Document text
CLEAR Temp: 62 °F Wind: NW at 6 mph Saturday, June 1, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Cyberchef E The People Golf Job Network Headbone Zone Wellness Connection Movie Times Newspaper in Education Oregon CarZone Outdoor Journal Personals Prime Times Real Estate Tempo A & E TV Times W3 Magazine CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Destinations Automotive Communities Employment Entertainment Publications Real Estate Recreation Shopping Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Jobs @ Mail Tribune Email Story to a Friend June 1, 2002 Tee talk Gem of a course unearthed at the Dom By TIM TROWER Mail Tribune It doesn’t take long to figure out a couple of things about Chuck Atchley: He likes challenges. He doesn’t hold grudges. If either were untrue, the golf course at the Veterans Affairs Domiciliary in White City would still look more like the overgrown yard it did a half-dozen years ago instead of the vibrant-emerald, finely manicured facility of today. "The course used to be like a cow pasture, really," nodded Ferrell Bailey, one of 65 volunteers who help maintain and run the nine-hole, par-33 course, as he waited recently to tee off on the second hole. It’s not Augusta National West just yet, but its condition is not far removed from some of the public courses in the Rogue Valley. And that’s just one of the stark changes since Atchley and three others were called to the fore in 1996 and given the option of taking over operation of the course. It came in the wake of a decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs to discontinue funding its 22 courses nationwide. As stated, Atchley, who entered the aerospace field upon leaving the Navy and was involved in the Gemini and Apollo operations, welcomes challenges like a Grizzly greets jumping salmon. He and his crew were given 90 days to make the course self-sufficient. It took 30. Today, it’s the only self-supporting course run entirely by volunteers in the nation. It brings in $150,000 to $175,000 annually, and that money is put back into the course and other Domiciliary ventures. The course has generated tens of thousands of dollars for, among other things, medical and rehabilitative equipment, computer programs and cable TV and phone service in patient rooms. It used to be that only Domiciliary patients — there are roughly 750 in-house — and veterans could play. Now, veterans are allowed to bring three guests. Except for patients and volunteers, who play for free, the cost is $5 for nine holes, $8 for 18. "And I don’t give a durn if you were in the Coast Guard or the Canadian Air Force — and we have someone who was in the Canadian Air Force here," says Atchley, president of the Volunteer Services Committee and senior manager of the course. "Any veteran can play." It’s likely to be an enjoyable outing, thanks in large part to Atchley. He worked in aeronautics, including at NASA, for 30-plus years, and among his responsibilities was trying to figure out a way to land spaceship capsules containing returning astronauts — "we called them astro-nuts," he laughs — on hard ground rather than in the ocean. It was a challenge, of course, and along the way, a few test capsules were destroyed and a couple of astronauts had the bejesus scared out of them as they tried to navigate a capsule-turned-parasail to the ground before bailing out. It’s chores like that that may have led Atchley to believe running a golf course soley with volunteers would be no sweat. As for that grudge thing, it was on a golf course that Atchley had the bejesus scared out of him. The last time he played was three years ago, when a heart attack prevented him from finishing the third hole and led to eight by-passes. Still, he’s in the golf business and going a mile a minute. He notes he wants to build a cover over patio furniture situated near the Domiciliary’s first tee. Asked how long before the project might be completed, he exclaims, "hopefully next week! I don’t let much grass grow under my feet. I try to keep things moving." That would explain the covered barbecue area adjacent to the course — which is named for Atchley — sheds for the four-cart fleet, the four-cart fleet itself, the parking lot, the ever-evolving driving range and plans for a putting and chipping area and a putting course for those confined to wheelchairs and walkers. The Domiciliary course doesn’t compete with area courses, Atchley says, because it isn’t public. In fact, he’s indebted to many of them, in particular Stewart Meadows and Cedar Links, he says, which provide range balls and "educated" balls. The educated balls are those that "know the direction to the pond" because that’s where they emerged from for resale. Help comes from other areas, too. Jim Marston, who volunteers in the pro shop and doubles as the exalted ruler of the Medford Elks Lodge, built 10 full sets of clubs for the course. "All the guys here appreciate it," says Dale, one many ITs (intensive therapy) working around the Domiciliary and helping it run smoothly. "They’re in good shape, and it’s our job to keep them in good shape." They seemed to be as Bailey gave a set a test run while giving me a playing tour of the course. Most of the holes, with the possible of exception of the 344-yard fourth hole, can be played only with irons, but woods can also be brought into play on the 301-yard fifth and four par 4s ranging from 211 to 240 yards. The danger is that there are grown trees all around the course, and they will capture and torture those who try unsuccessfully to overpower the layout. An example is the fourth hole, a dogleg left that has trees running most of the way down the left side to the green. The risk-reward play is a high draw over the trees to somewhere in front of the green. No one in our group — we were joined by Len and Joe, both of Grants Pass — came particularly close to pulling it off. The par-4 seventh entices you to try to reach the green in one as well, but its approach is the narrowest on the course and branches there are greedy for balls. There’s also plenty of sand and water to tickle your nerves. The greens were in fine shape, albeit slow on this particular day, and grass on the tee boxes was not tightly cropped, which is accentuated when using an iron and not teeing the ball high. But one thing is certain: It’s a bargain for the bucks, and as long as Atchley continues to ramrod projects through, it will only get better. Have a local golf story idea? Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S