WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — It made sense that on Sunday, Lone Pine’s final day as a public golf course, stormy weather loomed in the late afternoon.
The threat of storms was a painful but perfect symbol of recent life for the course, one threatened by financial difficulty and then closed because of it after decades as a beloved, affordable place to play.
But a couple hours past midday, all that foretold of the bad weather to come were a steady breeze and some puffy clouds, darkened just a bit at their base.
Lone Pine, one of Palm Beach County’s most affordable golf course, didn’t slink into closure. A steady stream of golfers came to bid the course a final goodbye. The popular site coincidentally closed only hours before the grand opening of a more upscale public course only a few miles away in West Palm Beach.
Jeff Simke, who manned the register in the clubhouse and has played the course for 45 years, said golf carts were taken back out just as quickly as they were returned.
Golfers milled about in the shop, reminiscing and enjoying some dark humor about their golf games.
Lone Pine’s last day would see a wide range of players step onto its tee boxes. There was a man in sales, another who described himself as self-employed and a former NFL player who won three Super Bowl.
For them, and for so many others, Lone Pine didn’t offer the luxurious atmosphere of other courses. But the course was just right for beginners and for people whose budgets didn’t allow for a $200 golfing weekend.
It’s where fathers played with their sons, where buddies got in their weekly hacks and it’s where new friendships were formed.
Michigan and Ohio State men pair up
Lou Bautko III met Michael Crabtree of West Palm Beach at Lone Pine about a year and a half ago. Bautko, a 46-year old salesman, and the self-employed Crabtree, 59, wouldn’t ordinarily have a ton in common.
Bautko is a Michigan man, Crabtree bleeds Ohio State’s scarlet and grey.
Golf — and Lone Pine — brought them together.
“Me and him play every Friday afternoon,” Bautko said as they waited for a cart in the clubhouse.
About 15 years ago, Bautko introduced his then-11-year old to the sport. Now, the 26-year old Lou IV is the big hitter of the group — and its peacemaker.
“I’ll tell you what kind of guy he is,” Crabtree said of the younger Bautko. “When Michigan beat Ohio State, instead of rubbing it in, he asked his dad, ‘Is Mike alright?’ ”
The younger Bautko doesn’t…
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