The partnership of Kevin Gaughan, local community activist, and Jack Nicklaus, legendary golfer, is intriguing. The possibility of Nicklaus’ company doing business in the City of Buffalo is far too beneficial and much too attractive to allow bureaucratic differences to get in the way of such a deal of tremendous magnitude.
The overall effort would not only serve the “golfing community” but would expand the education of Frederick Law Olmsted’s vision for Buffalo parks and recreational areas. It is likely that Gaughan’s approach to promoting the development of a new South Buffalo golf course and a long overdue enhancement of the Delaware Park golf experience is analogous to Bryson DeChambeau’s long ball approach to the par five contours of the PGA. Without question, the two cut corners in order to achieve their goals.
The PGA attempts to reduce DeChambeau’s incredible tee shots while all the while basking in the attention brought to the game. Likewise, Gaughan’s activism challenges routine bureaucratic dynamics in order to achieve an outcome that is beneficial to the common man and woman. Both the PGA and our local rigid bureaucracies can prove limiting and can squash the very essence which nurtures their sport and or business.
Hopefully, sensible minds will now pick up on the efforts worked on for over seven years by Gaughan and his Better Parks Buffalo initiative. Nicklaus and his company need to hear as soon as possible that the City of Buffalo and the Western New York region would love to work with him to accomplish this post-pandemic project. As mentioned earlier, the partnership will serve both golfers and non-golfers tremendously and it will give imagination a boost of confidence when working with one of the best known brands in all of sports, Nicklaus.