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John McBrearty likes to think big. During his deployment to Iraq in the summer and fall of 2003, the major in the California National Guard helped build a golf course in Scania, about 90 miles south of Baghdad. McBrearty, 46, joined the Marine Corps out of high school and later graduated from Temple University. He rejoined as an officer in 1982, serving at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms. He left the Marine Corps in 1986 but stayed in California to work in the entertainment business. But the military remained in his blood and he became a full-time member of the National Guard in 1999, first serving at a joint-forces training base in Los Alamitos. “My family and I lived in Riverside, which was quite a commute from where I was working, especially with the traffic, so a buddy of mine suggested that we start playing golf until the traffic cleared off the freeway,” he said. “I had no interest in golf, and to make matters worse, I didn’t even own a set of clubs, shoes or anything else to play the game with.” McBrearty proved to be a quick learner and was soon shooting in the low 90s. “The pro at the Navy course in Seal Beach told me that I had one of the most natural swings he had ever seen,” he said. McBrearty transferred to the 185th Armor Regiment in 2003 just before the unit was deployed to Iraq. “When I left I de-cided that there was no reason for me to get out of practice while I was gone, so I took a few clubs and a couple of balls with me,” he said. “I also took a piece of Astroturf that I could use as a tee.” In Iraq, he piled up rocks, which served as distance markers for his impromptu driving range. A 400-square-foot putting green soon followed. “I really never had any intent of building a golf course,” he said. “I just wanted a place to practice, but with me out there swinging a club and hitting balls, the kids in the area soon started treating me like I was Tiger Woods. It amazed me how quickly they embraced the game. Soon, I found myself giving lessons.” Battalion engineers then gave Mc-Brearty an idea. Since part of their job was to invest in the local economy by building infrastructure, why not build a golf course, which would serve the ad-ditional purposes of providing recrea- tion for GIs, as well as employment to Iraqi laborers? “I figured what’s the worst thing the brass can do to me?” he said. “Tell me to tear it down?” They didn’t. He built it, and people came. McBrearty and his engineers then chose a site for their golf course just outside the rear gate of the camp on what had been a date grove. Next, using Iraqi labor and money donated by veterans groups and a Los Angeles-area Rotary Club, McBrearty started building his course. The course consisted of three greens and three tees. By playing forward, re-verse, then crossways, golfers can finish nine holes. Each hole ranges in length from 75 to 204 yards. The base of the greens and the tees is made from hajji bricks, a sun-dried material Iraqis use to build inexpensive homes. A thin layer of sand was then spread over the bricks, with Astroturf forming the top cover. “Hajji bricks form a very hard surface,” McBrearty said. “This created a problem when balls hit the greens. They’d bounce right off, so we added the layer of sand under the Astroturf as well as for a perimeter around each hole. If you hit the ball right, they will do what you want them to.” McBrearty concedes that it’s not an easy course to play. “The fairways are all rough sand,” he said. “There’s also mud, weeds, brush and date palms on the fairways, but hey, it’s golf. What more can you ask for in the middle of a war zone?” Golfers carry a small patch of As-troturf with them to hold their ball for each shot. Finally, McBrearty convinced Calla-way Golf to donate more than 100 sets of clubs, balls and other equipment for use on the course. “As the equipment arrived, we stored it in a huge railway-size steel shipping container,” McBrearty said. “We tried to be quiet about what we were doing since the last thing you want the folks back home to hear is that you’re building a country club in a war zone with their tax dollars, but everyone at our base was excited about it.” In fact, one of the first to play the course once it was completed was Brig. Gen. Oscar Hilman. The course is the Spc. Daniel Paul Unger Memorial Golf Complex in honor of Spc. Daniel Paul Unger, 19, the unit’s first casualty. Unger was killed in a mortar attack May 25, 2004. “Before I named the course after that young man, I contacted his father, who is a minister, for his approval,” McBrearty said. “He was so touched that we would think to do that. He thanked me for honoring his son like that.” Some Kind of Nut As the building continued, buzz grew throughout the camp in anticipation. “There was a lot of talk in camp,” McBrearty admits. “I’m sure a lot of e-mails went home telling loved ones that there was some nut in camp building a golf course in the middle of a war zone. A lot of people think war is all shooting people and men dying all day every day. In reality, it’s that, make no mistake, but there is a lot of idle time too when it’s deadly dull. During those times soldiers need a way to decompress and relax. Having different forms of recreation available helps with that.” Just Like Home McBrearty’s course is a lot like any golf course, if you don’t count the goat herds, machine gun nest and lookout towers. “The course is a far cry from what a lot of people would call golf,” said Capt. Tom Hernandez, the battalion’s Civil Affairs officer. “The course serves a lot of people,” he said. “It gives something to do to anyone who wants to participate, so in that way, that golf course was an excellent investment. Even Iraqis have played the course since it opened. The Shiites in our area embrace anything that is American. But the course also put badly needed money into the pockets of Iraqi contractors and laborers. Even kids got into the act. They shagged balls for a dollar an hour. Heck, that would buy a table full of vegetables for a family.” Fond Farewell In January 2004, McBrearty held his farewell tournament on the course for 15 players divided into three teams. McBrearty’s team won the tournament with a 32 on the par-28 course. “It was fun,” McBrearty said. “Even today I still get news periodically about how things with the course are going. It’s nice to know that somebody is still enjoying something I did while I was there.” Despite the ongoing conflict, Mc-Brearty has fond memories of Iraq. “That country really is a nice place with nice people,” he said. “We really are doing a lot of good over there. I wouldn’t mind taking my wife and family there when things settle down. My son, who just turned 5, is already a pretty good golfer. We could go there and play when things get better. I know of a little course south of Baghdad that he might enjoy playing.” SG Camp Pendleton golf course now open to all BY JOHN REGER The Marine Memorial Golf Course at Camp Pendleton opened to civilians in December because a lot of the base’s military personnel are overseas in Iraq. It’s a sad byproduct of the war, but a unique opportunity for golfers who haven’t had a chance to play the facility. “The numbers just aren’t there,” said director of golf Doug Blanchard. “And the thought was, we want to give something back to the civilians in the area.” The only way civilians used to be able to play the course was as a guest of military personnel. Golfers can now play Monday through Thursday without an escort and on weekends with someone from the military. Greens fees are $27 to walk and $37 with a shared cart. The course is a traditional William Bell layout with tree-lined fairways and greens with subtle breaks. There are four sets of tee boxes on the par-72 course, with the back tees measuring 6,685 yards. The longest par-3 is 213 yards, and the longest par-5 is 540 yards. For more information or a tee time, call (760) 725-4704. |
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