The Villagers

As I stated earlier, I live in a village, so I guess that makes me a villager? There are many villages around where I live, some blending in with others, and some that are clearly defined by separations caused by high rise apartments and little shopping areas.

Each village seems to be like an advanced form of a neighborhood with even some elected officials and each village getting certain rights. I believe each village started out as a settlement of one family, and as that family grew, the village grew. Obviously, many other people, like myself, have moved in to these villages so the area I live in is sprinkled with other people, other than the origional family.

I also talked earlier about how land ownership has dated back hundreds and hundreds of years and land ownership stays with that family, and village, no matter who else "owns" it. The golf course that I work at, was village land, and is still considered village land, and so the villagers have special rights to still use the land.

Each morning, the villagers are allowed to bring one club, and one ball, and "play" the course. They are not allowed to use the tee boxes or the greens. Some villagers are outfitted in golf shoes and maybe a golf shirt, but most wear plain rubber boots, shorts, baggy tee-shirt, a fanny pack, and maybe a sun visor.From what I have noticed, it isn't much about the actual playing of golf, but it is a very social thing for them to do. Packs of 4-5 will wander around the course together, each just hitting their balls and chasing them down the fairway. The golf swings aren't very well put together and can sometimes just be a one armed swing at trying to hit the ball. They don't hit very hard, but they tend to be fairly accurate, even when swinging with one hand. I'll hear them call out to each other as they may see a friend on a distant hole, and they are always very talkative amongst themselves.

I believe their morning golf game, is very much like old retired farmers sitting around drinking coffee. It is some action they can perform while socializing and wasting away the time. It is also a way for them to get some fresh air and exercise. They are normally fairly good about staying out of the way, but I have had a few close encounters of getting hit with balls when they weren't paying attention, or giving the staff the right of way.

Some villagers just like to come and walk through the course, or they will use it as a short cut to get to wherever they are going. Some will even come and do tai chi on the tees or out amongst the trees.