Golf Is A Fore-letter Word
If you’ve spent as many years in the great outdoors as I have, you’ll likely recall the insect bites, poison ivy rashes, sunburns, bruises, and abrasions that come with the territory. But my earliest cases of these nasty little plagues didn’t come from the wilderness, but instead from the Green County Golf and Country Club.
It all began back in the mid-1960s when a bunch of local farmers and merchants planned to create a nine-hole golf course with a nice concrete block building to go with it. They’d seen these fellows named Palmer and Nicklaus on their black-and-white TV sets making the game look easy. So they were determined to make their dream of a golf course in little Greensburg a reality. They did indeed, and so began my first foray into this outdoor sport.
At the age of 8, I was out on the course every day my parents would take me. I remember seeing some of the men in flannel shirts and work boots attempting their first golf shots. To say their swings were unorthodox is putting it mildly.
My dad was one of them. He was an old baseball star, and that’s sort of what his golf swing looked like. His cut-up golf ball would often travel two fairways over, putting other golfers in grave danger. In fact, that’s how I got my first nasty bruise—not from my dad but from one of the other members with a horrible slice.
I’ll never forget my stepmother saying, “David, you’ve got a pretty good swing. Don’t mess it up by watching the grownups out here.”
The course itself wasn’t much to look at in those days either. The fairways weren’t much different from the surrounding pastures, and were often laden with cow pies from the cattle that would sometimes escape from the neighboring farms. The woods around the fairways were full of poison ivy and the greens were…well, I just don’t have the words to describe them.
But these rough conditions were a great environment to hone one’s golfing skills. I got pretty good at it over the years, but inconsistency was always my problem. I could shoot a 72 or a 92 on any given day. This sport is the most frustrating yet addictive activity I’ve ever pursued. And I still pursue it.
Today, the Green County golf course is a beautiful sight, with its manicured fairways, well-maintained greens, and bunkers of sand, which look as white as snow on a sunny day. I go back there now and then to relive wonderful childhood memories, yet I am still haunted by those bloodcurdling screams of “Fore!”
INSIDER TIPS
The Kentucky State Parks Golf Trail (www.parks.ky.gov/golftrail) offers 18 courses in every region of the state with overnight package deals.
Golf Trail discount cards for specific courses can be purchased for $20-$25, offering a substantial savings on fees and carts.
The nine-hole Green County golf course (open to the public; www.greencountycountryclub.wordpress.com) is a beautiful yet challenging course located in the rolling countryside of south-central Kentucky. For more information, call (270) 932-7031.
