Come Join The Family of Golfers

   It has been said that golf is an elitist sport.  I guess looking at just the face of it that can be said.  But is it the true nature of golf.  I get angered when the media puts that face forward.  Golf is not a white man's elitist sport.  In fact when you dig a little deeper you find that true golf is very egalitarian in it's nature. Golf in the trenches is not the PGA tournament that you see on TV. Come and see the true game of golf and who is playing it. Come to Rancho Del Rey or Riverside Golf Course.

     Many people outside of golf see only one world and that is the closed world of the private golf course. They also see the very closed world of the PGA Tour.  The media reports loudly on decisions made by some of the old ruling bodies of golf that seem anti-women.  The good news in that respect is things are changing. It has to change because the game is much more multi-cultural multi-colored and played by the ladies than what is shown on TV and women are the biggest growth area of golf today. Golf, especially at the public course level, is more diverse than people want to give credit. Most public course golfers know this. Please don't take that as a hit on private courses either, because the memberships in most private clubs is changing to reflect a more diverse population.

     As I have said in previous posts I play and worked as a marshal at a local semi-private course.  Most of the members that play at our course can be described as "working class".  Our course is open to whomever wants to play and the advantages of being a member are basically reduced green fees. State golf association memberships are extra.  It's great to see the diverse nature of those golfers who play the course and who are members with almost no distinction between members and public players.

     We have all kinds of people with different backgrounds playing at Rancho Del Rey. It is not unusual to see a foursome or fivesome--we do allow fivesomes on non-busy days during the week--that are made up of hispanic, black, asian and white players. We have a very active contingent of Mexican American Golf Association players whose membership included white guys and African Americans.We even have a gentleman from Puerto Rico who looks and sound just like ChiChi Rodriguez. I think it is his brother, but I don't know. I haven't seen him for awhile. It seems as though he moved to Minnesota.

        Women play right along side of men and are very active in the Player's Club. In fact, our ladies have formed their own player's club and their membership is growing.  A good piece of advice here is don't get into a money game with one of our ladies.

    We have a very active senior's club. Our club is made up of a very diverse background of players, both ethnically and if you look at where our members come from occupationally. We have teachers, plumbers, construction workers, delivery drivers and even a couple of retired Marines. As far as the ethnic background of our members it is truly a rainbow of colors and we even have a member from of all places, Guam. 

  
     Come take a look at our nineteenth hole.  The place is jumping with conversations and color, religion, sex or national heritage doesn't stop the conversations. Most of the conversations are centered around golf as this is the cornerstone of the family. We are family here. The only distinction that is made is that we are all golfers, and some non-golfers. The main question is not who are you but more importantly, what is your handicap?

Last Minute Golf In San Diego

  I usually like to take a trip out of Fresno in January. It is a time for me to get away and to refresh my winter batteries. This year, I chose a trip to San Diego, and when I left I really didn't have the desire to play golf but I carried my clubs with me down south. Who knows, the urge may strike at any time and I wanted to be ready with my sticks.

As I was sitting in my hotel room early in the morning after breakfast, I was struck with a harsh reality. What was I going to do that day? It was 6:00 A.M. and I had not planned my itinerary today. My mind was full of ideas about what to do and where to go, but nothing seemed like what I really wanted to do.

     Since I was by myself and I don't get to play golf much down in San Diego when I am with others I decided to play, but where? I called San Diego Country Club and talked to Tom, their head pro, to see what he could suggest. I knew that San Diego Country Club was private and I could not get on to play there so I could rely on the information that Tom would pass on to me.

I wanted a course that was a good layout and challenging yet wouldn't cost an arm and a leg in green fees, somewhere around the neighborhood of $50 with a cart. We chatted a bit about golf and he told me that that might be very difficult to do, to stay within my budget. He did suggested a couple of courses that I might be interested in, but highly recommended a course in the hills above Chula Vista where I was staying. We ended our conversation and he wished me good luck.

     Tom recommended Salt Creek Golf Course and said he didn't know what the green fees where there. I called Salt Creek and found out that the regular daily rate with cart was only $38 and my decision was made.  I'll take a shot at it, literally.  I was on my way and really didn't know what to expect.

     I was told that Chula Vista is a geographically large city. After driving around the city into the hills above and still being in Chula Vista, I began to understand the accuracy of that statement. This course was a long way away from where I was staying and yet was still in Chula Vista. The drive was truly worth it and the view of the city and the bay beyond was breathtaking.

     Salt Creek was designed by Cary Biddle and John Cook. Being a hill course, one has many side hill, downhill and uphill lies. You really have to work at keeping your mind in the game to play these differing lies. The greens are fast, but I felt they were true and rolled well. I was truly surprised at the design of the course, which was treeless and built into the natural landscape. There were very few trees and played like a links course.

     I know that I have not given much information or talked in depth about Salt Creek.I plan to return soon and I enjoyed playing the course. The experience at Salt Creek was well worth the hunt for it. For the price, the golf and the total experience, I highly recommend the course.