Joe21
05-13-2009, 07:40 PM
Golf spelled backwards is FLOG, and that's an apt description of the game I've failed to master since I picked up my first club many years ago. But those of you who have had an opportunity to chase that little dimpled pellet down the fairway and into some uncharted territories have, no doubt, witnessed many comical situations. This story occured some time in the late 1960's at the Bonnie Brae golf course in the Greenville area, the only time I played the course.
Bonnie Brae was built on the site of an old farmstead and remnants of a bygone era were still evident when I played the course. In the "old days", many farms had tenant houses for the families of the farm laborers. As you can well imagine, the houses were very plain. Most were built of sturdy heart pine and never received the first coat of paint. There were no glass windows or fancy doors. Windows were several boards wide and hung with strap hinges. A hook and eye latch kept the window open during warm weather. The doors were also made of several wide boards and hung with strap hinges. There were no screens on the windows so flies, other insects and even chickens had free access to the house.
There was always a front porch. The porch was usually supported by 4 x 4's resting on stones. When the house was built the porch was level but as years passed and rains eroded the soil around the stones, the porch took on a decided slope. Even the house would develop a slope causing an unlatched window or door to remain open.There was no insulation nor were the rooms ceiled. Often times the tenants would glue newspapers and/or pages from magazines to the interior walls to provide some degree of insulation.
When I played Bonnie Brae, one of these old tenant houses was still standing off to the right of Number 1 tee. The front porch as well as the front of the house had developed that slope over the years and all windows and the front door were open. We were told the house had been used earlier as a storage unit but was now abandoned.
On this particular day, one of my friends and I drove from Clemson to Bonnie Brae to test our skills. Since we were only a twosome, the starter asked if two high school age boys could join us. We were agreeable so off we went to Number 1 tee. My friend and I teed off and then one of the young boys. The second young boy took a few practice swings and addressed his ball. He took a mighty swing and away went the ball, not down the fairway, but directrly toward the old tenant house. The ball went through one of the open windows on the fly and we could hear it ricocheting in the old house. All four of us were standing there laughing our heads off. We started toward the old house to retrieve the ball and what we saw made us break out in wild laughter, As we watched, the ball came rolling out of the house through the doorway, across the porch and to the ground. After regaining our composure, we realized the young boy had a good lie. He hit the ball back into the fairway and ended up with a bogie, the same as we three.
It's little things like this that have always made golf a fun thing. At least it's better than trying to remember some of my scores.
Bonnie Brae was built on the site of an old farmstead and remnants of a bygone era were still evident when I played the course. In the "old days", many farms had tenant houses for the families of the farm laborers. As you can well imagine, the houses were very plain. Most were built of sturdy heart pine and never received the first coat of paint. There were no glass windows or fancy doors. Windows were several boards wide and hung with strap hinges. A hook and eye latch kept the window open during warm weather. The doors were also made of several wide boards and hung with strap hinges. There were no screens on the windows so flies, other insects and even chickens had free access to the house.
There was always a front porch. The porch was usually supported by 4 x 4's resting on stones. When the house was built the porch was level but as years passed and rains eroded the soil around the stones, the porch took on a decided slope. Even the house would develop a slope causing an unlatched window or door to remain open.There was no insulation nor were the rooms ceiled. Often times the tenants would glue newspapers and/or pages from magazines to the interior walls to provide some degree of insulation.
When I played Bonnie Brae, one of these old tenant houses was still standing off to the right of Number 1 tee. The front porch as well as the front of the house had developed that slope over the years and all windows and the front door were open. We were told the house had been used earlier as a storage unit but was now abandoned.
On this particular day, one of my friends and I drove from Clemson to Bonnie Brae to test our skills. Since we were only a twosome, the starter asked if two high school age boys could join us. We were agreeable so off we went to Number 1 tee. My friend and I teed off and then one of the young boys. The second young boy took a few practice swings and addressed his ball. He took a mighty swing and away went the ball, not down the fairway, but directrly toward the old tenant house. The ball went through one of the open windows on the fly and we could hear it ricocheting in the old house. All four of us were standing there laughing our heads off. We started toward the old house to retrieve the ball and what we saw made us break out in wild laughter, As we watched, the ball came rolling out of the house through the doorway, across the porch and to the ground. After regaining our composure, we realized the young boy had a good lie. He hit the ball back into the fairway and ended up with a bogie, the same as we three.
It's little things like this that have always made golf a fun thing. At least it's better than trying to remember some of my scores.