While playing golf on the Little River course last week, Danny Hervilla, a member of the family who owns the golf course and Little River Inn, took us for a walk back in time. Local golfers will remember Doug Howe, who now lives in Ukiah and used to be the golf course greens keeper as well as a good golfer. However, many of us never knew his father, who was also named Doug. Danny informed us that Doug Howe Sr. was a very good golfer who, back in the early days, leased the golf course from the Inn. In those days, the course was called the Little River Country Club Golf Course. Danny said Doug’s game was so good he could easily have been a professional tour player. Growing up on the course, Danny remembers Doug Sr. teeing up and hitting four balls on the fifth hole. “Two of them landed on the green and two on the fringe. He was good.” Danny also remembered Doug Sr. shooting a 59 for eighteen holes. A 59 would be a course record.

Are you a risk taker on the course and in life, or do you “lay-up” in life and on the course? For the non-golfer, laying up means that you take a less risky shot towards the green rather than going for it. A place on the course to separate the risk takers from the lay-uppers are the trees to the right of the sixth hole. If your ball lands to the right of the trees or in the trees, you have a choice of punching your lay-up shot back onto the sixth fairway or going through the tunnel of love directly to the green. The trees to the right of the sixth green are called the tunnel of love. A lay-up shot would give you direct access to the green on your third shot, where punching the ball successfully through the tunnel of love could give you a birdie putt. The risk is that if you hit a tree in the tunnel of love, then you must make the decision again. Are you a risk taker, Kathy? Pro-Shop manager Kathy Shepley said she would take the risk through the tunnel of love. Bill Fletcher asked the same question, saying it would depend on how confident he was playing that day. Feeling good, Bill would hit it through the tunnel. “Are you a risk taker in life, Bill?” “Yes, and it is my nemesis.”

Here are a couple of golf songs for your entertainment, sung to the tune of Rock Around the Clock. One, two, three o’clock, four o’clock golf: Five, six, seven o’clock eight o’clock golf: Nine, ten, eleven o’clock twelve o’clock golf. We’re gonna golf around the course today. Another.  Please help me I’m falling in love with golf. Close the door to temptation; don’t let me walk through. Turn away from me, golf I’m begging you to. Please help me I’m falling in love with you.