Once there were green fields kissed by the sun .
Once there were valleys where rivers used to run
Once there were blue skies with white clouds high above
Once they were part of an everlasting love
We were the lovers who strolled through green fields
-Performed by the Brothers Four, written by Terry Gilkyson
Every once in a while you find a place where you are completely comfortable, a place that fits you like a glove, a place where everyone and everything seems to flow seamlessly together.
For me, one of those places was Green Fields Golf Center. Until last week.
I drove up to Green Fields, just east of Hwy 100 on Layton, to practice, as I had done almost weekly since my first visit eight years ago. The parking lot was curiously empty, save for one car. There appeared to be no one around. Which was surprising since the place was usually packed in spring, summer and early fall.
I walked up to the cavernous driving range, now eerily empty. Out of the corner of my eye I saw someone exiting the building. I asked what was up. He told me that the land had been sold to Wal-Mart, who has a store adjacent to the driving range. Green Fields was closing.
I cringed. How could it be? Wal-Mart has a big enough parking lot – which is never even close to full. There usually are more shopping carts in the lot than cars. I found out from Greenfield’s Community Development Manager that they are going to put a 148,000 sq. ft. “supercenter” on the site, which has major implications for the neighborhood. It made me very sad, and not just because I now no longer have a place to practice.
One of the first dates I had with my wife was just about eight years ago at Green Fields. Even though summer was ending, the place was filled with people hitting golf balls and families with kids playing mini-golf. I had never been there before but it was love at first sight. In more ways than one. Green Fields was simply a wonderful place. It had an incredibly positive energy about it and everyone seemed really happy to be there.
Dads with their sons and daughters, guys trying to teach (and impress) their girlfriends, new golfers taking lessons they could actually afford from pro George Puchinsky. George was a fixture on the range and would even stop to help people who weren’t paying customers but who were clearly struggling with their game. Or even just to say hi.
You could hear the laughter and delighted squeals from the kids and their parents coming from what arguably was the best miniature golf course in Milwaukee.
But Green Fields Golf Center, and the memories that came with it, succumbed, as many private enterprises do, to the behemoth of all retailers.
I talked with Bonnie, one of the owners, about all this the day I found out.
“Wal-Mart has been trying to get our land for more than five years now. We didn’t know whether we were coming or going. Finally, just last week Monday, they contacted us and told us they wanted to close this week. No warning for us or our customers.”
Wal-Mart moves in and out goes the little guy. They are opening a huge supermarket in Greendale, at the site of the old US Bowling Congress building on S 76th across from Southridge, as well as another in South MIlwaukee, in addition to the monstrosity they are putting in Greenfield. With this kind of growth, the neighborhood is going to look a lot different.
Bonnie and her family did okay in the transaction, I’m happy to report. Wal-Mart made sure of that. But once a place of happy times and blissful memories, the corner of Layton and Hwy 100 will be one to avoid from here on.
Bonnie says they’re going to try to find some land to re-open Green Fields, hopefully in the area since they had so many loyal customers. You can keep tabs on their progress on their web site, which will stay active while they search for another location.
Lee Trevino, former major champion, talked about the 3 things that go when a golfer ages. “His nerves, his memory, and… I can’t remember the third thing.” Well, I sure will remember the great times at Green Fields. Thanks for the memories!
