Native Golf

[A_Clay_Man]

For all you starving archies out there:

Marrying the physical with the spiritual, seems like an easy endeavor, for say, the Navajo Nation. But, they have yet to embrace golf (that I'm aware of) in a formal sense.

Odd, because there are many native americans who really love the game, and have alot of fun golfing. They even self efface, calling a barky bogey, an indian par.

To prove "they" love it, I just received a call from a friend who had to make a delivery yesterday, deep onto "the Rez". He was driving between Ganado and Steamboat Az. (50 miles west of window rock) and what did his eye spy, out of the window of his 3000 gallon tanker? A five or six hole golf course, cut out of the sage brush. With dirt fairways and sand greens.

He speculated that the 3 or 4 families that live there, didn't want to travel the 100 miles to Holbrook, to golf, so they did what the ancient Danes and Scots must've done, they made it up as they went along. How cool!

We sit on here and read and post about these ridiculous monstrosities, in waste and inefficiencies, and out here, somewhere on The Rez, there are a few who probably "get it", more than the most celebrated in the sport, like JakaB.

I hope you're smiling, Alfie!

[TEPaul]

Adam:

Even that great naturalist in golf architecture and sometimes proponent of what he called "wild golf", Max Behr, admitted that in most cases with this kind of thing---"You can never go home again!"

[A_Clay_Man]

Tom, If "home" looks anything like the images I saw last night of Trump Nat'l, call me a vagabond.

What's amazing about Arizona, is that this is not the only golf course of this nature. There's a trailer park that has a similar "back to basic" approach to golf.

I view it as a natural evolution, created by the over-priced, underwhelming real estate, that gets passed off as GCA in this water conscience state.

Honestly, the nature of the surrounds at the courses I play in this region are such that being off the beaten path (fairway) is hardly a penalty. Sure, you'll have rock issues and many times a tight lie on sand, results in going underneath the ball,. Which just makes it that much more challenging.

When the gca.com group came to Pinon Hills, John V made the astute observation that if he had missed his tee-shot by 30 yards, he'd have a better lie in the native areas. Opposed to the lush, thick, over-watered rough, that his ball did find when only missing by 10 yards. Where's the sport in that?

[Alfie]

We sit on here and read and post about these ridiculous monstrosities, in waste and inefficiencies, and out here, somewhere on The Rez, there are a few who probably "get it", more than the most celebrated in the sport, like JakaB.
..................

Adam,

You know me so well, my friend.

I'm grinning from ear to ear.  

I say well done and good luck to those folks in "the Rez" and strongly advise them to keep GCA's "away from their course" ?

I get it - Adam's got it - I think TEP has it - and Max Behr certainly campaigned "for" it !