Oh. Pasture Golf. Oh.
Them that know me probably suspect I love golf, in part, because of the stateliness of it. Yeah, I admit it. I love the fact that this is a sport that hasn’t lost that gloss of formality. Where you have to daub your clothes with a wee touch of starch before you head out to the links. I love that players keep their voices down and their reactions low key. I love the park-like look that groundskeepers imbue into well-groomed courses.
And yet. And yet. The course I actually play most often is a muni course. And it’s not a place where guys wear neckties and gals wear nylons. Figuratively speaking. I play all the time with folks who don’t bother with score cards. The tees are scruffy. The fairways are dotted with dried up mudpuddles that will never see a tuft of real turf. And man, it’s a lovely place. Everyone is friendly. Everyone smiles. And when you’re invited to join other players — which happens to me virtually every time I go there — it’s like you become instant friends. For a couple of hours. You love when they hit a nice drive. You suffer when they miss a putt. And they feel the same for you.
So when I found this site, I have to say my heart skipped a beat. Pasture Golf. Yeah. Here’s the site description:
<< PastureGolf.com catalogs and features golf courses that have the distinction of not being excessively manicured but which are fun and affordable to play.>>
Oh. Oh.
There’s more about what makes a pasture golf course here. A taste:
<< Pasture Golf belongs to the restoration or so-called “minimalist” movement. We are part of what Geoff Schackelford described to GolfClubAtlas.com as a “backlash to the penal and politically correct, landscape oriented styles” of courses.>>
Alas, there aren’t any courses local to me listed in the directory. But I’m already a fan. I am already so a fan.