Some golfers are drawn to pristine conditions of a championship level course. Others are drawn to courses that have historical roots to their community, like Historic City Park. The course, designed in 1926 by Tom Bendelow, offers low green fees and a vibe that is completely contradictory to a private snobby golf course.
Mark Ellis and Allen Stall have been playing BREC (the Recreation and Park Commission of East Baton Rouge Parish) courses for the past six years together.
“It is a getaway,” said Ellis. 
Although Ellis and Stall have been enjoying their “getaway” together for half of a decade, golf has been something different for the pair.
“Oh, absolutely a getaway, I love it,” echoed Stall.
Ellis recalled that his fondest memory he has had golfing – or in life, more generally – was playing with his father for the last time. His father introduced him to the game that he still relishes in today. He taught a younger Mark how to swing clubs and play with integrity.
Now, Ellis is a father and has shared his experiences on the course with his own son, who played in high school, continuing into the third generation of golfers in the Ellis family.
Ellis is a self-proclaimed “life-long 10 or 11” handicap.
“I can shoot a 95 and then I can shoot in the 70’s,” Ellis said.
Stall, who drove 18-wheelers for his livelihood, remembers the high school days that he and few buddies would grab some beer, rent clubs, and have a good time on the course. Obviously, golf in the late ’70s and ’80s was universally cheaper than it is today in the ’20s. Golf across the board was cheaper, green fees were lower, golf clubs were cheaper and well, of course you must include the beer, which was also cheaper.
Although golf was cheaper to play back then, some would argue the current state of golf is the most accessible it has ever been. There are a plethora of local opportunities and incentives to get people of all backgrounds to engage with the sport even more. These programs are in place here in Baton Rouge, but it is lacking the widespread awareness through advertising.
Historical City Park is located 2.2 miles north of LSU’s campus. This course is one of two courses in the area that offer the Youth on Course program that allows for younger golfer to play for as little as $5.
Ellis, who is in sales for chemical clothing, counted on his hand that he had played in eight BREC tournaments and enjoyed each one. And every time he plays, he still is cognizant of the peace that golf brings him. Playing for over 50 years, he had must have played close to a thousand times.
“Golf means a lot to me. It is my getaway,” Ellis said. “Being in sales, I can forget about everything while on the course. I also enjoy the camaraderie with buds. I usually don’t talk calls or answer anything while I am playing.”
The pair hopes to cash in many more rounds together. They have been together for many of each other’s life events, from the pains to the joys. They have lost to one another, and they have a friendly competitiveness that brings out the best in the other. Ellis shared that while he has come close to hitting a hole-in-one, his partner Stalls has had a few.
My favorite story they told me was of when Stalls was a teenager, hopped out of the car and grabbed a club and had the “best shot of his life.”
“Really good shot,” a random spectator screamed to Stalls across the course. “I had just jumped out of the car, grabbed a club and a ball and swung. It was not until I heard the man from afar screaming that I knew it went it in.”
This is a common side affect that comes along with a golf addiction many golfers face: whenever driving or flying by a course you must visualize yourself there. You must. Even if you are behind the wheel or in the cockpit.
The pair also shared that although the green fees are not exorbitantly high at City Park — $10 to walk and $18 to ride — the duo still uses a third-party booking site (Golfnow) to “save a few dollars here and there.” However, Stalls said the course is in such good condition that he would be happy pay $25 a round to play if that’s what they charged.
The pair claims the BREC courses offer plenty of incentives to play affordably. Golf has been thriving amidst the pandemic; as a matter of fact, it has experienced a boom in participation.  But, without more awareness of these, programs, the public will be left without their favorite leisure places. For example, toward the end of my discussion with Ellis and Stalls, they mentioned one of the worst nightmares.
“LSU [the course off Nicholson near the Box] is going to become a parking lot, which I hate,” they both said almost simultaneously.
Golfers: your local course’s longevity depends on you.