Sun Sets on the Tartan

As the sun sets on my childhood golf course where the sounds of golf carts rumbling by or the smack of a golf club followed by the shouts of joy or maybe anguish have been silenced, the course is anything but quiet. A fun journey into the past while away in Virginia was a voyage around an old golf course my Dad once played. They still live on the course that once was full of golfers and guests of the Tides Inn. It was the Tartan Course in Weems, VA and has been forgotten by golfers but not the land around it. For the residents near the course including the wildlife that my dad has named the boys, they try to manage the growth of vegetation so it doesn’t consume them but the gift of life abounds in every directions as you see nature take over the land once again. It makes me smile knowing life finds a way even into the smallest nooks and crannies.

I spent part of my childhood in Weems and Irvington, VA (the Rivah as some call it) and was home to help my parents prepare for a move closer to us. It is hard to say good-bye to your childhood as we walked the town, strolled through the Tides Inn remembering Thanksgiving meals or even my wedding to the beautiful water that we once swam in as children. Daily walks on the land during our visit lead us to the old greens that I once putted on and bunkers that once were full of sand that I would rake. It definitely has changed is the Tartan closed and I thought it would be fun to show how nature regrows in the absence of the mowers and golfers.

Some areas are maintained a little so that the few houses around are not engulfed by vines, grasses, insects, animals and the forest. At times, I imagine being taken over by nature and how peaceful that would be. I wish I could send the smells of the course to the world as it is as sweet as candy in my nose along with the singing of the song birds chirping loudly. You can only imagine how active the land is and how alive your senses become.

For fun, I start at the clubhouse. It is still there and starting to show the signs of the forest encroaching on its footprint. As I walked around building, the remnants of tables, display signs and even papers seemed to be left behind as if golfers will return soon.

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The buildings quickly become one with the life around it. I found evidence all around of the human footprint that once was this course.

The course has been closed less than 10 years – (I think) and already it seems like a time lost long ago. I love the pictures of the bunkers with huge pine trees reaching to the sky or the fields on the fairways that will eventually turn into a forest. The pond that once ate golf balls or the paths that led us to the greens were all there but now have taken on a new life and purpose.

Nature is amazing and I was so taken how the course was possibly more beautiful to me this way than before when I would jump into the golf cart with my clubs. I still walk around with my dad on the course without our clubs now in search of the wildlife that will greet us. It is magical to see the rabbits, the deer or even the groundhog but most importantly a time with my dad. Isn’t that what life is about – the time we spend together surrounded by the riches of this planet (nature) Thanks Dad for your love of nature and the walks on the course.

Enjoy nature as it is life giving.

As you step back, you realize that we are just like the old golf course. We are still there (here) but nature is making us full of more life as we age. It is definitely beautiful and worth the drive. Hopefully we stay out of the hazards.