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Not everybody is a fan of OV but that, of course, is true of all places, people and things. Indeed, there is much about OV that is unlike any other course in Bermuda. It is not the longest, it is not the most difficult, it is not the best maintained. But to play it well, you need to be a shot-maker and you need to be able to place your golf ball in the right spot. OV is not a golf course where you can simply slap away at your golf ball for there are hills and valleys to negotiate, internal out-of-bounds to avoid, water to stay out of and plenty of surrounding foliage ready and willing to ruin a scorecard. OV will ask you to hit a controlled draw off the 8th, a power cut off the 5th, and high, soft irons into the greens at 4, 6 and 7. The two par fives will tease you into thinking they are reachable in two and then, when you walk off with double bogey on your card, you wonder what on earth went wrong.

To play OV well, you need to be able to play a variety of shots and it is for this reason that, over the years, OV has produced, by a long shot, the greatest number of good Bermudian golfers.

Great players

These were the golfers who loved to compete and who played the game with a great passion, and a greater respect. I'll name just a few of them for you to think about, all of whom are my heroes, and all of whom would, in my opinion, be in a Bermuda Golf Hall of Fame if we had such a thing.

Keith Pearman, Keith Smith. DeVent Smith, Noel 'Red' Smith, Peter Tucker, Rogers Outerbridge, Noel van Putten, Frankie Rabain, Herman Bascombe, Dave Purcell, Clevie Tucker, Wilfred 'Rock' Hodson, Eardley Jones, Bill Pitt Sr.

All of these guys made Ocean View their home at one time or another. These were the guys who would play in Bermuda's national tournaments when they were worth playing in. The Bermuda Amateur; The Bermuda Four-Ball; The Bermuda Open; The Rogers Outerbridge Grand Slam; The Hiram Walker Invitational. There would, of course, be other locals in these fields, players like Bees Ingham, Butch Lindo, Ron Wallace, Ian Crowe and Louis Moniz, but typically the guys at the top of these fields, come prize-giving day, would be the OV players.

My heroes

As a kid growing up, I couldn't wait until I could join them, and play against them for these trophies, but first I had to get better. And desperate to get better, I would spend hours watching the big boys play, and invariably the ones I spent time watching were the OV players. Peter Tucker was the best driver of a golf ball I'd ever seen, and he had a pretty good iron game as well. Tee to green, Peter Tucker was as good a Bermudian player as there ever has been. Keith Smith could produce magic with a wedge long before wedges were supposed to; Frankie Rabain had a swing tempo that was music to the golfing eyes. Keith Pearman could putt the pants off anybody. Noel 'Red' Smith had an uncanny ability to play the game;

There was nothing fancy about his technique or his equipment, but he played the game with a desire and a passion that was palpable. Eardley Jones could hit the ball out of sight, often with a soft draw perhaps caused by his Crookshank clubs. Fortunately for me, Eardley sold me his Ping Anser putter for $20 back in the early 1970's, a putter that I went on to use with great success for many years. I still have that putter but, I'm sad to say, its magical force seems to have faded with time.

Regrettably, with the proposed fee increases, so-called progress may once again get in the way of what really matters. There is a special feel to OV, a feeling that golf is alive and well and properly understood by those who play there. One just needs to spend a little time above the green at 9. Players and spectators alike hang out above the quarry there, watching the players come through, understanding everything there is to understand about the game, knowing who each and every player is and how they play the game, and knowing what is at stake in each match.

What the fee increases at OV may do is possibly stifle local golf and slowly remove the game from the interest of the local population. OV has been the birth place of many a good Bermudian golfer and it would be a shame to put OV at a price point that discouraged locals from even thinking about playing golf. Every effort should be made to keep OV affordable. The Trustees of the Public Golf Courses would do well to remember that their task is multi-faceted, one objective being to spend the public's money wisely and another being to preserve the game of golf for the enjoyment of the public.

I hope 2009 brings golfing success to all golfers and to OV golfers in particular.

Starting next week, Eric 'Hav' Trott's column will appear every Friday in the Bermuda Sun.

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