Growing up in our little town in the 1950s, saw us youngsters play a lot of sports. Hockey, baseball, and curling were the most popular. But none of us played golf. The Saugeen Golf Club had 9 holes, up to 1956, and it was seen as a place for the businessmen of Southampton and Port Elgin to be together, “privately”. You had to have a lot of money to buy all of the “stuff” that you needed to play golf. We all thought so, anyway.
In 1959, I graduated from Saugeen District High School. After a few false starts, I finally ended up going to the “big city” in 1960. Going to work in a large facility with more than 3,000 employees meant a whole new eye-opening look at organized sports.
We had a Recreation Club that was staffed and managed by the company. There was house league hockey, baseball, bowling, basketball, and even golf. Teams from different parts of the 1.2 million square foot facility competed against each other. The number of teams in each sport varied, but you could join as many leagues as you wanted, and they were affordable.
Initially, I joined the “Accounting Division Team” for hockey and ball. We had our own 4 Alley bowling facility in the plant, and I bowled with a group of associates in a fun league one night a week. In my second year there, a supervisor asked me to come out for golf. I had no money to buy clubs. He offered me an old set he had that were manufactured during WWII. The putter was a flat blade Wright and Ditson with a hickory shaft. There were 6 metals and two woods. The 8 shafts were made from recycled metal and were dark brown in colour.
During WWII, most of the new steel produced in Canada was directed to the war effort.
In the 60s, as well as many wonderful private golf clubs, there were public courses that welcomed company league play. The Lakeview Golf Club, just west of our workplace was one of the best. It was opened in 1907 and twice had hosted the Canadian Open. Today, it remains one of the most popular public courses in the Metropolitan area.
The Recreation Club arranged for 2 sets of lessons for us beginners. In 1961, I started to play a new sport that, for the next 60 years, was a big part of my life.
Today, I looked at the clutter in my garage and thought that I have to get this place cleaned out. Where did it all come from? How do I get rid of it?
And there they were. The hickory shaft putter and some of the clubs with the recycled steel shafts. I smiled and thought about a lot of good times
Golf is a wonderful sport. Camaraderie, Enjoyment, and Memories.
