Soldier Builds Golf Course in Iraq.
By: Administrative Account | Source: PGATour.com
November 30, 2003 5:12PM EST

Soldier's passion blooms in the desert

Passion is the intangible emotion that draws a golfer from his pre-dawn Saturday slumber. It puts him at the tee box early and fuels the anticipation of being the first to adorn the dew-touched fairways with footprints.

Passion is what drove 1st Lt. Jesse White to build Iraq's first golf course.

White, a member of the Army's elite 101st Airborne, has created a six-hole, par-3 style golf course at Qayyarah West Airfield in northern Iraq, which has been dubbed the TPC at Mosul.

"Most of the soldiers thought I was crazy," White said in an e-mail from inside Iraq.

As it turned out, most of them also liked the idea. What began as an outlet for White to relieve stress has turned into a Hollywood script.

He built it. They came.

White said he has seen most every soldier stationed there swing a club at the TPC at Mosul, which started as a 150-yard, one-hole wonder in mid-May. The course now consists of par 3s and par 4s., and Capt. Chip O'Neal has since designed and printed scorecards, complete with hole diagrams.

"I must admit that there are no better friends than your golf buddies," White said. "Our little course here in Iraq helps us all forget -- just for a minute -- what a tough place this can be. It's almost impossible to forget what goes on here every day, but a few laughs on the links sure helps."

The biggest laugh thus far came early on courtesy of Col. Samuel Holloway. Holloway, as White tells it, hit a tee shot "perilously close" to the latrine facilities which were "not exactly developed to their full potential."

Holloway's playing partners were quick to remind him that the Rules of Golf applied in Iraq.

"We, of course, made him play the ball where it lies," White said.

The latrines aren't the only stark reminders of where White and his colleagues are located or what task they face every day. Tracks from military vehicles can be seen on the greens, as can other signs of combat in the desert.

Rocks, ammo storage facilities, old aircraft parts and concertina wire are some of the course's more common features.

"Our fairways have real bunkers in them," Lt. Col. Jeff Kelley said.

Added White: "The course is very brown and probably not the most picturesque course in the world."

Those facts have not diminished the spirit of the game, however. Everyone is awaiting the first hole-in-one at the TPC at Mosul, and news spread fast of Maj. Spencer Smith's new course-record 33.

Smith, along with White, Kelley and Maj. Kirk Whitson, put themselves to the test weekly.

"The course has six holes," Kelley said. "But we crank out nine every Friday.

"We do not have the fancy stuff like the normal tee boxes," Kelley said, noting those at the TPC at Mosul are crafted of old rocket shells or rocks. "No matter where you are, there is no reason for not picking up a club and taking a swing.

"We love the game."

Some would call it a passion.

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