The timing to travel south to Johore for golf is, unfortunately, not the best with the haze. But the trip was mooted before the weather conditions changed. Oh well.
We woke up at an ungodly hour of 4.15 am to meet at the club to go on the bus. At least we don’t have to drive because there are enough people to charter a bus.
On the bus now, I can feel the impending headache. Ugh. I hope I can play decent for the afternoon tee-off at Senibong Golf Club. We will find out.
The weather, of late, has been wonky again. It constantly flips between being hot, like a furnace, and cold, like being in the highlands when it rains. Unpredictable is what the weather is.
Playing golf in the afternoons is very taxing on the body when it’s hot. I find myself drinking more water than ever to stay hydrated. However, not all afternoons are hot, and there are days when afternoon golf can be a washout.
I’m glad I rested the last few days to allow my body to recover. Regardless of the conditions outside, I have been indoors chilling and doing nothing. It’s nice as I caught up with my reading.
Recently, there have been reports that the haze is back! The heat is on and gets to me. It becomes unbearable and uncomfortable. Sigh. I hope this won’t last; otherwise, we have no choice but to be indoors more than ever. We will have to monitor the situation.
I find myself constantly second-guessing Mother Nature on her mood as far as the weather is concerned. It is a silly battle. The rain and sun are always giving me grief in planning my day. I’m talking about laundry days and not my golf games.
When the sun is out, it’s a good laundry day. But sometimes rain clouds would unexpectedly creep in. This situation then spoils the after-wash drying conditions. I love sun-dried clothes because they feel fresh and have a lovely sun-baked scent. Non-sun-dried clothes pale in satisfaction.
So, over the years, I have learned to look at the sky and gauge the cloud formations before I do laundry, although I could rely on the Weather app on my iPhone XR for better planning.
Yet, despite my efforts, Mother Nature still wins. Yesterday’s laundry load did not have enough sunshine to smell good. They will be out again today to catch some rays. Hopefully, it will stay sunny.
It looks like a silly battle, but instinct and technology cannot compare with Mother Nature.
The weather of late has been wonky, going from dry and hot, suitable for outdoor activities like golf, to wet and cold. It creates a sense of melancholy, yet to be home and be a couch potato seems okay to enjoy the wet and cool conditions.
After that eagle achievement, I am not aiming to be a couch potato but raring to play some good golf, only to have the weather derail my plans. We abandoned our game yesterday afternoon after the rain came rather quickly. Sigh.
Recently, I went for several therapy sessions to address my plantar fasciitis problem. It turned out to be a pinched nerve on my spine, causing pain in my right heel. My spine? I never suspected this at all!
Initially, I thought it was plantar fasciitis because the pain occurred almost daily – in the mornings, throughout the day, and especially after playing golf. I even thought my golf shoes were not right for me. Well, this is a thing of the past now.
Immediately after the treatment, my recovery was spectacular, with an eagle shot on a Par 4 the next day! If I had understood my pain better to address it correctly, I could have avoided my recent golf downward trend. Oh well, better late than never, and the Eagle achievement has made up for all the past performances.
The lesson learned: always be aware of your body if something is wrong. Being a dinosaur, we cannot take things for granted. If there is any physical pain, take the proper measures to address the issue immediately to avoid months of suffering. I’m glad I am now cured and happy.
The golf game downtrend has continued. My handicap has recently gone up at an alarming rate! It’s disheartening and embarrassing. Have I been playing so bad? Reality check here to relook at my game performance.
I should not focus on putting stats only because it does not reflect the whole game. I should look at all aspects of the game and see how to play better. I recently resolved my approach shots, but unfortunately, not helping to return with better scores. Then again, I do find lately, even in Jakarta, the passion to excel at the game is not quite in me.
Separately, my weight is also on the uptrend, like my golf handicap! It’s just as disheartening and alarming. I have not been eating a lot nor binge drinking beer after my golf games. Something is causing an imbalance, thus the uptrend.
I have to do something to tackle these two issues because they are bugging me to the core. Perhaps a little more disciplined with food and well-being to manage the weight, and be more focused to improve all aspects of the game and rediscover the passion again.
The golf game has been up and down for various reasons. I had a fungal infection on my fingers two weeks ago, affecting my nerves; it was not a pleasant sensation. I could not feel anything on my index and third fingers of my left hand.
The infection stems from my moist golf gloves because I hardly wash them after my games. How could I when I had so many games lined up? Well, now I know I should clean the gloves of unwanted yucks.
So the putting and gripping of all my clubs were affected by my medical problem. Thankfully, I had some antibiotic cream to apply, and resolved the predicament. These days, I don’t wear my gloves to golf as I can do without them just fine, thus reducing the chances of another infection.
In the meantime, I reverted to my TaylorMade Spider Mini putter because the Scotty was making too many errors. When I did 37 putts, I knew it was time to change. And thus, the back and forth with the putters. When will I master the skill of putting? Sigh.
My fingers are recovering, and the last two golf outing results were much better, as is putting. Another lesson learned here: always air the golf gloves or wash and rotate them more often; otherwise, you may face the problem I encountered with icky gloves.
I have figured out the reasons for my recent up-and-down trend. Firstly, I picked up a new injury! Silly me, how could I overlook this? I have had plantar fasciitis on my right foot for the past few months.
I will be fine if I play at courses that allow buggies on the fairways because I can minimize walking. Sadly, this is not often, and my foot hurts to high heaven even before completing the game. Ouch, indeed.
Secondly, the wedges that I have in the golf bag. I took out my Cleveland CBX2 52-degree wedge and had a Cleveland Smart Sole 50-degree Gap wedge instead for the last few games. Because of the swap, the short game has not been very sharp. You could say I wasn’t used to the Gap wedge.
Well, I put the 52-wedge back for the buggy-on-course game this morning. And I am pleased with the outcome because the short game improved. Also, being buggy on the course, my foot pain was manageable because I walked less.
I need to be more aware and know where the problem lies. Once I can manage the situation well, be it my short game or physical pain, the up-and-down trend should be a thing of the past.
I started DIY project number 30 last week. Thirty! That’s how many I have done since the pandemic broke three years ago. The first year, I crafted so many; the second year, lesser; and this third year, I have slowed down so much. Oh well, there is a valid reason for this decline.
During the first year, when we had all those lockdowns and MCO (Movement Control Order), I was speed-building miniatures to pass the time at home. In the second year, when the restrictions were lesser, I was back to playing golf, going out, and traveling, and my hobbies – carving and building miniatures, took a backseat. Hence, not that much craft work to show.
With everything opened and the economy in full swing again this year, I find myself busier than ever and going out more. Staying home is only to avoid the heatwave outside. So spending time on my hobbies is much less this year. Nonetheless, however less it has been, I have arrived at number 30 for my miniatures. What a milestone!
We are back in hubby’s hometown for the weekend. And it’s like from one oven to another. Sigh.
On a brighter note in this unbearable heat, I am sweating buckets and getting rid of my water retention. I’d like to think at the same time, my body fat is being melted away too. Hahaha!
Angieneering 
Remarks