So, the other day, I found myself with some time to kill. The weather wasn’t half bad, and I just felt like getting out, you know? Someone had mentioned this little place, Kings Point Par 3, a while back. Didn’t sound like much, just a quick, easy course. Figured, why not? Sometimes the simple things are what you need.
Pulled up to the place, and it was pretty much what you’d expect. No fancy clubhouse, no valet parking, none of that nonsense. Just a straightforward, unpretentious little golf setup. Paid my few bucks and grabbed a pull cart. The fella at the counter barely looked up, which was fine by me. Less fuss, the better.
Started my round, and the course itself, well, it’s a par 3. Greens were a bit bumpy, fairways were more like “areas where the grass is shorter.” But that’s the charm of these places, isn’t it? You’re not there to play the U.S. Open. You’re there to swing a club, get some fresh air, and maybe not lose too many balls. I saw a couple of old timers, serious as you like, lining up their putts. Then a family, kids whacking the ball everywhere but straight. It was all very… real.
And that got me thinking, standing there on the fourth tee, waiting for the slow group ahead. It reminded me of this community garden project I got roped into a few years back. Simple idea, right? Grow some vegetables, get people together. But then this one guy, let’s call him “Professor Green Thumb,” he had to make everything complicated. We’re talking spreadsheets for tomato planting schedules, soil pH testing that needed a lab, mandatory meetings to discuss the “philosophical implications of companion planting.”
I remember trying to just plant some beans. Simple, hardy, grow anywhere. He comes over, “Ah, but have you considered the lunar cycle for optimal germination? And are these heirloom beans, ethically sourced, with a documented lineage?” I just wanted to put seeds in the dirt, man. He had this way of making you feel like an idiot for not overthinking every tiny detail. The whole thing nearly fell apart because nobody could agree on the “correct” shade of green for the tool shed, according to his color psychology chart.
We had volunteers, good people, just wanting to help. They started drifting away. Who wants to be lectured for an hour about the socio-economic impact of potato varieties when you just showed up to pull some weeds? It was madness. The project limped along, mostly because a few of us just ignored him and did the actual work when he wasn’t looking. We’d sneak in early, get stuff done, then listen to him take credit in the next meeting for the “synergistic horticultural advancements.” You know the type. Always talking, rarely doing.
So yeah, this little Kings Point Par 3, it was the opposite of that. No pretense. The ball goes in the hole, or it doesn’t. Nobody’s writing a thesis about your backswing. It was a good reminder that sometimes, simple is good. Actually, simple is often best. You get bogged down in all that other stuff, all that performance and jargon, and you forget what you were trying to do in the first place.
Finished my round, lost a couple of balls, made one surprisingly decent par. Felt pretty good. It wasn’t Augusta, but it didn’t need to be. Just a few hours of uncomplicated activity. Sometimes, that’s all you really need to clear your head. Beats arguing about bean philosophy, that’s for sure.
