thedrifter
11-14-06, 07:09 AM
Marine Memorial provides a different (and refreshing) kind of obstacle course
By Tod Leonard
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
November 14, 2006
CAMP PENDLETON – They stood together last week, two Marines who looked like they could, at any moment, throw hefty packs onto their backs and jog 10 miles. They were buff and formidable in their brown and green “camis” and their heavy boots.
It was the clean, white gloves on their left hands that gave the “mission” away.
Get better at golf – that was clearly the maneuver on a beautiful and warm fall day in the hills east of Oceanside. On the driving range of the Marine Memorial Golf Course, the Marines – very obviously neophyte golfers, judging by their overly swift and crooked swings – swatted balls.
One would watch the other, and then they'd stop to talk and tinker, with their grips, their stance, their posture.
In that moment, nothing else appeared to matter. Just golf. Even the war in Iraq might have seemed just a little more distant.
“Me, personally, picking up a golf club and starting to play and being out there on that golf course, I call that my sanity,” Master Sgt. Kevin Eckhoff said over the phone last week.
Eckhoff, 42, already has served two tours in Iraq, and now he's an operations chief at Pendleton's school of infantry, which trains troops straight out of boot camp for battle in the 1st Marine Division.
The Virginia Beach, Va., native was an avid hockey player when he was younger, but an ankle injury forced him to hang up the skates and pick up a golf club four years ago. The natural place for him to learn was Marine Memorial, because it was cheap (as little as $8 a round), more welcoming than Eckhoff could have imagined, and he never had to leave the base. He plays at least once a week and has an 11-handicap now.
“It's our sanctuary,” Eckhoff said.
These days, the sanctuary is a little less exclusive. With so many of Pendleton's troops in Iraq, Marine Memorial has taken a financial hit, and the unprecedented decision has been made to open the course to the public Tuesday through Thursday ($27 walking, $37 with a shared cart). Mondays, when the course traditionally has been closed for maintenance, also will be available starting Dec. 1. In the past, civilians could only play as guests of a military member.
“The numbers just aren't there,” said Director of Golf Doug Blanchard. “And the thought was, we want to give something back to the civilians in the area. We want to thank you for supporting our military personnel.”
There's probably a healthy percentage of golfers in San Diego who don't know Pendleton has a championship golf course (6,865 yards from the blue tees), or that it was once considered one of the prize “gets” in county golf if you could finagle your way on. Lee Trevino played there when he was in the Marines, as did a former female lieutenant, LPGA and Marine Corps Sports Hall of Famer Patty Berg.
Designed in 1948 by the prolific William P. Bell – architect of La Jolla and San Diego country clubs and Torrey Pines – Marine Memorial has been a haven to those in the military through the major wars in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and now Iraq. Between Oceanside and Bonsall, not far from Pendleton's back gate, it meanders through a scrub-brush canyon dubbed Windmill Valley because of its prevailing strong breeze.
With no water hazards, that wind is the course's major defense, along with its sticky kikuyu fairways and fringe. Oaks, sycamores and eucalyptus are plentiful, and golfers from courses such as Cottonwood, San Luis Rey and Fallbrook might see some similarities.
“You're not going to hit any houses out here,” Blanchard said with a grin, although he does joke with the golfers about not straying too far off the course to look for golf balls.
It is a unique golf setting, with the concussion of cannons in the distance and the occasional buzz of a low-flying helicopter. Those howitzer (who needs a wimpy shotgun?) starts for tournaments are attention-getters, too.
Blanchard, 61, has become a fixture at the course since taking over as director in 1998. A Point Loma native and former defensive back for Don Coryell at San Diego State, he took a sharp U-turn in his career at age 40, going from the landscaping business to golf instruction.
On a recent weekday, Blanchard manned his office desk in a bright Hawaiian-print shirt, and though he never served in the military, his regard for the troops rings loudly by how they are treated at the course.
“If we don't know somebody's name when they walk up, shame on us,” he said. “A corporal is treated just like a captain. We want to do everything we can to make their day, make them smile.”
“You leave your rank in the parking lot,” confirmed Eckhoff. “Everybody's the same until they swing the golf club.
“The staff knows what we've been through (in the war), and it's OK with them,” he added. “They're not only there to help you with your swing, they'll help you any way they can, if you need somebody to talk to.”
Occasionally, Blanchard sees first-hand the terrible aftermath of war as returnees from Iraq show up at the course.
“You notice right away,” he said. “You see the weight loss. Some guys have a look in their eye; it wasn't the same as when they left.
“But after several weeks of being back, you'll see a whole new spirit in their eyes.”
Having a sanctuary helps.
“There are a lot of emotions, hard feelings, anger ... I can release that and let that go out there on the golf course,” Eckhoff said. “When I'm out there, it doesn't come into play or bother me anymore.”
