The Geese Of Eaglewood by Bobill

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The number of beautiful Canadian geese, like the one pictured here, that roam the marshes, fairways, and greens of the Langley AFB Eaglewood Golf Course in Hampton, Va. is smaller by half today, because a few years ago The Air Force rounded up and hauled scores of them away.  Air Force officials cited the danger that the geese posed to aircraft as their reason for removing the geese, but many people openly questioned that reason - but that's another story. This note is a tribute to the Eaglewood geese which have provided so much amusement to me and other golfers over the years.

  One reason geese are fun to be around is that they are so much like golfers.  They are loud, arrogant, and obnoxious, and they like a good joke.  Eaglewood geese and golfers spend  a lot of time on the course and can be seen on the links in the worst of weather conditions.  The geese like to muck around with their mates, golfers like to get away from theirs. But geese differ from golfers in several ways.  For example, geese are smarter and better swimmers than most golfers. You may hear someone say that a golfer is "dumber than a snake, or hear a golfer described as "what  a turkey!",  but geese just aren't denigrated like that. And I can't recall ever hearing of a goose drowning.  Another remarkable difference is that geese are completely open and honest in the discharge of certain of their natural functions, and they tend to take care of business whenever and wherever nature calls.  Golfers, especially the male variety, are squeamish in this particular matter of nature and will hide behind trees, their golf carts, or even other golfers to relieve their natural urges.

  And another thing, geese may not play much golf, but they know the rules and traditions of golf better than most golfers, and they sometimes insist that golfers follow the rules to the letter. That, and the natural tendency of geese to make jokes, have led to some interesting situations on the Eaglewood course.  One incident stands out above all others in my  mind. One day a male golfer skipped his tee shot across the lake on the tenth hole, and the ball came to rest a little short of the ladies' tee box.  When the golfer proceeded to his ball and prepared to take his next shot, a gaggle of geese scrambled out of the lake, cursing, strutting, and flapping their wings. They surrounded the offending golfer, mocking and chastising him, until he was thoroughly embarrassed. The golfer did the only honorable thing he could; he yielded to one of the oldest traditions of golf - and played the remainder of the hole by El Paso rules. And he did so in the company of a large gallery - made up of golfers and geese.

I made the photo above while playing a round of golf the day before Air Force personnel carried out their raid. The goose posed, showing me his best side, after I told him that I planned to post the photo on my web site. I don't know if he survived the assault.