GROVE CITY — Though the world around her has altered greatly since her birth in 1914, some things have not changed for Rose Jones in the past 97 years.

She still lives in the same house on Kinder Street where she and her husband lived when they married in 1940. She still hates spinach. And she still grabs her golf bag and heads to the links every week.

In fact, she plays with the same golf clubs she used when she started golfing some 50 years ago.

“It's the only set I've ever had,” said Jones.

“This chipper, I got recently,” she added. “My husband got if for me.”

Her husband, Joseph, passed away in 1993. Her bag is a pink stand-up version with compartments for a cell phone and water bottle.

Last week, Jones arrived at the Shamrock Golf Course in Slippery Rock, and a member of the staff happily greeted her with a golf cart. Jones said she has been golfing at Shamrock since the nine-hole course was built in 1957 and is a member of the Wednesday morning ladies golf league.

“We call her the 'godmother,'” said Bob McFeaters, owner of Shamrock. “She's been here pretty much every time … even on some of the really hot days this summer.”

Through the years, numerous teammates have passed on, but Jones continues to golf with women 10 to 40 years her junior. One of them is Elaine Tonelli of Forestville, who has been in the league with her for two years.

“She is amazing,” said Tonelli. “Sometimes she'll remind me to pick up my club if I forget it, or retrieve my ball with her ball retriever. She takes care of me, instead of me taking care of her.”

A shiny grass green bench sits in front of the Shamrock clubhouse. It bears an engraved plate that reads: “Placed in Honor of Rose Jones by her grandchildren.”

Jones' six grandchildren Steven and Todd Wood, Karen Rogers, Kathy Matthews and Brian and Scott Jones bought the bench last spring. It was the idea of her grandson, Steven Wood of Grove City.

“He instigated it,” Jones explained. “He said, 'They honor people after they're gone, but I think we should honor them while they're still here.' My great-granddaughter picked out the color. I think it's perfect.”

The grandchildren surprised Jones with the bench at a family picnic at Wood's home. It was placed at the golf course three months ago.

McFeaters said he plans to store it inside the clubhouse through the winter and then permanently install it on the 5th hole, at Jones' request.

“It's a water hole, and sometimes you have to wait, so I think that would be a good place to put it,” explained Jones.

Another bench honors Betty Staley of Slippery Rock, another of Rose's teammates in the league.

Staley, 88, has cooked breakfast for guests of the Apple Butter Inn in Slippery Rock for 21 years and still likes the interaction with the people. She has enjoyed golfing with Jones for nearly 50 years, she said.

“Rose is a very good golfer for her age. She can beat the most of us.” said Staley. “I took her to Foxburg last Wednesday, and it's a tough course, very hilly, but she's able to get up the hills. The old clubhouse has a lot of steps, and she made all of them. She is truly amazing.”

Staley described Jones as “a strong lady,” who insists on taking all of her clubs though her daughter advised she leave a few at home to lighten her bag, Staley said.

Though Jones is still able to drive golf balls and carts, these days she does leave driving the car to that same daughter, Marion Wood, also of Grove City.

“I go down every week and take her (to the golf course) and then go back to pick her up. She had some health problems last year and doesn't drive anymore,” Marion Wood said.

Wood said her parents were always avid golfers and remembered when it was their Sunday routine to golf at Grove City Country Club, then called Barmore Lake.

“They gave us (she and her brother) golf lessons when I was about 12, but it was not our cup of tea, Wood said.

In her younger days Jones worked at several businesses in Grove City including Bestwick Interior Design (later Zingones), owned by her brother Tom, Four Seasons Boutique and Bi-Low grocery store. She no longer works, but keeps busy.

“She does all her own laundry. She knits and takes care of her plants. We don't call them plants we call them trees,” said Wood. “She's a member of Tower Church and she bakes for the bake sales. You can't go into her house without seeing cookies in the cookie jar.”

The other thing you would see is golf … on television. Staley said that Jones never misses any of it.

“Her main thing in life is playing golf. It's her passion,” said Staley. “We play 14 Wednesdays each summer and she's there all the time. … She's such a big part of our league and we all truly love her.”

“It's something to look forward to,” Jones said.