Who’s your caddy by C. Maybe Ortiz

from June 2020 Polo Players' Edition

Polo around the Globe

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.

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.

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.

• 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.

Polf Pin Construction

➢ Sink a 12-inch section of 1-inch PVC pipe about halfway into the ground as a sleeve ➢ Place a colorful plastic crate over the sleeve ➢ Attach a flag material, such as a shop towel, to a ⅜-inch wooden dowel ➢ Secure dowel into a 5-foot section of ½-inch PVC pipe and thread through crate sleeve

Hole #5 is a long, uphill par 6 into Copelan Corner. Chilo Cordova and club horse Hercules approached his second shot which conveniently cleared the ditch and remained on the fairway. That’s Lake Oconee in the background, known for its bass fishing tournaments and championship residential golf courses. There was a lively polo arena at Harbor Club on Lake Oconee, back before the turn of the century.

Just when you thought polf was too easy, the last hole forces you to thread the needle. Penalty strokes are awarded for going out of bounds or asking to be dug out of the briars

• Horses of the Western persuasion, especially those experienced in roping, can be talked into a game of polf with minimal training. The English polo saddle is often a deal-breaker for many cowboys and girls who would like to try to hit the ball.

Getting them to wear a helmet is still tricky. • Retired polo ponies can have a new hobby, especially those who have lost their sight in one eye. Neither fitness nor horseshoes are required. • Old polo players can also enjoy polf without unduly endangering the lives of themselves and others. • The game can be adapted to the skill level of the participants. Polf at speed is called golo and can also incorporate the defensive tactics of croquet.

The 2020 season at Mayberry Hill Polf Course had to walk softly between the state guidelines for social distancing and the openings of area polo clubs from Atlanta to Aiken.

On May 4, the force came with them as Bo Taylor and her husband Chilo Cordova made the 100-mile hop west on the interstate from Aiken. They have been an integral part of Phillip Staples’ winning Woodlawn 6- and 8-goal teams based in Virginia and South Carolina. Two-goal Chilo has a nose for scoring and though his arena experience is limited, he did an excellent job in keeping the inflated ball on

Chilo Cordova is an extremely pleasant polo professional while posing a constant scoring threat. Raised in El Salvador, he has earned his U.S. citizenship and is frequently asked to play in special events. In late February, he and his wife Bo brought in and shod a half a dozen horses for the Pacers and Polo third leg of the Aiken Triple Crown at the end of March only to be in the same fix as so many other pros with horses to feed and tournaments postponed.

Mayberry Hill neighbors and sisters

Annie Copelan, Makenzi Greenway and Lilly Ballard (kneeling) highlighted the components of polf pin construction.

Their shirts would like to have said, “Who’s your caddie?”

the fairway. He sat 4 under par going into the nasty 9th and final hole, only to be upended by a quadruple bogey 10 due to penalties and unlucky putting. He still made par.

“This is fun!” volunteered Chilo after he eagled the par-5 downhill Greenbriar Creek hole (in 3 shots). He could see how varied groups of people from pros to beginners could have friendly competition while giving their green horses a chance to walk the course.

Last summer Christine Cato flipped an offside backshot into the crate which allowed her to subtract a stroke from her total for the hole.

In July 2019, David Carrell, who overcame his left handedness to achieve a 1-goal rating a decade ago, was all set for a round of polf when a thunderstorm threw a giant tree across his driveway. After early careers in breeding Quarter Horses and exotic birds, David now raises water buffalo, alpacas and a handful of camels on his farm in Monroe, Georgia. He was running buddies with Edgar Cato (the son); Christine Cato came over from Aiken to give him a score to shoot for. Carrell Farms stays on the road in the springtime, shearing alpacas but Mayberry Hill hopes to host David and his wife Shalley this month.

Christine Cato took to the game immediately and

The spirit of polf was alive and well when Christine Cato came to Mayberry Hill from Aiken with her Brigadoon polo team shirts. She rode Hercules, a rescued Quarter Horse of indeterminable age (check the deep depressions over his eyes) who is enjoying one more neck-reining career as a polf pony.

had no trouble besting the erratic (not to be confused with erotic) play of the aging inventor of polf on her moon-blind mare. Christine’s score was a 1-under par 45 thanks to her steady hitting.

Last year, high-goaler Alan Martinez had been pastured only 10 miles north of Mayberry Hill and had cheerfully agreed to drop by and shoot for the course record. His uncle Carlos Martinez participated in the very first polf match in Florence, Alabama, in 1985. In 2015, despite his lack of arena experience, Alan successfully substituted in the AllStar Benefit for the Polo Players’ Support Group at Dennis Freeland’s FireStar Arena. Unfortunately, Alan’s horse accommodations have changed but that might have saved this former 6-goal power-hitter the embarrassment of not being able to keep the ball on the course.

Another long-ball hitter who was game for a round of polf is Georgia State Representative Trey Rhodes who easily translated his UGA Bulldog baseball skills into an impressive golf game. Though he can’t sneak out of the office like he used to, Trey has been a fixture at the numerous benefit golf tournaments around Lake Oconee, often winning the prize for the longest drive.

It would seem that polf has a future at many polo clubs, especially those in golf-friendly areas. A few “holes” could be set up without damaging the playing field for half-time competition among highgoalers or local celebrities, using polf as the gateway activity to actual polo lessons.

For further encouragement, feel free to email cmaybeortiz@gmail.com. •

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