Tag Archives: golf

Practice Makes Perfect

12 Jan

The second golf game of the year yesterday was a practice round with just my iron clubs. The Iron Challenge tournament is nine days away, and I have to prepare for it. Last year, I missed out on participating because of the timing. I was recovering from surgery.

Thankfully, there are no major medical issues this year, only the tail-end of the lingering cough. I should recover by then. Anyway, using the 4-iron takes some getting used to again. This club is only in the bag once a year for this tournament.

This time, I am also trying out the 3-iron, something I hardly use! I guess practice makes perfect, for I should put in another game or two to get used to them. Besides these two irons in the bag, I’m generally pleased with how I handle the other irons. The ball striking is good, and the short game is coming along, but the putting needs further fine-tuning.

All in all, I have to remember practice makes perfect. I look forward to the next few games to sort out my issues before the tournament.

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First Game of the Year

9 Jan

After a two-week break from golf to recover from the nasty cough, I played my first game of the year this morning. The cough is at the tail-end, and I might as well go ahead and play to get some exercise. So, how did I fare?

It was more of an outing to catch up with friends and get some sun, but the sun was not even out! The morning was gloomy, peppered with light rain now and then. And when the sun did peak out, it was darn hot! Sigh.

A two-week break causes a lot of muscle memory loss. I could not swing my clubs well because my rhythm was way off. The tee-off was erratic, the long game was short, and the short game was off the mark. And the putting, I won’t elaborate further. Oh well, I expected this outcome. I take heart that although the rhythm was out, I did not lose a single ball, a small positive consolation.

Maybe once I’m back to playing more regularly, my golf mojo will return to normal. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for this to happen sooner rather than later. I play my next game on Thursday, and we will find out the performance then.

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Limping, Not Leaping into 2024, Part 2

5 Jan

This cough is taking its toll on me. I feel so sapped of energy despite resting at home. Could it be listening to music, reading, and being on my iPad for nine hours daily does not count as doing nothing and tiring me out?

I have not played golf for ten days now, and it’s a bit concerning because I have signed up for various golf games next week! I’m unsure if I have the energy to lift my clubs when walking up and down the stairs has been so tiring.

Sigh, a speedy recovery it has not been despite having seen the doctor and being on medication. Maybe I should stay away from the iPad and do nothing. Really. With the mind at rest instead of plotting the next game move or constantly on alert watching and reading, it may be the right thing to do. Hmm. Discipline is essential to less iPad interaction; otherwise, I will continue to limp weakly into the year.

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Goodbye 2023

29 Dec

We have two days left of 2023 before we bid the year goodbye. It has been another eventful year for me. As we count down to the New Year, I reflect upon the past 12 months, and here are some highlights of the good times and not-so-good moments.

The biggest highlight would be the two weddings in the family! My only sibling’s twins got hitched within three months of each other. It was a very happy occasion for the family.

Before the weddings, I started 2023 with a bang, getting myself hospitalized for kidney stones. I thought I pulled a back muscle from gardening, but it was more than that. I can laugh about it now!

After that scare, my diet changed to one that is low-oxalate. It took a while to adjust, but I have gotten used to it now. It is always best to stay healthy than to have a recurrence.

The year also saw me having a constant battle with putting. I suffered putting yips every so often with the many rounds of golf I played this year. The musical chair with my Peanut Putter, Scotty Cameron Squareback, and TaylorMade Spider Mini putter choices was a regular practice. Towards the end of the year, I had to retire my Peanut Putter because the grip was disintegrating. Boo hoo hoo. For now, the Mini is in the bag.

There were no family holidays this year as both girls are working, but I’m okay with this. Instead, hubby and I made several golfing trips with friends, locally and abroad. As a result of the constant golfing, my craft work suffered. I slowed down building miniatures, and the latest DIY project, number #32, is incomplete and collecting dust at my workstation. Sigh. Perhaps I can revive it at the beginning of the new year. We shall see.

