On 12th October 1974 (Founder's Day therefore no school) a gaggle of us hired clubs and played our first game of golf. The venue was Pype Hayes, reputed to be the busiest course in the country. In those days it was a municipal facility, complete with pro shop (where the avuncular Phil Rudge held sway) and cafe. The City of Birmingham has long since handed the course (and its other municipal cousins) to the tender mercies of MyTime Active but the policy of access to all has been maintained. There is no resident pro any longer but there is a rather more plush clubhouse with a bar, function room and a lavish gym upstairs. It is a symbol of inclusivity in a game that can struggle on that front.
Our two pictures show the shell of the old clubhouse after arson a decade ago, and the current structure that replaced it. We have now come full circle, because to date my first and last games of golf have been played on the same course. That will change but it has a nice circularity about it for now.
My favourite hole on this course is proof that things do not have to be left unchanged to be good. When I played that first round, the 13th was a decent enough par 4. It has now been remodelled as a devilish par 5. It curves from left to right and all the way from tee to green it tempts you to play too safely right. It may lack the class and conditioning of all the other holes assembled in this calendar but it is a real tester for this inveterate left-handed slicer and it feels like a spiritual home.
As I say every year, Happy Christmas and may your god go with you.
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