Redemption!

7 Jul

Soon after the demoralizing Annual Club Championship golf result, I took a break and went away to play more golf! It’s weird, but going away with some golf buddies helped. Perhaps it is the golf course of choice because I played one game on Tuesday—two days after the annual weekend—at my club’s Hills course and fared just as badly. So it is the golf course! Hahahaha, a fact that I cannot understand.

My golf buddies and I did a mid-week 2D/1N to Seremban and Port Dickson last week. And it was a very enjoyable outing in terms of the golf, company and food. I vaguely remembered the layout of Seremban International Golf Club (SIGC), having played there before in recent years, and played a decent round. But the second game on the second day was redemption!

It’s been a long time since I last played at Port Dickson Golf and Country Club. So familiarity was not on my side, but I took it in stride. My ball striking was crisp, and my putting was exceptional again, with 29 putts.

I returned with a personal best gross score of 91, almost breaking 90!!! It is redemption indeed. I could have broken 90 if not for a three-putt. Oh well, I am happy with the results. It reaffirms I can play good golf. It is not me but the course doing weird things to the mind when the outcome is not what we hope for.

Second to my personal best score, I did not lose a single golf ball for the two games! Typically, at my home course, losing three or four balls for one game is expected, and the score is an eye-popping figure. My home course sucks, in other words! Hahahaha.

I left the outcome as is, taking a real break from golf for the next few days after that fantastic feel-good score, before my next golf adventure.

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Resetting My Problems, Part 2

30 Jun

Guess what? My terrible golf continues – not a whole lot, but enough to demoralize me. As mentioned, I participated in my club’s Annual Club Championship tournament over the weekend. It was a mixed-fortune outing, with an improved score only on the first day; the second day’s outcome unfortunately regressed the overall two-day total. Like I have repeatedly emphasized, the spirit and mind are willing, but the body and ability are not. Sigh.

There were some brilliant moments, but there were more of the opposite that I could not recover from to minimize the damage. The first day’s score had four pars to cover the disasters on several holes. Pars are not to improve the score but to do damage control so that the score does not blow up!

However, on the second day, Lady Luck was not on my side; I could only manage one par. How is this miserly one par enough to minimize the disasters that occurred? We are not even talking about birdies, which were nil, zilch, and nada. 

So many near misses. A typical bogey became a double bogey, a par became a bogey, and worse, a double-bogey hole exploded to become a double par or more! Every hole, there were little mistakes here and there that added up the strokes! The only bright outcome from the experience was my putting. It was my saving Grace from an even higher overall score! Hats off to my caddy, who was of great help in this department for both days.

On the first day, I recorded only 29 putts, very impressive putting overall, I have to say, but alas, the same cannot be said for the other departments of the game. Honestly, it is rather amazing that I improved to 28 putts for the second day; I just took more strokes to get to the green! The irony.

Now that the stress of preparing for the Annual Championship is over, I can heave a sigh of relief. I can feel the tiredness in my bones and joints. Was it worth it? No. I am in more pain than ever! And although I gripe about not being physically fit, I actually played a game this morning, albeit half-heartedly. Sucker. It’s a love-hate relationship for this game called golf.

I will have a physiotherapy session soon to reset my body, and I hope it will help so I can play better golf in my next game.

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Resetting My Problems

23 Jun

I have been playing some terrible golf lately. Every month, I participate in my club’s monthly medal, and fare terribly. So much so, my handicap has gone up, and it is very demoralizing and embarrassing. But what can I do? The spirit and mind are willing, but the body and ability are not!

My internal injuries are far worse than I thought! And it affects my golf game. However, instead of allowing the situation to drag me down further, I try to fix the problems at hand.

Firstly, I have been going for physiotherapy treatments to address the physical pain, and then to the driving range to improve my ball striking. Slowly but surely, it is working. My physical pain feels less, my ball striking has improved after several driving-range sessions, and my confidence has increased. 

The reason for all these extra efforts is that I am playing in my club’s Annual Championship this coming weekend. All I aim for is to improve my score from last year’s participation, that’s all. I played a decent round this morning, not the best, but sufficient to know the mistakes and what to do to avoid a disaster.

I play one more game on Thursday, and let’s hope for the best outcome come this weekend. Wish me luck!

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Happy 13th!!!

16 Jun

A WordPress notification popped up a few days ago, and it was a Happy Anniversary wish. My blog site is 13 years old! My goodness. Is that how long I have been writing?

It feels like just yesterday that the idea first took root. Now, 13 years later, I’m still going strong, although the frequency of my posts has decreased to once or twice a week. Of course, when I travel, and there is a lot to write about, the frequency increases.

Writing and sharing my experiences are wonderful activities that help keep my mind sharp and my memories vivid. Sometimes I can be a bit forgetful, especially regarding trivial matters, so maintaining this habit is a great way to support an active and healthy mind!

Here’s wishing myself a Happy Anniversary! Keep blogging, and cheers to many more years of sharing ahead.

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Week In, Week Out

9 Jun

The days that go by feel so ho-hum. Day in, day out, week in, week out, it feels the same. Too monotonous the routine that I can go about it like a robot on repeat. There is not much excitement happening.

