Change of course: Amid war and politics, Kabul Golf Club reopens in Afghanistan
OK, so you're toiling away in Afghanistan, not exactly the cradle of civilization, right? So what's a person to do for recreation? Well, how about a quick nine holes at the Kabul Golf Club?
KABUL, Afghanistan -- The fairways were once minefields. Drought has dried up the water hazards. And the greens, made of oily sand, are called "browns."
Augusta National it's not.
Nonetheless, even duffers draw fawning galleries at the Kabul Golf Club, which reopened this spring as Afghanistan's only course after being shuttered for more than two decades because of war and political violence.
Unfamiliar with the sport, many Afghans crowd around as foreigners tee off at the first hole, a 371-yard par 4 that skirts a bombed-out military barrack.
"Just enjoy being a celebrity and wave politely, as if this happens every time you play," says a tip sheet given to golfers who have forked over $10 to play the nine-hole course. "Then try not to flub your next shot."
Good luck.
Stones and patches of weeds and thistles dot the hard dirt fairways. Many players use two caddies: one to carry their golf clubs, the other to rush ahead to spot balls that tend to bounce off the rocks in crazy directions.
"There's no difference between the rough and the fairway," said Paul McNeill, an American who works for the United Nations and has played courses the world over.
McNeill has donated golf balls to the Kabul club as well as six sets of clubs, which are rented out to players who do not have their own. "I guess you could call it a social experiment," he said.
A word to the wise. "Out of bounds" at this course means exactly that. If you ball rolls into the minefield on the fourth hole, do yourself and everyone around you a favor and take a drop. You do NOT want to hit out of the minefield....
Oh, and you might want to watch out for the snipers on the eighth hole. Just a thought....
