to beat each other. I also think not only the best scores win, but everyone is a winner who competes.”

The 2011 Greatest officially launches Tuesday with its two-pronged thrust into the soul of Valley golf — the 18 Greatest Golf Holes of the Valley and the Greatest Golfer of the Valley tournament in August.

Brought to you in partnership by Farmers National Bank and The Vindicator, we’ve grown the event significantly since its debut last year.

Last year’s inaugural version of the golf holes was selected by The Vindicator’s Greatest panel.

It quickly became a Tuesday staple for readers. With those first 18 holes off in a special place, we’re moving onto a new round of 18 holes as selected by readers.

For the past month, golfers have been going to Vindy.com to vote from a collection of 70-plus holes. We’re going to continue the voting through May while debuting the first hole this Tuesday.

A tough hole at a special place in the Valley’s golf history is what launches us Tuesday.

Our weekly hole coverage will include hole-by-hole visits with local golfers highlighting each hole. On Vindy.com, we’ll show video, have a 3-D breakdown of the hole, and have local golf guru Jonah Karzmer analyzing the hole.

So enjoy the debut hole picked by readers, and also enjoy casting a vote on Vindy.com to help complete the 18 holes that will appear weekly through August.

Also Tuesday, we officially open registration to the 2011 Greatest Golfer of the Valley tournament.

The tournament is open to men and women of all ages and skill levels in the five-county Valley area. Players are split into divisions based on handicap, gender or age (seniors and super seniors).

Last year, it lured seasoned Valley guys such as George but also young guns such as Josh Foster, who’s back for Year 2.

“I think this event is terrific because you are getting to play some really great courses in the area,” said Josh.

“I also enjoyed meeting some new people and getting to play golf with them. There was some good competition between my group. We really didn’t know each other, but everybody was easygoing enough that we were able to have fun and be competitive.”

We added two courses to the Greatest — Youngstown Country Club and Reserve Run Golf Course. They join Mill Creek Golf Course and Trumbull Country Club as hosts of qualifiers Aug. 26 and 27.

The finals will be Sunday, Aug. 28, at The Lake Club.

Also new to Greatest this year is a juniors division that will be played in July. We’re thrilled that Tamer Win Golf Club, Tam O’Shanter Golf Course and Diamondback Golf Course will host qualifier events in July.

Top juniors from these events will compete July 31 at Trumbull Country Club for the Greatest Junior Championship.

An advertisement in today’s paper will get you going with The Greatest. Tuesday’s first hole will take you further. And everything is on Vindy.com starting Tuesday.

Todd Franko is editor of The Vindicator. He likes emails about stories and our newspaper. Email him at tfranko@vindy.com. He blogs, too, on vindy.com.