PENN TWP — Groups have been coming a long way for a long time to play golf at Conley's Resort.

Bob Lidle of Poland, Ohio, has been bringing a group for 32 years. Ron Kruse of Cleveland has been doing likewise for more than 30 years.

"Come here any time and there's a different golf group staying with us with a story to tell," Conley's president Wayne Conley said."Ninety percent of these groups re-book for the following year while they're here."

Wilf Manuel's story is a little different, however.

His group — consisting mostly of three generations of family — has been coming down from St. Catharines in Ontario, Canada to play at Conley's annually for 22 years.

Six of the eight-man entourage have been part of the group for all 22 of those years. Gerald Young, 66, a friend of the Manuel family, is in his second year with the golf group.

Chris Manuel, 40, Wilf's grandson, is in his third year.

"I waited a long time to join these guys," Chris Manuel said. "They have such a great time. They're close-knit and I wasn't about to interefere with that."

But when one longtime golfer opted out of the trip for health reasons three years ago, Chris Manuel opted in.

"This is all about my grandfather," Chris insisted. "He's the focal point."

Wilf Manuel is 93. He golfed his age last Wednesday during the group's morning round on the course. He scored a hole-in-one in Canada 10 years ago.

Three of the other golfers — Gary at age 68, Tom at 67 and Rick at 64 — are Wilf's sons. The other two, Sandy Duncan at 77 and Frank Milligan at 70, are friends of the family.

"I think it's really wonderful," Wilf Manuel said of the annual golf trip among family and friends. "I'm just glad I'm still around to enjoy it."

During a week in April each year, the eight men arrive at Conley's in two vans on a Monday. They play 18 holes of golf that afternoon.

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, they play 18 holes of stroke play each morning, then divide into two four-man teams and play a scramble in the afternoon.

"You ride in the cart with someone different every day, your scramble team are different guys every day," Chris Manuel said. "It's not intense. It's not competitive. We just have fun."

But they do have traditions. Hit a ball into the water, it's a "frog." Hit it into a sand trap, it's a "camel." A shot under a tree is a "gorilla." The offending golfer pays a dime to the other seven players.

"We park the vans on Monday and never get back in them until it's time to go home," Chris Manuel said. "Everything we need is right here.

"At night, we relax, sit around, chat and enjoy each other's company."

"These guys know this place better than we do," Conley said. "When they book their trip, they even know what rooms they want."

Who wins each round of golf?

Who cares?

"Nobody loses on this trip," Wilf said.