2023 was not all fun and happy or frustrating. There have been scary moments that I wish not to be repeated. We experienced two spine-chilling episodes with friends after golf, but quick thinking and action saved them. However, no amount of action could save the loss of others due to other issues. Unexpected and untimely, this is the cycle of life, and we have to accept it. I avoid elaborating much on these occasions because I feel it’s best to remember these people in happier times than upon their deaths. Peace be upon their souls.

What will the new year bring for me? It would be materialistic to wish for this and that. I will be practical and say better health more than anything else. With each year passing, the body cannot take the strain regardless of what I do. This dinosaur is getting old!

Well, 2023 has been happy and sad all rolled into one, to sum it up in one sentence. Goodbye 2023, thanks for the memories, and a toast to the year, now stored away as I await the New Year with an open mind.

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Almost a Brilliant Idea

19 Dec

Recently, we bought some round magnets with the numbers zero to nine on them. Hubby thought they would make excellent ball markers on the green when we play golf. With so many available, we will not run out of them! Add in its magnetic feature – it’s the perfect golf accessory.

The perfect golf accessory?

Although I planned to cut down my games for the remaining days of 2023, I played one game last Sunday and brought three magnets with me, numbering three to five. I figured they would make excellent markers for the Par 4s and 5s when I placed the correct number to indicate my strokes upon reaching the green. Brilliant, right?

Then, as an afterthought, I added the number one and two magnets to account for the Par 3s. But things didn’t go as planned!

The fairways were soggy, and it was hard to stand firm. Even the roughs were soggy. We were only at the third hole, a Par 5 when the game went downhill; I could not get my ball out of the rough. Put it this way – I was not hitting my ball but chopping grass and splattering mud on soggy grounds.

It took seven strokes to land on the green, and I did not have a number seven marker. My flightmates had a good laugh over this! It never crossed my mind that the remaining magnets, numbering six to nine, are equally necessary! Hahahahaha. After that hole, several more holes also required a higher-numbered magnet than the ones I had in the pocket.

That morning, the golf game was more of a laugh fest with friends. It wasn’t even a decent round for the four of us – clearly, the course condition was unplayable, with the constant rain making the grounds soft and soggy. Sigh.

The numbered magnet is almost a brilliant idea for now. But it is only possible to use magnets number one to five when the course condition improves. Until then, perhaps it’s best to wait out the rainy season and enjoy the golf downtime.

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Better Than Phenomenal

15 Dec

With two weeks left before 2023 ends, I’m cutting back on my golf games for two reasons. Reason number one is the wet weather conditions. It rains daily, and being out on a soggy golf course is not enjoyable. The round of golf becomes more like a field-plowing exercise, chunking the shots constantly on the soft ground instead of playing proper golf.

Reason number two is the festive season of Christmas around the corner. This year, I’m playing more Christmas carols on my Spotify and indulging in Christmas shopping. It’s a fun season, and I am enjoying it.

However, I must highlight the last golf game that resulted in better than phenomenal putting. I’d take this highlight anytime! The score was not the best because of chunk shots on the fairways. Even at the tee boxes that were soft and soggy, I could not stand firm and ended up with several mis-hits. But putting with the TaylorMade Spider Mini made up for all the mishaps.

I made 26 better-than-phenomenal putts! To break that down, it was 12 putts on the first nine and 14 on the back nine. There was even a silly three-putt, but the eight one-putt and a chip-in for a zero putt made up for the lone ugly blemish. The thing that helped tremendously was the short game. I was accurate and gave myself many opportunities to putt well.

I should hold my head high with this new putting achievement for this year and hope this phenomenal putting can continue. Maybe it’s the focus that creates confidence. I look forward to better-putting results next year!

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A Touring Pro?

5 Dec

Over the weekend, hubby and I attempted to do the unthinkable – playing four rounds of golf like a touring pro! Did we succeed? Well, almost.

The drive in one car with our friends to Sri Menanti Golf Club was pleasant, as there was hardly any traffic. The weather was cooling, and although our one flight teed off at almost 9.30 am, we did not feel any heat.

