Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Soon as it melts, they'll want out there," he said.
They sit. And wait.
Like watching water run out of the bathtub.
Till it's time to play.
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Most days, Bill McGrady arrives at North Park Golf Course at 5 a.m. Most days, he's not the first one there.
"There are guys here before me," said McGrady, the course manager. "It doesn't get light till after 7 o'clock and this time of year there might be a frost delay till 9 o'clock, and there were guys here at 5 a.m."
It is part of the ritual at North Park, just as it is at South Park, the area's two municipal courses that are owned and operated by Allegheny County.
Come early, stay late -- play, play, play. All for $5 -- for seniors, anyway -- a price that makes it more attractive than the pre-dawn breakfast special at Eat'n Park.
"You can't play miniature golf for that much," McGrady said.
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It's hard to find a sport more affected by technology than golf. Equipment is designed by physicists and former NASA scientists, courses are designed by architects and engineers, even some carts come equipped with a Global Positional System that give exact yardages.
And yet, at South Park and North Park, where players use pull carts, progress is still waiting for an invitation. Sure, the seniors now have photo IDs that are used to determine starting order. "It's pretty impressive," Boal said. "That's a big step for us." Goodness, next year they might do something wild and crazy like, well, booking tee times.
Otherwise, time stands still.
And the players keep pouring in.
Even before the sun rises.
"Our price has a lot to do with it," McGrady said.
"It's really our location," Boal said. "We're right in the middle of the most populated area of Allegheny County. And we're really easy to get to. That's our biggest asset -- the location of the course."
As new public courses sprouted in droves in the 1990s, giving way to terms such as upscale facilities and offering many more amenities than their aging counterparts, South Park and North Park remained unaffected.
As course saturation drove down the number of rounds at most daily-fee facilities, South Park and North Park combined to do nearly 140,000 rounds in 2004 -- more than triple what is considered an outstanding year at a public golf course.
And, as some courses were offering sleeker carts and greens fees that pushed $100, South Park and North Park allow walkers and pull carts and have greens fees known as co-pays. They are the last vestiges of a former era -- municipal courses that pack 'em in.
"If you want golf, it's just pure golf," said George Seibert, 57, a North Side resident who plays at North Park.
It is all about golf, as it should be, at South Park and North Park. Arrive at 5 a.m., put your name on the sheet, sit and wait till the first crack of light.
Then ... varoooooom!
They're off. As many as 700 players a day, at times, at South Park.
No tee times. No moguls or fancy bunker complexes. Just pull carts, ball washers and broken tees.
"Going out there this afternoon, if it warms up," said Dave Woods of Whitehall, a retired Port Authority Transit supervisor who plays at South Park two to three times a week. It was Monday morning and Woods, like others at South Park, was waiting for the snow to melt. When it did, he was ready to go. "It's convenient for me. And it's a good test of golf."
That is part of the allure at both courses. They have been around since 1931 and are still plenty long by today's standards (North Park is 6,805 yards from the back tees). They remain throwbacks to a time when South Park played host to the 1934 National Public Links championship and North Park had the event in 1965. Today, each course still rotates playing host to the sectional qualifier for the Women's National Public Links championship.
"It's a good, old golf course," said Pat Murphy of Avalon, who plays North Park at least three times a week.
"I've heard people who have been around tell me it's one of the nicest public courses in the county," Woods said of South Park.
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The county-owned courses are definitely not in any hurry to keep up with the competitors. Why should they?
Seniors can pay $60 for a season pass -- it's a photo ID, similar to a driver's license -- and pay $5 (there is a small, additional borough tax at South Park) to play 18 holes. That, though, is an increase from just a couple of years ago, when a season pass was $40 and there was no fee to play golf.
Juniors have it nearly as good, paying $10 to play 18 holes. It's the non-seniors (under 55) who have to fork out the most, paying $26 during the week, $29 on weekend. That's still cheaper than nearly every other 18-hole course in Western Pennsylvania, especially ones that measure more than 6,400 yards.
"For $5 a round during the week, it's the best deal in golf," said Seibert. "And I've been playing golf for 20 to 25 years.
"I've been retired for two years and, for me, it was a transition from working full time to retirement. I hooked up with a senior group and I play with 40 senior guys who are all making the transition to retirement."
A couple of years ago, a New Mexico-based company named Fore Star Golf bid the county to take over management of South Park. Their plan was to improve the clubhouse and modernize the layout. But, the deal fell through and the county remains in charge.
But thanks to the purchase of updated equipment by the county, South Park and North Park courses have seen a drastic upgrade in course condition -- an area where historically they fell woefully behind some competitors.
"We've turned over all our equipment," McGrady said. "Seven years ago it was so bad we had trouble getting parts for it."
"It's in a little better shape than it was in the past," said Woods, a 6-handicap who says he plays three to four times a week at South Park. "The problem is, the people who play there don't take care of it. They don't fix their ball marks, they ride their carts up to the green. I don't think they care."
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First rule of the thumb at South Park and North Park:
Don't try to intrude on the early morning starting times, not if you're under 55.
"We always laugh about it," Seibert said. "We call it our own country club."
Hours for seniors to play are limited: All day Monday and Wednesday, but up until 1 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. No benefits the other days.
"They dominate during the week," McGrady said. "It's like their own country club."
Second rule of thumb:
Always check with the person who keeps track of the starting order.
Several years ago, two county employees at South Park were fired when they got into a fight because one of the employees refused to check in with the starter before playing golf.
"One time I went there when there was a tournament and the seniors couldn't tee off right away," Woods said. "I was hanging around, I put my bag in line and the seniors started sitting on the wall. That's how you line up out there.
"I told them I was third in line and they started complaining -- 'You're not sitting on the wall.' I said, you don't have to sit on the wall. And one of their guys said, 'Hey, it's our time."
Woods paused.
"Now I'm one of them."
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Despite appearances, South Park is trying to keep up with some of its competitors. The building that houses the pro shop and locker room has been refurbished, adding office space and providing a room to have banquets in an attempt to attract more outings. The pro shop was moved and expanded to 1,000 square feet.
That wasn't the only change. Mary Champion, who ran the restaurant in the clubhouse for 35 years, was ousted in 2003 and awarded the job to another concessionaire. At South Park, the departure of her sausage and meatball sandwiches was akin to replacing pull carts with caddies.
"We're trying to upgrade to match other public golf courses," Boal said.
Even if South Park and North Park remain unmatched in Western Pennsylvania.
