It recently was reported in this newspaper that the city of Kent is pondering selling the par 3 golf course at Riverbend. This is a bad mistake on many levels.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
First, many young people learn the game from the par 3 courses first, like I did, and then graduate to bigger golf courses after learning courtesy, sportsmanship and honesty. Secondly, newcomers to the game will find much more enjoyment from learning the game on a shorter course before graduating to a larger one and buying $500 worth of clubs and gear.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
And finally, many seniors play the par 3, keeping them active and getting enjoyment from a game designed by the devil himself.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I started playing golf at 15, but I started hitting golf balls at 12. I played the local nine-hole course five miles from town. But before that, I hit balls in whatever open field I could find \u2013\u00a0our junior high field first, then on the baseball diamond, where more than once I was chased off by the varsity baseball coach who gave me tips on replacing divots and a grip change.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
But my first experience on a real course was on a sand green monstrosity in Woodburn, Ore. Nine holes. A one-dollar bill for nine holes. A box with a sign on it that said, “Honor System”, which meant to me that if I had a buck, I’d put it in the box. Otherwise, I’d pay two bucks next time through.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
We learned courtesy, how to act like a gentleman and how to write down a six, even if you didn’t want to.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
And even if you are a newcomer to the game, this is where I recommend you begin. I’ve seen guys who couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat play golf in front of me, and with painful results. Newcomers can’t possibly enjoy the game on a course longer than 6,000 yards, yet I see them every summer, no shirt, too many beers and keeping other golfers behind them backed up.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This is where you should learn the game first, then if you have some ability, take a few lessons before playing the bigger courses.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Finally, our seniors need a place to play. Yes, I know you can’t move as fast as before, but you still enjoy the game. I’ll be there soon enough. I figure I’ve got about 15 years left of playing from the big boy tees, and then finally it will be me out there on the par 3 course, shaking my fist and cursing this frustrating game.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I just hope it is still there when my time comes.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Todd Nuttman is a regular contributor to the Kent Reporter.<\/em><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It recently was reported in this newspaper that the city of Kent is pondering selling the par 3 golf course at Riverbend. This is a bad mistake on many levels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":234,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-15839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15839"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/234"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15839\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15839"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=15839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}