A Game of Numbers
By Melvin “Bucky” Reynolds
I was introduced to golf when I was about 10; in the 70+ years since, we have maintained an off-and-on relationship. At times, I played regularly. During others, family, work or lack of a nearby course kneecapped my playing (but never my love of the sport).
The West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company (“Westvaco”) in Covington, Va., maintained a six-hole golf course for their employees, as well as a large clubhouse fully equipped with locker rooms. Other recreational facilities included a five-lane bowling alley plus billiard and ping pong tables. The building even boasted several apartments on the second floor.
Just a few steps from the golf course was a very nice baseball field, a place near to my heart: the diamond where I played high school baseball. Overall, the company provided nice recreational facilities for their employees.
As mentioned, the golf course had only six holes. However, a little ingenuity made possible a full circuit; each hole had three sets of tees, and playing each hole three times made the standard 18. Each of the three circuits would have two par 3s, two par 4s and two par 5s. Each 6-hole round had a par of 24, with a total par of 72 for three circuits. Dynamic scoring kept the game fresh; for example, a hole could be a par 5 on the first two rounds but a par 4 on the last go around.
Beyond this, the course boasted another major quirk: a “creek” ran across holes 1, 2 and 6. We regulars knew that, technically, it wasn’t really a creek — it was the paper mill’s occasional waste water runoff. Remember, this was the ‘50s — back then, we were all truthfully more concerned with losing a ball when the “creek” was running than with pollution.
My father taught me to play golf on the Westvaco course and, when I got a little older, I caddied there, earning $1 for 18 holes (plus a tip of 25 cents for a particularly well-caddied round — which went a lot further back then!). My golf bag had only 5 clubs: 3-wood, 5-iron, 7-iron, 9-iron and putter.
Today, I am 83 years old, and if you look in my golf bag (perhaps replacing the 3-wood with a driver and the 9-iron with my trusty sand wedge) these are still my most used clubs. I’m comforted in writing this, realizing I’ve come full circle, returning in my elder years to basically the same clubs I started with.
So, what ultimately happened to the Westvaco golf course? In the ‘60s, the paper mill needed to expand their facilities. Sadly, the golf course, clubhouse, and baseball field were all eliminated to put in new paper-making machines. Seven decades later, the course may be gone, but it is certainly not forgotten!
10
Age at which Bucky’s father introduced him to golf
83
Bucky’s age today
6
Number of holes
Westvaco Country Club had in the 1950s
3
Number of sets of tees each hole had
3
Number of times each hole would be played per round
24
Par for each 6-hole round
72
Par for the entire circuit
$1
How much Bucky earned caddying 18 holes
25 cents
How much Bucky would get as a tip
for a particularly well-caddied round
5
How many clubs Bucky’s golf bag had when he played in his youth (3-wood, 5-iron, 7-iron, 9-iron, putter) — and how many he says he mostly uses to this day
Photos:
Bucky at about the age he fell in love with the game of golf.
Bucky’s father — also named Melvin — who Bucky credits with teaching him to play the game.
Bucky (third from left) playing in a fundraiser tournament to support University of Virginia’s golf teams.
Aerial view, including Westvaco
Country Club. Westvaco Country Club and Golf Links.
Plant of the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company.
