Jackson Kulacz
Equinox Staff
The up-and-coming KSC Golfing Club offers an outdoor venture to escape the confines of COVID’s isolation.
This past year has seen more than its fair share of turbulent times– and potentially, golden opportunities. When it comes to the clubs at KSC, the story is no different. Scores of clubs have deteriorated as a result of the prolonged social restraint wrought by COVID-19. And yet, some are discovering new opportunities and see their chance to begin anew as the pandemic slowly wanes.
One of the examples of these upstart organizations is the KSC Golfing Club. According to first-year Joshua Bailey, the club president, the concept was merely on paper only a few weeks ago. “I played throughout high school,” he noted. “So… when I got here it was really a no-brainer to get started. It was really just finding out how quickly I could get it going.” Despite the steep challenges of raising a club in the midst of the pandemic, Bailey reasoned that “The club basically started itself” as the idea was passed around. Over the opening weeks, the group quickly grew from the initial four or five people they had, easily surpassing the 10-member threshold required to obtain a formal club status.
This came as a welcome surprise to Bailey, who kept his expectations rather low: “I was aiming for like… 11 or so people so I could keep fighting for that 10. But then it just blew up.”
As a club sport, the Golfing Club isn’t limited to laid back, casual play. Ben Simboli, a junior, explained his view on what the club was all about. “I figured it would be a mix of casual and competitive.” Bailey and Dr. Jeff Timmer, the club advisor, later confirmed this. As a lover of competitive sport, Simboli was quick to mention that the door for such formal contests was wide open. “I think there was talk of going into tournaments or something,” he added. As a new and upstart club, however, it will be a while before tournaments fully materialize. According to all sources, the club as a whole is still in its infancy and is still broadly unsupported financially– as such, there are a handful of wrinkles that still have to be ironed out.
But for some, like Timmer, the Golfing Club is more than just those passionate about the sport or simply want to play. “It provides a place to socialize at a safe distance,” Timmer said. Before COVID, there had been several attempts to kickstart a golfing club, but he recollected that “the spark had fizzled out” each time. With the prolonged social separation wrought by the pandemic, however, the need for human connection became ever more valuable–just enough good fortune to tip the balance. Timmer vouched for the club as “an opportunity to get together on the golf course,” to break the long isolation.
Even as the pandemic slowly winds down, the community remains wary of the risks. Golf opens the door to maintain the human contact people have come to cherish while still heeding caution. This offer of an outdoor escape carries a deep potential for any would-be player, whether they be passionate for the sport or perhaps not.
The meeting locations and the time frames vary, as the golf course Brentwood and Shattuck are both within their circle. Nevertheless, anyone looking to get involved can start by contacting Joshua Bailey at Joshua.Bailey@ksc.keene.edu.
Jackson Kulacz can be contacted at:
jkulacz@kscequinox.com