At 9.00am, the temperature was cool with the low hanging clouds at the clubhouse

The golf course was a gem of a discovery. Narrow, undulating, and unexpected, it was an enjoyable golf course. The best part – buggies were allowed on the fairways. Nice.

After the game, we had a hearty local lunch near the course before heading to Malacca for the night.

Come Sunday, the rest of the group arrived, and our second game was together with them at Ayer Keroh Country Club. Yet another round with the buggy on course, I didn’t feel the pain of walking because I didn’t walk that much! Such conditions help the body not to exert too much and be able to go on pain-free the next game.

The third game at Tiara Malacca Golf & Country Club was a taxing one despite being buggy on the course as well. The fairways were dry, the roughs were nasty, and the sun was a scorcher. Everyone felt the heat to the core.

I was constantly going into the bunkers, and it annoyed me to no end. Adding to my frustration was my erratic putting with the Spider after doing so well with it for the past few games. Sigh.

The three-day schedule pales in comparison to a touring pro’s. I hardly felt like one anyway when we had buggy on-course games. Despite this advantage, the will to go on was there, but the body and mind could not. We gave up the last game. Sigh. On a brighter note, we had good food each time and plenty of friendship bonding time.

Professional men and women golfers are remarkable athletes. While I aspire to be like them, playing several games in a stretch, if I cannot even handle three days of buggy on-course games, what more walking long golf courses for four days in a row? Hats off to them!

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Rainy Season

28 Nov

It is officially the rainy season, and playing golf during this time is no fun. It rains almost daily, and the fairways at our golf club cannot dry on time. We could opt out, but resistance is weak.

The fairways are soggy and become messy from the soft grounds whenever a contact shot is not good. The mud would splash all over, and it’s icky with the splatter onto the pants or the shirt!

Last week, my player partner wore white pants, and he did not have a good shot and got mud on his pants from the knee downwards. I had a bad shot as well and got splattered on my white shirt! Ugh.

Although dark-colored pants are ideal in such conditions, it is not a guarantee from the mess. Evidence of mud residue at the cuffs is still visible. Sigh.

The rainy situation will continue until next year. I wonder if other golf courses are just as soggy. Hmm. Well, the only way to find out is to play at these courses, regardless of the rainy season!

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Spidey Power

24 Nov

The TaylorMade Spider Mini putter has been in my bag now for several games. And surprisingly, I am handling it well.

The putter feels right, and it’s doing a good job. So far, I have been recording 31 or 33 putts. And this is with one or two three-putts incurred.

There was one game where I did only 12 putts after nine holes. It was such a confidence booster with six one-putts and the rest, two-putts. The Spider Mini was on fire! Unfortunately, at the turn of the game, the weather changed. The rain came down, and we had to abandon the game. Shucks!

Well, there are so many more games to play, and I hope the Spider power will continue to give me good putting results.

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The Peanut Putter Retires!

10 Nov

I was horrified to discover the grip of my Peanut Putter shedding when we were away for the last two games! It was fine just last week before the trip. I don’t know how or what happened, but I am dismayed by the unexpected deteriorating condition.

My heart breaks
Hurts to see the grip like this. Sniffle.

So, during the two games, I was extra careful not to aggravate the shedding any further each time I was putting. I have to say my Peanut Putter has been giving me some fantastic statistics lately. My putting confidence has grown with it in the bag for this recalibration effort in place of the other two putters.

Distances between one and four feet are very accurate. The putter does not wobble, and the ball-striking has been firm. And anything from four to 20 feet is mostly two putts to save the score.

Occasionally, there were some three-putts, but not as many as six or seven three-putts in a game like my other two putters’ erratic performances. The blemish is mostly misreads of the putting line and not the putter’s performance.

I would certainly like to continue using my Peanut Putter, precious as it is. However, with its condition like this, I have no choice but to retire it to prevent further deterioration. It is unfortunate and untimely when I am doing so well with it.

Perhaps I can find another from Amazon? I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Until then, the TaylorMade Spider Mini is in the bag, and I hope it will serve me well.

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