The Game Of Golf

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "From The Sublime To The Ridiculous":

While I agree that Walmer (et al) is a nut, your condescending tone towards those that golf in this post is something that I must take offence.

Technically, the Highgate Gate course (formally Aurora Highlands) has 18 holes. Westview is 27. St Andrews Valley, Magna and Beacon Hall each have 18. That is only 5 courses!

We are lucky to live in an area with so much golf to choose from. These courses employ local people (during the summer most are students). They encourage non-locals to travel to the area to play them. Outside of Aurora proper, there are many more courses (King's Riding, Bloomington Downs, Emerald Hills, St Andrews East, Diamondback, etc). It was sad to see Glenway in Newmarket close up shop but the power of the almighty dollar made that decision.

Like it or not, this is a big industry and in our area a big deal. The owners of these courses are not interested in making the courses devoid of trees. Courses must change. Trees are removed, trees are planted, things happen.

Just be lucky that there are no owners that would like to make their course look like the stark St Andrews in Scotland. There would be no trees.

You don't have to like the sport, but please don't put down those that do. We are all different.

**************

Oh My...Is that how you read it? I have always thought of golf as a sport  that teaches humility, perseverance and fatalism above all else.

On Wednesday night, I  referred to Sudbury and the problems they have  getting  trees to flourish let alone keep  them in check.

 I thought of tomato plants never seen growing outdoors until I traveled to England but I didn't mention that.

 I have not had the privilege of playing St. Andrews which is subject to gale force winds, sweeping in off the North sea.

 In the west,  winds blow rivers back up into the hills. It's hard to lean into the winds  and make  headway. With the wind at your back, oilskin pockets fill up with rain.  In a high wind, streets are littered with umbrellas blown out of the hands of the foolish or maybe visitors.

Why should anyone expect trees to get to  a  point of  strength to survive with winds like that. Dune grass has a blade as sharp as a razor.

For a' that, it can be said  St Andrews course is fairly weel
regarded. There's nae shortage of folk willing to pay a high price  to hit the wee white ba' hither and thither.

I 've played  a municipal course on a moor in the west where, about four in the  afternoon, a thick mist rose out of the ground.  At first  golfers couldn't be seen to have feet and eventually only torsos from the waist up were  seen floating  eerily about on a pillow of  dense white fog.

The road that divided the course was clear.

But my post wasn't really about golf. It was about the golf  industry and its needs.

It could probably be argued, on the basis of numbers, golf is the town's main industry. If I didn't have a hunch assessment revenue isn't up there on a par with other business, I would argue that.

But there is no question of environmental benefits.

The post was  about people making a conscious choice and paying a premium for  a home abutting a golf course and then demanding the town pass  rules and regulations  to interfere with best practices of maintaining a golf course.

We wouldn't do that to any other industry. 

I was going along with it as well until we had a public meeting and heard from the  Association of Green-keepers  along with  the self-proclaimed experts that follow in tow and dutifully cant the  Walmer Mantra.

The woman suggests Council should not make a decision until
the volunteers on the Environmental Advisory Committee have had an opportunity to advise.

Like the "rubes"  who get elected  and are accountable  are less  capable of  exercising  judgement than those who volunteer and are accountable to no-one.