May 27, 2008
By Marino Parascenzo 

Dublin, on the edge of Columbus, used to bill itself as "runner-up for the capital" of Ohio. Consider that notion as a measure of community pride, and then welcome yourself to the pleasant city, which had a population of about 4,000 when the Memorial began in 1976, and which now is about 40,000 and growing.

The No. 1 attraction of Columbus and environs is Ohio State football, and good thing for the Memorial that the Buckeyes aren't in session at this time. The No. 2 attraction is the Memorial, at the pristine Muirfield Village Golf Club, the House that Jack Built – Jack Nicklaus, that is, he being the second most-famous person ever to come out of Columbus. Just behind the late Buckeyes coach Woody Hayes, who needs no introduction, and ahead of "Jungle" Jack Hanna, former chief of the Columbus zoo, who with a variety of animal friends is in residence on some TV show near you.

Golf, anyone? You want to play the famed Ohio State Scarlet course? Then go enroll in school. You have to be affiliated with the university to get on. Meantime, there are plenty of other courses, such as: Raymond Memorial ($17-$25), a real test at 6,800 yards, especially No. 7, a 447-yard, dogleg right par-4, and the par-3 13th, 216 yards over a creek. The Golf Club of Dublin ($79-$89) has patterned a number of holes after some British links courses. Oh, and there's water on every hole but No. 1.

For non-participatory sports, there are the curiously named Columbus Clippers, named after the famed clipper ships of the early 19th century, swift and graceful on the seas, none of which are within hundreds of miles. The Clippers, a Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, are at home to the Louisville Bats Monday through Thursday.

Chow call: The Dublin area is thick with good restaurants. For interesting bookends try these, both within miles of Muirfield Village: LaScala is elegant Italian, where the fettucini di mare is a big favorite, and where else can you toast a meal with a grappa? The Refectory, elegant French, offers ostrich mi-meurette, and also stuff you would recognize. It's a former homespun red brick church-schoolhouse, lacking only Copland's "Simple Gifts" drifting down through the stained glass windows.

The Columbus Zoo remains a big attraction. You can see all kinds of creatures, including such exotic animals as the Malayan sun bear, the poison dart frog, the Komodo dragon and the wolverine, though the last is not of the University of Michigan variety.

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