In this sleepy little town, in a sleepy part of the country, there is a place far too few people know about. A place that better resembles a plot of undeveloped land, where even the most untalented of athletes can venture to on a sunny day.
Around a corner, on a street down an alley, tucked in between dirt roads, houses and a retirement community is a gem like no other. Lining all sides of the course are 100-year-old tress that make this place a treasure of Baldwin City that could some day be gone. All that will be left will be memories.
Only memories will remain because this place may not withstand the test of time. In this community, space within the city limits has become increasingly limited, to the point that the Baldwin City Council jumped at the chance to buy this 63 acres at a cost of $550,000 last August.
Better known as the Sands to the Baker community, this nine-hole golf course has been a staple of my college years. From casual rounds my freshman year to drinking rounds all four, there has been no better release from the real world than the Sands.
If you’ve been out to the course past the train depot and played at least one hole, you know the intricacies of the Sands. If you haven’t, then there’s no time like the present to enjoy this haven.
The most overheard question on the course is usually, “Where is the hole?”, which is usually followed by one of many answers: “Aim straight for that tree,” “Just hit it straight,” “Over the tree and to the left” or “Somewhere in the fairway oughta do”.
Other than knowing where to place your shots or trying to judge distance from the hole, there are many other features of this course that make it stand apart from any other I’ve played.
A few of my favorite features will always be the trees on the first, third and fourth holes that allow you to have a guide to where your shots should land. Another would have to be the “DIET” written in the tiles of the “club house” roof which comes into view only after completing your round. Another would have to be the inordinate amount of beer consumed while playing, and amazingly how everyone’s golf game is enhanced because of it.
However, there are no current plans about what to do with the land.
I do hope the city council does consider keeping it a golf course and if they do decide to spruce it up, to leave the Sands close to its original design.
Either way, the course remains for now and is in the best shape it has been in years. With recent precipitation and sunny days ahead the Sands will again be a hot spot this upcoming summer for myself, an honorary townie. In the meantime, the course still stands at the end of Main Street in west Baldwin down a dirt alley.