There are golf clubs that chase relevance. Then there’s Firestone.
In Akron, Ohio, where the fairways roll across 450 acres of perfectly measured land, General Manager Jay Walkinshaw isn’t chasing anything. He’s protecting something: the idea that excellence in golf and hospitality doesn’t have to announce itself. It just has to be consistent.
Firestone doesn’t reinvent itself with every trend. It sharpens quietly. A bunker renovation here. A new kitchen there. A shift in tee-time spacing that trims rounds to under four hours without anyone noticing how it happened. The club’s evolution is deliberate, even restrained, which may be the most modern move of all.
Walkinshaw took over in 2019, just months before the pandemic rewrote every rule in hospitality. His job is keep one of golf’s most recognizable clubs both relevant and grounded. He approaches it like a caddie who is steady, observant, and unflappable. The work is in the details: aligning course management with agronomy, training teams to read what members need before they ask, and maintaining pace and polish across 54 holes, 86 guest rooms, and a membership that plans its visits two years in advance.
Technology has helped. So has perspective. Walkinshaw doesn’t rush to adopt the latest system or gadget. “Being first isn’t the goal,” he says. “Being right is.” It’s a line that could describe the entire Firestone philosophy.
Even as the club prepares for its centennial in 2029, there’s no grand reinvention on the horizon, only refinement. Tee boxes will be leveled, dining will continue to expand, and the rooms that once hosted legends will be refreshed, not replaced. What makes Firestone special isn’t nostalgia. It’s restraint.
Plenty of clubs dream of becoming icons. Firestone, it seems, has mastered the harder part of staying one.
