Dan O'Neill: The Forest Park course has just a week left
Dan O'Neill
Post-Dispatch Sports Columnist
09/14/2002 05:24 PM
Post-Dispatch sports columnist Dan O'Neill
The days have dwindled to a precious few. The 18 championship holes of golf at Forest Park, at least the 18 as a unit, have one week remaining in their long, distinguished career.
Those enticing, infuriating and incomparable holes will receive their final rounds on Sunday, Sept. 22. The following day, work will begin on the second phase of the 27- hole conversion at the Park, a process that is scheduled to be completed in October 2003. To commemorate the occasion, the Park is auctioning off the final 13 tee times on Sunday, with proceeds going to the new junior program. Each tee time accommodates a foursome and includes drink tickets. Call 314-367-1337 for details.
The initial nine-hole portion of the makeover, dubbed the Hawthorne, affected the park's original nine-hole track, otherwise known as the "Flat Nine," the "Big Easy" or, among us spray hitters, "Slicer's Glory."
Surrendering the nine-hole layout was not especially heart-rendering. That nine had some charm, a good walk unspoiled, a perfect place for novices to cut their teeth and a fine place to land cargo planes. But the old flat nine didn't offer much sizzle. In fact, had women never been invited to play the original nine holes at the Park, it would have been perfectly OK with Martha Burk.
But the championship course is a different story. If you grew up in this town and ever damaged your athletic reputation on a golf course, you likely have a story to relate about those 18 holes. A few might even be legal, some suitable for a family newspaper.
For the record, golf officially began at Forest Park in 1912, or about the same time Mike Morgan was making his major league debut. The final nine-hole segment of the championship course was completed in 1915 and it's safe to assume the first ball splashed into Grand Basin short of 17 green just moments later. The original design artist was Robert Foulis, a Scotsman who apprenticed under legendary Old Tom Morris at St. Andrews.
As you may know, there also was a Young Tom Morris, who was Old Tom's son and considered golf's first great champion. Young Tom died tragically at the tender age of 24, which explains why there was never a Middle Aged Tom Morris.
The new facility at the Park, the Norman K. Probstein Community Golf Courses and Youth Learning Center, or "The Norm" for those in a hurry, will be an equal opportunity arrangement. The three nine-hole arrangements will be interchangeable and compatible in terms of playability. The new 27 holes are being orchestrated by Hale Irwin Golf Design, with a nod toward Foulis' classic style and a respect for the bond between the Park and its public.
So it should be with no trepidation we turn over these 18 holes. But like every place we have been that becomes something else, we will remember them with melancholy reverence, like we remember the Mississippi River Festival, Hamburger Heaven and Rick Ankiel. We will remember early summer evenings when we parked the car on Skinker Ave., walked up the hill and crashed the last five holes for free. We will remember when we contended in the Publinx Open, the way Cher remembers being married to Greg Allman, the way Eric Crouch remembers playing in the NFL.
Some of the holes will be missed more than others. Most of us will miss playing the long par-5 No. 9, just for the novelty of it. We will miss hitting the green on No. 6, hitting the driver at No. 4 or making the putt at No. 15. We will miss sitting in that dark, dank clubhouse, digesting the round with a plump hot dog and a cold brew.
But most us will not be disappointed to never step to the tee at No. 3 and attempt a blind shot over the tributary and up the hill while the next two groups impatiently wait and watch. If you miss that, you probably miss Speech class. Most of us will be just fine if we never lose a perfectly good drive in the middle of a fairway after the leaves have fallen, when finding Dick Cheney might be easier. If we miss that, we miss vaccinations.
There were times when we walked off that crazy golf course looking like a man on an all-night bender, and times we walked off with a birdie at 18 and a burning desire to go around again.
Some of us joined clubs, with modern courses, primped and polished. Some of us grew fond of other public facilities, the country clubs for a day. Some of us still play the Park, for its familiar foibles and sentimental charm. Be it once a year or once a week, at one point another, we all got to know her.
The old girl will be taking leave of us soon, in case you want to stop in and say goodbye.