Then & Now: Firestone Country Club

August 2003: For decades, golf legends have descended upon Akron to tee off at Firestone Country Club in August. The club, built in 1929 by Harvey Firestone for his Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. employees, held its first professional tournament, the Rubber City Open, in 1954. It’s most known for hosting the World Golf Championships that showcases the best golfers, including Tiger Woods, who won it a record 18 times. Akron Life’s 2003 story by Jim McGarrity about the World Golf Championships’ NEC Invitational championed volunteers who did everything from picking up players arriving on private jets to sitting at the hospital bedside of a player’s wife. The event’s name changed to Bridgestone Invitational in 2005, and the tournament held its last round at Firestone in 2018.

Summer 2022: Firestone remains a destination for pro golfers, only now it hosts the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship featuring the best golfers over age 50 in July. This year, explore major upgrades at the private club, which features three courses including the north course that has consistently been named a “Top 100 Modern Course.” Find upgraded hotel rooms, a new cafe along the course, a new fitness center and the new La Vetta Italian chophouse. Nonmembers can now enjoy it, especially later this fall with the completion of the 22,500-square-foot BigShots golf and dining venue with 44 interactive tees that will invite the public to play at the spot where golf history has been made. 452 E. Warner Road, Akron, firestonecountryclub.com