Caddies and groundskeepers keep golf alive as an informal industry

On the afternoon of the morning when it started raining again in Colon, the course started to change from brown to green

In Brazos Brook on the Atlantic Side

Golf lives on old course employees' dedication
photos by Eric Jackson

As part of the government's plan to dispose of the properties it acquired under the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties, the Canal Zone's old Atlantic Side golf course at Brazos Brook became a private concession, whose new owners kept it up and put in some improvements, aiming to serve a clientele primarily composed of Colon Free Zone mechants. But then a fire swept through the clubhouse, and whether or not there was insurance, the place was abandoned.

Well, not entirely abandoned. A group of about 15 men who had worked as caddies or groundskeepers did what they could to keep the course going. With the tools, human resources and financial abilities available to them, they were only able to keep up maintenance on the front nine holes. But golfers still come, including local businesspeople and some diplomats, and the game still survives on the Atlantic Side as an informal enterprise.

The ruins of the clubhouse and the abandoned pool

This little John Deere mower will be constantly working as the rainy season sets in

The professional-length tees, with the unmaintained back 18 in the background

The course has broad fairways and no sand traps, but an undulating terrain that makes a level fairway lie a fairly rare occurrence. And then there are the legendary hazards of the deep rough --- although it is said that being eaten by a large reptile is one of these, there seems to be no documented record of this. Of course, the evidence could very well have been consumed.

Also in this section:
The best fish sandwich around
Golf survives in Colon's informal economy
American Society Election Night
Bocas Town park getting a makeover
Barbara O'Neal Braun
Small plane transportation
Sights in Bocas
How Panama deals with the religious freedom issue
Restaurant atmospherics
Rodman Oakes
US Army South pays a return visit to Macaracas
Running with the rebels in Burma
Democrats Abroad cookout
Young baseball player given a chance to play with both hands

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