Densho Digital Archive - Jiro Sugidono Interview (denshovh-sjiro-01-0018)

<Begin Segment 18>

TI: So it sounds like you were on the very end of the, the camp?

JS: The end.

TI: So there's a lot more open space out there?

JS: Oh, (yes). 220, we made a basketball court on the, well, you could call it a desert, it's all sand, and then you could further, you could walk to the Colorado River, you could go over there fishing. So in fact, at that time, we were about the first one to make our own golf course. (Yes), 'cause heck, you'd be surprised, Camp 2, Camp 1 used to have tournament. (Yes), Camp 1 got a lot of good golfers, and Camp 2 had good golfer, too. (...) Salinas was, John Urabe, oh, (yes), he was single handicap, and (yes), so that's why he taught lot of us how to play.

TI: So how do you build a golf course in the, in the desert?

JS: Like the, where we call it green, it's all sand, but we smooth it out, then when we land on the green, where the hole is, we got a tee wood and scrape it smooth and hit it hard as heck. [Laughs] That's the only way the balls kind of sink in. But we just smooth it and it'd get kind of a little hard. But you'd be surprised, there's, one guy especially was good, he learned to play golf there, first time, oh, and when we came back he was single handicap. He was a four or five for a long time. His name was Kiyo Sakai, oh, he was good. And he's one of those types that is, if it's a five iron or whatever, he'd just take that out and practice that all day out there. And we used to play golf, I guess, in Camp 1. So (yes), we had a pretty good tournament.

TI: And so you actually had tournaments, but where would you get enough clubs and balls for a tournament?

JS: We, it was surprising, lot of those golf clubs we got through J.C. Penney. (Yes), they, I don't know if you remember, if they got it now, but the handle is kind of yellow orange, orange. (Yes), all those golf clubs that they got at the camp, they ordered through the mail order, J.C. Penney. (Yes), that's where I got mine.

TI: And so would you order a full set?

JS: (Yes).

TI: Even with a driver, or just irons?

JS: Well, usually they, they get the wood, driver, and they made two... I don't know, it was maybe a whole set.

TI: And how long would be like the longest hole?

JS: Well, it'd be no more than maybe little over 200 (yards).

TI: Two hundred yards?

JS: Yard, I mean.

TI: So like a par four, you would have.

JS: (Yes). 'Cause it was fun. But it was, if you could hit it straight, it was pretty good. But even then, it's in the sun, it's sand, so you, I guess we got a, what do you call, a winter months (rule), we improved our lie, 'cause you hit the ground, bury in the sand.

TI: So what would be the typical hazards out on the, the golf course?

JS: Well, it's, the hazard is the one we make ourselves. When you hit way to the left or right, or hit into the brush or whatever it is. 'Cause if you stay in the freeway, I mean, the what you call it, the fairway, well, heck, you got a pretty good chance. You get two good stroke, you're right up there.

TI: And did you have to worry about things like rattlesnakes out there?

JS: Oh, (yes). That's why, especially when you go to Colorado River, watch out by the edge of the water where there's any brush or anything, or a hole, don't put your hand in there. Make sure, 'cause that's where the rattlesnakes try to hide from the sun. Oh, (yes), anything, even under the barrack, there'd be rattlesnakes. But I didn't see any, but it'd be scorpions, things like that. So far, I never heard anybody get bitten.

TI: So if you hit your ball off to the side under a bush or something, you'd have to be careful that there was nothing else underneath that.

JS: (Yes). 'Cause I know, when I was in camp, they start letting us go out to work, like Nebraska or anyplace, sugar beets, things like that. Even there, I went to work over there in Nebraska, I was, (...) pitchforking hay or something, I lift it up, rattlesnake. They got lot of 'em. Oh boy, you gotta watch out.