January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Ocean View was the open door for many golfers
The evening's purpose was to highlight what the club has stood for over the years and to remind us that it should not, nay, must not, be allowed to fade away.
For reasons known only to themselves, the Board of Trustees seem determined to alter the status of public golf in Bermuda and, in particular, public golf at OVGC.
This is a classic case of there being none so blind as they who will not see.
Sadly, the Board of Trustees cannot, or will not, see that altering the status of OVGC is a step backward in the coming together of Bermuda.
Those on the panel were mostly people who were part of OVGC from its beginning.
They knew what they were talking about and they spoke from the heart, with passion and feeling.
They spoke about how black golfers had been frozen out of Bermuda's golf world and only being able to play at unsocial hours.
They recounted how OVGC represented the beginning of golf for all people - how it was meant to be a course that brought people together.
They spoke of the many years when the founding fathers invested their blood, sweat and tears to keep the place going.
One of the panel members, a young man under 30, revealed how much OVGC and its members meant to him.
He spoke from the heart about how the club was part of his extended family and how the members had provided him, and many other youngsters, with encouragement and guidance during their formative years.
He reflected on what the struggles of the founding fathers meant to him since he had benefited so much from them.
Kim Swan, the opposition leader, was also listening to the panel.
There was an opportunity afterwards for the audience to ask questions or to say a few words and Kim, being a politician, did not miss the chance.
But he did not speak to the audience as a politician, but as a Bermudian - a black Bermudian golfer who had also benefited by the efforts of the OVGC founding fathers.
He spoke about how golf for him had been an integrated experience because of OVGC.
Without the club he may not be where he is today. Like the other speakers, Kim spoke from the heart and you could feel the positive passion in the room.
The wealth and prosperity of a country cannot be measured by money alone and must include public facilities.
The big ticket items are, of course, education, health and transport but there is also a great need to provide public recreational facilities. Without the continued existence of affordable public golf in Bermuda, our total value as a country will decrease and we shall be poorer as a result.
For white and black alike, it was a special night of remembering. For the life of me, I cannot understand why the Board of Trustees does not understand what is at stake.[[In-content Ad]]
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