Photo By Spc. Nadine White | Alec Culpepper, the Naval Station Guantanamo MWR fitness director, holds his...... read more read more
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GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - Some residents at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay have never heard the historical stories of the numerous “tent cities” that covered the base in the early 1990s. Tens of thousands of Haitian and Cuban migrants were set up in scattered, temporary communities here.
Canvas and tarp-covered wood structures were quickly assembled, outhouses were constructed and gravel was dumped for walkways and roads on just about any available spot of land here during Operation Sea Signal. When demolition eventually followed, some of these sites were never re-landscaped back to their original conditions.
Despite never completely recovering from the geological upheaval left behind by these tent cities , Morale, Welfare and Recreation’s Lateral Hazard golf course hosted a successful GTMO Golf Classic tournament over the weekend.
The GTMO Golf Classic, an individual-player, stroke-based competition, is an annual tournament here during this time of year. The two-day event consisted of 17 golfers, playing 18 holes each day, using a modified scoring system.
“We take away two of the worst holes on the first day and the worst hole on the second day,” said Alec Culpepper, the MWR fitness director and GTMO Golf Classic organizer. The modification offered players a potential advantage; an adjusted, “net” score, versus their overall, “gross” score.
“It’s more like a club championship,” said Culpepper, “It appeals to golfers who are pretty serious about it, as opposed to just someone who wants to come out and mess around.”
However, the Classic presented a perfect opportunity for even the most amateur golfers to challenge their techniques, while enjoying friendly competition.
Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Stacy Shouse, a behavioral health technician for JSMART, had grown up watching golf with her grandfather, but hadn’t devoted much time to the hobby until she arrived at GTMO.
“I figured, I have nine months here, why not try something?” said Shouse. “I enjoy golf. It looked like it would be a lot of fun and it’s cheap to do here, so you can really work on your game.”
Shouse admitted that back home in the U.S., she maybe golfed one to two times a year; here, she goes two to three times a month. Even with the rocky, rugged terrain, and relatively small greens of the Lateral Hazard golf course, her skills have improved.
“It’s a good way to pass the time,” she said. “It’s not very expensive too. You’re a fool to not take advantage of that. I’ve really gotten so much better.”
The participating golfers included active-duty military, DOD civilians and contractors, all with varying skill levels and love for the sport. Trophies were awarded to the first, second and third place male and female finishers on Sunday.
Shouse was one of three females participating in the Classic; she finished with a net score of 232 to win her the third place trophy.
“I had a lot of fun,” she said. “It was very well organized. Hats off to MWR, they put on a very fun tournament.”
Due to its successful outcome and positive feedback, the MWR plans to organize many more golf tournaments similar to the GTMO Golf Classic in the future.
“I think it went pretty well,” said Culpepper, “I wish we would have a had a few more people. I think tournaments like this help grow the golf community here; I would like to see it become more popular. Being out there, not thinking about work, decompress a little bit, I think that’s what people would enjoy the most.”
| Date Taken: | 05.04.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 07.08.2014 10:06 |
| Story ID: | 135493 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 247 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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