Who’s your caddy No contact required for Polf, a polo hybrid By C. Maybe Ortiz
What better time than June 2020 for a few rounds of polf? For those of you who have never witnessed this exquisite game, it is obviously the ultimate combination of polo and golf, played at a walk using an inflated ball with the sole objective of reaching the pin in the fewest strokes. Players and their caddies can easily stay 6 feet away from everyone.
The first hole, The Centaur, runs along the beautiful brown fencing by the driveway. The Briar Patch presents its own set of hazards followed by a blind tee shot on the Auggie Dog-Leg. Par 3 Hole #8 was named for Mike “Hawkeye” Dawkins, a polo player and cancer survivor who will be honored when a polf benefit can be scheduled.
Of course, polf is a mighty tame game compared to actual polo, but a number of players and neighbors have found a thrill at Mayberry Hill in Madison, Georgia.
Polf is not a recent innovation. A creative (some say crazy) polo manager known as “Maybe” substituted polf for No Polo when rains forced the cancellation of the Sunday games of a tournament at the Bluewater Creek Polo Club in 1985. We weaved around the water hazards on the two fields and down the hill to the stick-and-ball area by the creek. At a walk, it was a squishy substitute for bump-and-run polo and it received a lukewarm appraisal. However, the advantages of polf are numerous: • It can be played during and after a rain event. 40 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
• Winter can be an appropriate time for polf except in Skaneateles. If scheduled properly, polf is enjoyable during summer mornings and evenings. • Polf can be played by anyone who can sit a horse at a walk and half-swing a mallet without whacking an equine ankle. Wives and children make excellent polf partners. In the case of a benefit polf match, politicians and celebrities can delight the crowd. • Patience and planning are paramount as one searches for the shortest route to goal. The inflated ball is quite unforgiving to those who rely on power alone. • Both rated players and beginners receive an ongoing comparative analysis of their consistency and accuracy. • A polf course can be set up relatively inexpensively and maintained with a ride-on lawn mower. The land does not have to be flat.