The desire to play more golf has seeped out of me with the unpredictable weather lately. We can get nice weather for one nine, and upon crossover, the weather goes downhill, that is, too hot for my liking or raining cats and dogs in a worst-case scenario. When this happens, the golf goes down with it. Hahaha.

Over the weekend, I played in my club’s monthly medal tournament. During the first nine, I played so well because of cloudy, cool conditions. All my shots were spot on, and I was one under my handicap at the turn. The back nine, sadly, was a different story. Too many strokes over. Sigh.

The sun came on full blast, and needless to say, the will to play good golf melted under the sun. It’s a lesson learned to continue to build my mental strength to overcome the heat and adversity of uncontrollable situations.

So, I’m taking a break from playing in the sun or rain for the remainder of this week. Perhaps next week, when I tee off, I will have a better mental approach. We shall see.

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Extended Weekend

2 Jun

It is nice to have an extended weekend with two replacement public holidays on Monday and Tuesday. But it throws the momentum off. Monday felt like Sunday, and Tuesday felt like a Saturday! It’s a weird feeling.

I played golf on Sunday and Tuesday, and Mother Nature had a little fun with us on both days. We gave up the last three holes when the rain started for the Sunday game, while on Tuesday, playing at a course outside and with five holes left, the rain came down in a fury and we didn’t have enough time to find shelter. I was soaked to my underwear. We decided to wait it out and did manage to complete the game.

The extended weekend saw many holidaymakers travelling. Some even took leave from work to stretch the holiday break. We opted not to be part of the crowd, hence, the golf and eating out because I deemed the home kitchen closed! Heheheh.

It will be quite some time before we have another long stretch of holiday break. So, making use of it and being happy about it!

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Too Much Activities

26 May

Lately, I have been playing golf more regularly, and with pickleball added to the mix, my weekly routine is quite packed. On a positive note, the wet weather has cleared up a little, and we were able to find windows for several uninterrupted rounds in cloudy conditions, which was nice. But it can also become hot and unbearable! Not easy to have everything go perfectly all the time. Sigh.

On a different note, the activities have stressed my body to the point where it has not had enough time to recover. I recently went for a lymphatic and sports massage instead of the usual aromatherapy massage. And the therapist told me my legs are overused! Dang. It makes sense now why they hurt all the time! Finding the right balance is challenging. Or is it age catching up with me, requiring more recovery time? It is definitely food for thought.

Perhaps it’s best to pace out the activities and not be a heroine, pushing myself to the max. Otherwise, the sports once loved and being passionate about will no longer be enjoyed, right?

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Mother Nature-1 Golf Game-0, Part 2

19 May

The last two golf outings have been a blessing. I would say Mother Nature scored zero versus golf games that have racked up two wins thus far. The score is now Mother Nature-1 and Golf Games-2.

We had really good weather both times, cloudy and cool until only the last three holes when the sun decided to make an appearance. Now if only we had planned that Kampung Kuantan trip a week later. Oh well.

Despite such niceties, days when we are home, the house feels like an oven! And on a couple of occasions, it rained more than cats and dogs. I won’t complain because golf can go on without interruption, and I’m thankful.

I tee off again later this afternoon. Maybe golf can pull ahead with another good weather outing? We will find out!

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Mother Nature-1 Golf Game-0

12 May

We have been experiencing some rough patches of weather lately. As you know, it rains every day, and planning a golf game is difficult. Last week, my friends and I decided to play a morning game, as the pattern seems to be rain and thunderstorms mostly in the afternoons. So, we took a gamble and booked an 8.30 am tee-off at Royal Kampung Kuantan Club.

The drive to the golf course was just under an hour, and we arrived an hour early. It started to drizzle as we got out of the car. Since we arrived early, I decided not to register ahead but wait for the situation to improve. Hah! Wishful thinking.

Water, water everywhere! Same spot, inundated within minutes.
Flooded within a short time

The rain started coming down heavier than ever! Bummer. Pretty soon, the whole golf course became flooded, with the fairways blending into the nearby pond. From the golfer’s terrace, the putting green fared no better. Long story short, we waited for three and a half hours during the downpour. Mother Nature decided it was not a day for any outdoor activities! She goes one up against golf.

Lunch was crabs with mantou, prawns, baby squids, and Lala bee hoon

The rain was relentless! It was too heavy to get to the car, and too early to go off for brunch. Finally, when there was a window, we managed to get to the car and drove to Kuala Selangor for a comforting seafood lunch. It was the least to cap off a washout outing. I think golf needs to take a backseat for the time being until the weather improves.

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It’s May Already!

5 May

The old saying, time flies when you’re having fun is so true. Suddenly, it is May already. Last week, I had a packed schedule of activities. Amazingly, I could even pull it off with the horrible weather that we are experiencing.

Every day, without fail, it rains, making it hard to plan a round of golf, whether a morning or afternoon game. At least, the pickleball games are indoors, and whether it rains or shines, we are not affected.

Strangely, the daily downpour has been very localized, at least for us as far as golf is concerned. It may rain at home, right before we leave, but be dry at the golf course of choice. Like yesterday, for example. Luckily, we were able to finish the afternoon game in good time, although it rained a little, but not heavily enough to stop the game.

I guess when time flies by so quickly, the weather shouldn’t be a deterrent to having fun. We have to learn to circumnavigate the situation. This week, the same busy schedule is in place again; rain or shine, the fun continues!

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