About a week and a half following the crash, Hurley felt that most of the survivors were becoming too stressed out, and didn't have anything to occupy themselves with. After finding some golf clubs, he built a 2-hole, three par golf course on the top of a hill near the caves. The course was located in a valley on the Mesa.
Appearances[]
- The course is seen in use or mentioned on at least five occasions:
- The first time the survivors played, Hurley created it, and used it for "the first and hopefully last Island Open". ("Solitary")
- Hurley later mentioned a second tournament ("playing for deodorant sticks"), but the course isn't seen. ("Special")
- Hurley unsuccessfully attempted to make friends with Jin as he's hitting rocks at the course, saying that "urchins have more ping". ("...In Translation")
- While attempting a putt, Charlie claimed he has never made par on a course before. ("Solitary")
- Right before Jack was ready to putt, some of the other survivors placed bets on whether or not Jack would make the putt. The final bet came from a then-hated Sawyer, who put up a tube of sunscreen. The others looked at him in disgust, then Kate said, "I'll take that action," followed by Boone taking the bet. ("Solitary")
- Kate, Charlie, and Hurley were playing when Kate challenged Jack to a round of golf, and when Jack hit his ball into the forest, they stumbled upon Eko bringing unconscious Sawyer back from the tail section group. ("Collision")
- Jin had a temper tantrum when he missed a putt while playing with Hurley and Michael. ("Jin Has a Temper-Tantrum on the Golf Course")
- Originally the course was two holes but Kate challenged Jack to a game of three holes, so it may have been expanded. ("Collision")
Symbolism[]
The golf tournament symbolized problems in Michael's parenting skills with Walt. When Michael heard about the tournament, he left Walt on his own in the caves, with only the sleeping Claire for company. Walt eventually showed up at the golf course, and Michael asked him if he wanted a try, but Walt felt guilty that others were waiting to have a turn. When Hurley told Michael it was his turn, Michael went to take his shot, rather than offer to let Walt play. Walt then returned to the caves by himself, and later found Locke in the woods, who offered to teach him how to throw a knife.
In the mobisode "Jin Has a Temper-Tantrum on the Golf Course," a golf game went badly and symbolized Jin's mounting frustrations on the island, especially the isolation he felt being unable to communicate with the other survivors.
Recurring Themes[]
When he created the golf course in "Solitary", Hurley said, "Rich idiots fly to tropical islands all the time to whack balls around." In "The Economist", Sayid observed that he and wealthy Peter Avellino were "paying quite a premium" to play golf on a private course in the Seychelles.