The golf world’s unsung “Hero”
By KEITH WALTHER
Vista Publisher/Editor
For The Vista
Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, Phil Mickelson, Ben Hogan — golf heroes one and all.
And, of course, Fairfield Glade’s own Robert Herominski.
No, Herominski’s golf game is not going to strike fear in any professional — but his love of the game is, uh, on par with any of them.
Herominski — known as “Hero” in these parts — has a golf collection that rivals most museums. Hundreds of balls, historic items and golf paraphernalia can be found at his Brokenwood Lane home.
In fact, you may have noticed his front yard which is all stone with hundreds of real golf balls mixed in.
“I had a large amount of used golf balls and having a having a steep graded front yard, I put Tennessee river rock on the front lawn,” Herominski recalled. “I saw some white shells mixed in with the rock and an ‘idea’ came to me. Throw out the golf balls (no Logos) to add to the landscaping. Genius move to fill in the bare spots.”
Upon retirement, Hero moved from Michigan to Fairfield Glade and moved into his home — or as he likes to call it, an “Overwhelming sight for one to grasp.”
That it is, indeed. It is like the sport of golf and a bachelor pad had a child.
Inside his home, there are 55 racks with logo balls from all over the world — 2,092 of them to be precise. He has 89 framed golf pictures and over 100 golf course score cards and pencils. And, besides an assorted amount of golf statues, coasters, plates, markers, divot repairs, etc., he is the proud owner of 22 golf clocks.
But his prize possession?
“Above all, my only “HOLE IN ONE” golf ball,” he said.
Hero didn’t start playing golf until early 1980 and says, “I’m not good, for sure, but I enjoy the game and the scenery.”
He got interested in the technical aspect of golf and through Golfsmith club-making school, became a master club maker — a side hobby that brought him some extra money known as “Custom Clubs by HERO”.
So what started his collection of golf items?
“While here, I took a job at Stonehenge (then owned by Links Corp.), as a ‘Player Ambassador’ (better known now as a ‘Ranger,’” he noted. “That is where my obsession began. Before I would start my Friday afternoon shift … I would look through the range barrel for 2 logo balls, then start my shift. On the shift , I would find at least a dozen assorted balls.”
And it grew to where it is now — “a fun thing to do … for me anyway,” he says.
Hero logs each ball and painstakingly assigns each one a new home in a rack. “I know where each of them are,” he said.
He sure found out the hard way, one dark night, where they were when he … well, we will let him tell the story …
“It was about two years ago,” he began, “and I was coming home late from shopping with no light on from the garage to the stairs. I tried to take all the groceries in one trip and got caught on the door and took a 10-count dive.”
Hero banged his head hard and tried to pick himself up off the floor. Things only got worse.
“I hit four racks of golf balls and now I was sitting on them. Dizzy … I tried getting up and POP goes my collar bone,” Herominski recalled. “I sat back down and tried to put my collar bone back in place.”
And the story, sorry to say, doesn’t end there.
“Now I had no hands to get up. It was very dark. I figured I can push my body a step at a time and still secure the shoulder,” he said.
Like Wiley Coyote — he was wrong.
“Well, I pushed my legs and broke two pretzel jugs of golf balls … so now I am “BUTT” deep on golf balls. At least I forgot about the shoulder pain. Finally got up to the mid landing …tried to lift up again …POP goes the collar bone again.”
Finally, after going from hazard to hazard, Hero managed to putter up the stairs, get to a doctor and later cleaned up about six dozen “eggs” to their proper positions and spent the next four months with his arm in a sling.
“It was painful, but comical,” Hero said. “Embarrassing, but true.”
Apart from his memorabilia and meeting and getting autographs from golf pros, Hero says his most memorable golf experience åç when he got the chance to play at historic St. Andrews in Scotland.
“I stayed at St. Andrews College, a bed and breakfast above the 18th hole,” he said. “I have a picture of me pointing to my room from the Swilcan Bridge. I was there in 1995 for the 50th anniversary of WWII. I got to see the Queen and Princess Diana, and the ship Britannia.”
Herominski, whose favorite Glade course is Druid Hills, also collects baseball and hockey items. When he was young, he was able to chase down an autograph from Ted Williams after “chasing him to his car, begging for his autograph,” he said, laughing, “He finally gave in.”
Though it’s not always been “fairways and greens”, Hero is thankful for all the memories he has both on his walls and in his mind.
“I have been blessed …” he said. “It’s been a journey and experiences I will never forget.”
You know something else he will never forget? Turning on a light before entering his home with groceries.