Saturday, May 11, 2024
The Pecan Plantation Country Club (PPCC) said goodbye to summer and hello to winter during its Changing of Seasons ceremony on Friday, Nov. 17.
Jay Arrington, communications director for the PPCC and owners’ assocation, explained that the ceremony symbolizes the transition in going from summer golf into winter golf, as the course changes to its “winter rules.”
"Winter rules apply to the way the course changes in the winter, when grass stops growing," he said. "A lot of courses play winter rules year-round, but the changing of the seasons we just do because we're going from our traditional warm weather play to our traditional colder weather play and it's just something that we wanted to celebrate.”
PPCC golf pro Duff Cunningham told the HCN that the Changing of the Seasons ceremony is an event that was first brought to PPCC by a member who wishes to remain anonymous.
"I told him that this is his legacy to Pecan,” Cunningham said. “It is an amazing event to see all the people who come out and support the event.”
During the ceremony, renowned bagpiper Don Shannon led a small procession of golfers dressed in ancient and traditional garb to the No. 9 hole and to the clubhouse, all the while playing traditional songs on the bagpipes.
Arrington explained that having the golfers dress in kilts and knickers is a symbolic nod to Scotland, where golf first originated.
After arriving at the tee box during the event, Cunningham symbolically drove a ball down the No. 1 fairway, ushering in the winter. The ceremony then featured a toast to the previous summer of golf as well as to the golfers who’ve passed away.
“When we did it this year, we decided we wanted to make it a little more substantial,” Arrington said. “We wanted to make it a little more somber, yet light, so we expanded on what we had as the ceremony. We have lost a lot of folks this year to old age or health issues, and I wanted to incorporate a remembrance of them into the ceremony as well.”
PPCC General Manager Rick Lantgen said in the PPCC news release that the Changing of Seasons is a “unique ceremony that is both somber and light-hearted, much like the game itself.”
“Golf is played primarily for fun and sport. But the relationships created on the course go much deeper than that,” he said, in the news release. “Friendships are developed, bonds are forged, and life lessons are learned. It’s a wonderful game, and we want to celebrate it, as well as our brothers and sisters who love to play.”
Prior to COVID, the Changing of the Seasons ceremony was a yearly occurrence at Pecan. Lantgen said the PPCC wanted to bring the event back as it’s an opportunity for those who love golf to come out and “raise a glass to such a great game and to great people.”
“Having a world-renowned bagpiper like Mr. Shannon play for us makes it even more special,” Lantgen said, in the news release.
Shannon, who is originally from Northern Ireland, has more than four decades’ experience in piping and teaching bagpipes. Since moving to the U.S., he has immersed himself in the full-time profession of bagpiping, playing at weddings, funerals, memorials and corporate events.
According to the news release, Shannon has performed for most of the British Royal Family (including Queen Elizabeth II), Prime Minister Tony Blair, President George W. Bush, and countless other dignitaries and VIPs. He has also appeared on ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" and played on numerous occasions with The Chieftains, Ireland's premier musical ambassadors.
Arrington said the PPCC plans to bring the ceremony back next year, with the hope that more folks will come out and join in the processional.
He added, "Our goal is to celebrate the game of golf and to celebrate the memories and the friendships that are bonded on the course and to remember those who are taking their great swings in the sky now instead of on their earthly golf courses.”
