Ghosts, Goblins and Golfers that go bump in the night

By Phillip Ellis, Golf Today
Posted 10/24/18

It’s October and I couldn’t resist offering a few harrowing tales of things that go bump in the night on the golf course. Legends of ghosts and goblins out chasing the white ball through the …

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Ghosts, Goblins and Golfers that go bump in the night

Posted

It’s October and I couldn’t resist offering a few harrowing tales of things that go bump in the night on the golf course. Legends of ghosts and goblins out chasing the white ball through the mists under a blood red moon abide from all over the world. So here are a few of my favorite spooky tales from the links. Have a happy Halloween.

From the Stonehouse Golf Collection is the story of The White Lady of St. Andrews. The six hundred year old course boasts many ghost stories. The most popular is the story of the White Lady, a ghost-like image that often appears near the ruined abbey. The White Lady beckons those that see her to come closer, and then she lifts her veil. Those that look upon her disfigured face are instantly driven insane. The legend states that the White Lady was a nun in the convent that occupied the abbey. It is thought that in life she became so badly disfigured that she became a nun so that she could hide away from people. Another of St. Andrews frights is Martyrs Monument, behind the 18th hole. The monument proclaims that their ghosts still roam the course in search of justice.

The Lincoln Park golf course in San Francisco offers views of the city skyline, the Golden Gate Bridge, and according to some, ghosts. A wide variety of ghosts have been seen at this public course. They may be the souls of those buried in the old Golf Gate cemetery. It housed more than a thousand corpses, and it lies directly beneath the course.

As homes were built many wealthy homeowners were able to remove the remains, but poor residents were left with a “potter’s field” under their homes.

Out next items come courtesy of the PGA. It’s as the Victoria Golf Club in British Columbia, Canada.

As the legend goes in 1936 Doris Gravlin was murdered by her estranged husband after a nighttime meeting on the course. Her body would not be found until five days later when a caddie noticed it along the shoreline of the bay at the seventh hole. Police deemed the crime a murder-suicide as the body of her husband, Victor, would be found by a fisherman a month later.

Since then the ghost of a woman in a white gown has been reported to hang around the course. Golfers explained: She will rush towards people, and then disappear. She also exhibits a variety of other behaviors. One night, for example, a woman saw the apparition while out walking the course with a group. A wild wind suddenly sprang up, blowing at them from all directions, despite it being a perfectly calm day. Some of the group became very frightened. As the woman hung back from the rest of her group, she felt someone with a cold, clammy grip take her hand. She assumed one of her friends needed comforting. Then she notice that all her group had moved on, and she was alone. The hand disappeared.

In nearby New Orleans the City Park golf course has its share of spooky stories. One of the more famous tales is about a murder in the 1960’s. Two women were finishing their round on the 18th green when a man shot and killed one of them. Even now, there are claims of people hearing a gun shot and a woman screaming on the same green, although it’s completely deserted.

Closer to home paranormal author Michelle Smith is fond of telling a ghost story that takes place on Grand National, the RTJ Trail course in Opelika. According to legend, the ghost of Mary Dowdell, a former slave, who is allegedly buried there, haunts one of the course’s 17th holes. “People will go to hit the ball, and when they look down its missing,” Smith explained. “People have seen her; she always has a pocket full of golf balls.” Smith added, “She particularly doesn’t like players who swear a lot

Are these legends real, or just stories to be told over campfires, do the spirits of victims of violent crimes wander the links after midnight? Perhaps they’re seeking a solution for their violent murders, or some form of restitution. Could they be looking for lost balls for eternity, is that the reward for a wasted life, or only a few local pranksters out having fun with the tourists?

Remember the last time you hit a perfect shot down the middle of the fairway, and once you got there never found the ball? Could it be an angry ghost playing a trick or just the rub of the green? Perhaps we’ll all find out this Halloween.