Can you go home again—to reflect and golf?

When you decide to move from East to West in Canada it is not a short jaunt down the highway. I took the plunge and drove from near Toronto with my good friend Rick when I decided to experience British Columbia and the great attributes this province offers. Ontario is much larger than you can imagine, the Prairies are indeed flat, the Rocky Mountains are mesmerizing and when you enter B.C. just on the other side of Banff, Alberta your stunned by its beauty. And to round it all off, we saw golfers playing in shorts in early March as soon as we reached the Okanagan Valley. Rick and I even agreed that a warm current seemed to hit us once we turned southwards towards my new home in desert like climate.

Now it was time for my return to Woodstock, Ontario after a two and a half year hiatus. My main reason was to visit my aging mother who is also a good friend. I could tell in her voice on a recent phone conversation that it was time for the prodigal son to return and lift her spirits. She had moved down the street to live above her twin sister Doreen. The location also happened to sit a few houses down from where we grew up on Vansittart Avenue. Doris had her own change. I also wanted to see if there was a constant when I linked up with good golfing friends at Oxford Golf and Country Club—more popularly known as Craigowan.

I had been a member at this club for several decades starting at five years of age. My father Terry got this young tyke out there with a sawed off 4 wood to start. Now I stood scanning the place to bring back all the fond memories of putting for nickels, playing ping pong in the Junior room, drinking Fanta pop and competing with friends who bring laughs through competitive spirit. I would not be disappointed as my good friend Pat and I defeated my other friends Steve and Andy 1 up in a most enjoyable joust. This is what I miss greatly. These deep golfing connections cannot be replaced when you play at other public courses with strangers.

The course was in good shape and remains one of the hidden jewels in Ontario. I have heard the PGA player David Hearn, who lives in nearby Brantford and nearly missed winning the Canadian Open recently, sees this as one of his favourites. I can see why because it is a course you can play everyday and never get tired of the diversity of challenging par 3’s and does not beat you down like other high brow alternatives.

Craigowan, like golf courses across the world, is going through its own changes. Once a private club it is now more semi-private. Hopefully they can find the right formula so this special place continues to be one that golfers can enjoy for years to come. It is still a pleasure to enjoy sweet potato fries on the patio overlooking the 18th green and 1st tee.

As I walked the downtown corridor and along Pittock Lake to see the shifting landscape and drove locally to scope out new developments with my mother, I pondered whether I missed this place too much that I should return. I took pictures of my mother standing in front of the two houses I was raised and even spent twenty minutes trying to find my father’s burial plot but to no avail. Instead Doris quietly hollered to see if Terry was listening. I am sure he was.

As I flew back to West Kelowna via Vancouver I had time to reflect on this excellent week I spent in what we endearingly call the “Woodpile”. Change is always there in our lives and it can be difficult to just get up and leave your family and golfing chums. But British Columbia is a special place where I want to stay. It certainly helps that international golfing visitors want to explore this great Western part of Canada. Perhaps if I did not move then Athlone Golf and Sports Travel would not be in my cards. All I can say is that my hug of my mother, our deep conversations about many subjects both important and trivial and the fun of competitive golf with good friends are worth doing again. Like golf where triples and birdies are nicely entwined when playing, sadness and fantastic memories remind you that you are human. Don’t be afraid to shed a tear and embrace new opportunities.