Tod Leonard: (619) 293-1858;tod.leonard@uniontrib.com
Ellie
By Tod Leonard
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
November 14, 2006
CAMP PENDLETON – They stood together last week, two Marines who looked like they could, at any moment, throw hefty packs onto their backs and jog 10 miles. They were buff and formidable in their brown and green “camis” and their heavy boots.
It was the clean, white gloves on their left hands that gave the “mission” away.
Get better at golf – that was clearly the maneuver on a beautiful and warm fall day in the hills east of Oceanside. On the driving range of the Marine Memorial Golf Course, the Marines – very obviously neophyte golfers, judging by their overly swift and crooked swings – swatted balls.
One would watch the other, and then they'd stop to talk and tinker, with their grips, their stance, their posture.
In that moment, nothing else appeared to matter. Just golf. Even the war in Iraq might have seemed just a little more distant.
“Me, personally, picking up a golf club and starting to play and being out there on that golf course, I call that my sanity,” Master Sgt. Kevin Eckhoff said over the phone last week.
Eckhoff, 42, already has served two tours in Iraq, and now he's an operations chief at Pendleton's school of infantry, which trains troops straight out of boot camp for battle in the 1st Marine Division.
The Virginia Beach, Va., native was an avid hockey player when he was younger, but an ankle injury forced him to hang up the skates and pick up a golf club four years ago. The natural place for him to learn was Marine Memorial, because it was cheap (as little as $8 a round), more welcoming than Eckhoff could have imagined, and he never had to leave the base. He plays at least once a week and has an 11-handicap now.
“It's our sanctuary,” Eckhoff said.
These days, the sanctuary is a little less exclusive. With so many of Pendleton's troops in Iraq, Marine Memorial has taken a financial hit, and the unprecedented decision has been made to open the course to the public Tuesday through Thursday ($27 walking, $37 with a shared cart). Mondays, when the course traditionally has been closed for maintenance, also will be available starting Dec. 1. In the past, civilians could only play as guests of a military member.
“The numbers just aren't there,” said Director of Golf Doug Blanchard. “And the thought was, we want to give something back to the civilians in the area. We want to thank you for supporting our military personnel.”
There's probably a healthy percentage of golfers in San Diego who don't know Pendleton has a championship golf course (6,865 yards from the blue tees), or that it was once considered one of the prize “gets” in county golf if you could finagle your way on. Lee Trevino played there when he was in the Marines, as did a former female lieutenant, LPGA and Marine Corps Sports Hall of Famer Patty Berg.
Designed in 1948 by the prolific William P. Bell – architect of La Jolla and San Diego country clubs and Torrey Pines – Marine Memorial has been a haven to those in the military through the major wars in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and now Iraq. Between Oceanside and Bonsall, not far from Pendleton's back gate, it meanders through a scrub-brush canyon dubbed Windmill Valley because of its prevailing strong breeze.
With no water hazards, that wind is the course's major defense, along with its sticky kikuyu fairways and fringe. Oaks, sycamores and eucalyptus are plentiful, and golfers from courses such as Cottonwood, San Luis Rey and Fallbrook might see some similarities.
“You're not going to hit any houses out here,” Blanchard said with a grin, although he does joke with the golfers about not straying too far off the course to look for golf balls.
It is a unique golf setting, with the concussion of cannons in the distance and the occasional buzz of a low-flying helicopter. Those howitzer (who needs a wimpy shotgun?) starts for tournaments are attention-getters, too.
Blanchard, 61, has become a fixture at the course since taking over as director in 1998. A Point Loma native and former defensive back for Don Coryell at San Diego State, he took a sharp U-turn in his career at age 40, going from the landscaping business to golf instruction.
On a recent weekday, Blanchard manned his office desk in a bright Hawaiian-print shirt, and though he never served in the military, his regard for the troops rings loudly by how they are treated at the course.
“If we don't know somebody's name when they walk up, shame on us,” he said. “A corporal is treated just like a captain. We want to do everything we can to make their day, make them smile.”
“You leave your rank in the parking lot,” confirmed Eckhoff. “Everybody's the same until they swing the golf club.
“The staff knows what we've been through (in the war), and it's OK with them,” he added. “They're not only there to help you with your swing, they'll help you any way they can, if you need somebody to talk to.”
Occasionally, Blanchard sees first-hand the terrible aftermath of war as returnees from Iraq show up at the course.
“You notice right away,” he said. “You see the weight loss. Some guys have a look in their eye; it wasn't the same as when they left.
“But after several weeks of being back, you'll see a whole new spirit in their eyes.”
Having a sanctuary helps.
“There are a lot of emotions, hard feelings, anger ... I can release that and let that go out there on the golf course,” Eckhoff said. “When I'm out there, it doesn't come into play or bother me anymore.”
Tod Leonard: (619) 293-1858;tod.leonard@uniontrib.com
Ellie