Natural Grass Putting Courses

Just a thought - Although we are constructors of adventure golf courses using artificial surfaces, our roots are based in a bygone era when natural grass was the only option. They are fast disappearing, but the natural grass putting course was common once upon a time, I remember playing almost weekly down at our local park. The course I played on had so many dips and turns on the way to the hole. The greens were in very good condition and the local council spared no expense maintaining the course to a good standard. It's sad really, but that kind of local entertainment saved you from catching the bus to visit the next town looking for entertainment. The course I played on also had a cafe serving everything a young lad would want. There was also a paddling pool, bowling green and tennis courts for general public use.

“The course attendant dished out the bowls, racquets and of course the putters from a shed, Which looking back had a Granddad's wooden hut feel about it.”

The town where the course was situated is not a tourist town by any stretch of the imagination. It was in a sense a new town with people who moved there just after the war. A new way of living, not aspirational but a better quality of life. Fresh air, space and leisure pursuits. Indeed in at least one park, per town there was a putting course and or a pitch and putt course. There were more fields and an abundance of people using the park. Much of this has now been eroded where there is less of everything that made the park fun. The parks spaces are generally diminishing or just used by dog walkers and the odd football team (The fields I remember were packed with football teams all playing on a Sunday morning). I have seen many instances of land left to grow wild, where once stood a natural putting green. I've even asked about rejuvenating or bringing back these courses, only to be told by the local council erm no, or worse, just ignored. Some of these areas, have remained unused for at least thirty years and are still left unused to do this day.

Traditional non corporate entertainment -

has diminished to a point where there is not much to do for the younger generations unless they visit the local glitz and glamour drinking holes or sweet parlour. The indoor entertainment factories are producing parlour games for a video game generation. They have taken away local facilities to larger complex’s away from the town. This has meant driving everywhere. There are wider implications for the environment here of course but that's not really my point. I'm just sad that I never got the chance to walk my children (but maybe grandchildren?) down to the local park for a game of putting. The picture above is taken form the web but it shows how a course can look in a natural grass setting. It can work. I am a greenkeeper by trade and have maintained a pitch and putt course in the past. I am well qualified in putting green care and have even prepared a course for a PGA tournament so if anyone out there Is considering taking a step back in time….