An fun little course is gone the way of the bulldozer. Hitting the driver will be replaced by a "driving experience". The local pitch and putt is no longer there. But, the icon still stands. I hopped on the 405 freeway the other day and saw the giant golfer holding his driver. I thought back to the many times I played the Dominguez Hills Golf Course.
On one particularly fine Sunday afternoon I decided to take my two oldest sons and their cousins golfing. Five preteen youngster and me. My only warning was to not walk in front of the person hitting the ball. Sure enough, my oldest was talking with his cousin while walking in front of his other cousin hitting the ball. She nailed him smack dab in the middle of the back of the head! She couldn't of hit him better if she tried. We actually never asked her if it was an accident.
I will really miss the hands free driving range. You just put in the card and the balls rise up on the tee. There was a little handle you could press with your club and no more bending over. I hate going to the old fashion kind now. Plus now I have to rent a practice tee if I don't have my own! My favorite memory of the driving range was when I bravely took my wife. I know Harvey Penick advised me against this, but... Anyways, I was trying to show my wife the basics of the golf swing, as best as a not scratch golfer could. My lovely wife was worried about hitting the ball poorly and looking bad. I was trying to explain my theory on golf and driving: there is ALWAYS someone worse than you on the road and on the range any given time. In the middle of my speech the announcer comes on and asks everyone to stop hitting balls for a moment. Everyone stopped and a gentleman ran out about fifteen yards, grabbed his driver and ran back (I think he was Japanese because he he did the head-bow about 27 times on the way back)to the tees. I couldn't resist and yelled, "Come on man, you could've thrown it farther than that!" I turned to my wife and said, "See, what did I tell you!" She laughed and swung away.
I will miss that little golf course. But, the memories live on!
