I have decided to change my mode of play for upcoming golf games. All the woods and hybrids have been retired.
In their place are now all the long irons of various brands. The 6i, 5i, 4i, 3i and even a 2i! This decision is in preparation for the upcoming Iron Challenge tournament slated for the end of January next year.
I hope I can handle the long irons, as it’s been a long time since I last used them.
I have played golf for so long and have never encountered a situation of fear before until my Tuesday game this week. Shudder.
Our typical Tuesday golf game had only two flights this time. We played at an outside golf club instead of our home club for a change. The weather was cloudy, and the company was good. Despite such good conditions, my game continued its downslide. Oh well. However, it is not about me today but the situation.
The men had just teed off, and then we ladies teed off soon after. Just as we were about to follow them along the cart path, our flight mates in front shouted in fear, “Cobra! Cobra!”. Oh my goodness!
Our terrified caddy called out to me to quickly reverse the buggy. The cobra was already upright in an intimidating posture with its hood open as if ready to strike! Shudder. The men had driven past the cobra without realizing it. Luckily we were slow and behind. I think it was when they looked back to search for their balls that they saw the cobra.
And upon hearing their shouts and our caddy’s insistence, I reversed to a safe distance behind the scene. We stayed put for ten minutes as the men took some photos and the caddies did the same to report to the club. It was a fearful moment waiting out the cobra. Thankfully, the cobra stood down after a while and slithered off into the nearby bushes. Phew!
After that incident, I had another unexpected encounter but this time, with an eagle! I was walking towards my ball when I stumbled upon an adult eagle resting in the rough under the trees. Its brown feathers camouflaged the bird under the shade, and I did not see it when I approached my ball.
The eagle looked injured as something was sticking out of its body. Unfortunately, I was not fast enough to get my phone out to take a picture. Oh well. The eagle spooked and flew off when it sensed my presence.
What an outcome the golf outing turned out to be, having close encounters with a cobra and an injured eagle.
The horrible golf continues! I don’t seem to have hit rock bottom, but free-falling into a bottomless pit.
Ugh. No point in feeling miserable, frustrated, or angry. I might as well hang up the clubs until next year to spare myself any ill thoughts toward the game.
The struggle continues with my golf game. It is like a roller coaster, one game playing well, then another, playing like a newbie. Like today. Ugh.
Maybe it’s the soggy fairways that are giving me the striking yips. But it’s also the putting. It’s unbelievable that I scored a miserly five Stableford points in one nine this morning. It’s all that three-putts! Ugh.
Everything could not work, and I was out of sorts. I attribute this to the nice cool weather and my wanting to do nothing. I should not adopt this do-nothing attitude for my golf!
Well, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a change in fortune to at least play decent for the remainder of the year.
Besides my golf game struggle, my DIY miniature crafting has also struggled over the past few months. I have not sat down at my little workstation for so long, and my last project has stalled to the moon and never came back! Hahaha.
It would be nice to finish it up and not leave the set incomplete and collecting dust. I have gone so far with crafting miniatures for the past three years already. And this being DIY project #25, it would be great to wrap it up before the year ends.
By now, I have played three rounds of golf, and the struggle continues. The golf mojo is hard to get back, especially when the weather plays a role. The wet and soggy grounds have not helped, causing lost distance with unnecessary forced shots to overcome the conditions.
When it rained, all the rain gears were out, and it became a handful to manage. Also, the momentum gets lost if we wait out the rain. It’s not enjoyable being out there.
The short game has improved, but only slightly. Putting was much better because I was using the Peanut Putter. I hope this struggle will not be prolonged. Perhaps another game or two before everything clicks again. I cross my fingers and hope for good weather as well.
After close to a month of travels and no golf, I played my first game yesterday. So how did I fare?
Well, I have to admit the night before, I watched some tutorial videos on YouTube as a refresher to remind me what to do! And it did help, but only for a bit.
The first tee-off was such a beautiful shot. I was impressed that I could strike the ball well. Even the second and third shots were good. I thought my golfing touch was still intact. But it was downhill after that!
The shot game and the putting threw the momentum off. The shot game was off, and my putting was horrible. I could not feel the weight of my Scotty Cameron putter, causing a lot of two- and three-putts. Sigh.
After the disastrous welcome-back game, it’s back to the drawing board to regain the golf mojo and muscle memory. The Scotty putter will make way for the Peanut Putter, and I need to work on my shot game to be more accurate. Essentially, practice makes perfect is what this game is all about. I will be going all out to play as much as possible from here on.
You know it’s back to reality when the alarm rings, and there’s so much to clear and unpack upon waking up. I was in denial over the weekend upon returning from Bali, even going for a movie, before I tackled the things left in the bags or scattered in the house.
Well, no more trips for the time being. I need to get back to my routine. Speaking of it, I’m not too sure about my golf game as I have gone a month without playing. We will see when I tee off on Thursday morning. Perhaps I better prepare with more golf balls in the bag.
It seems like the holiday is never-ending! It has been extended with a public holiday today. Unexpected but anticipated (because of the General Election results) and appreciated nonetheless.
Bali was fun, and I was doing things, not up my alley, which was nice for a change. I got to know my high school friends better, and we did things together.
Throughout the week, we indulged, ate, drank, laughed, shopped, swam, and luxuriated in our private apartment and villa (we stayed at two different places) together. We also pampered ourselves with not one but two three-and-a-half-hour and four-hour spa sessions.
There was no golf, no playing tourist but merely enjoying the presence of each other and having a good bonding time to catch up. I am thankful that, at this age, I still have such friends. It was as if we were never part despite all these years.
After this trip, we understood each other better, with our friendship forged to a deeper degree. I look forward to the next trip with this bunch of besties.
Today’s the day! We left in the wee hours of the morning. It’s been ages since I last woke up so early, and my usual 5.30 am wake-up for golf pales compared to this ungodly hour. I might as well not sleep and get ready for the airport straightaway.
It will be a long day ahead with our direct flight. I have forgotten what it’s like to be on a long-haul flight. And this journey will take 14 hours and 20 minutes, a little longer than the last time we flew to Amsterdam. Oh boy, my butt and body.
Separately, I’m a little bummed that my Move, Exercise, and Stand activities will be disrupted, thus ending my long record of 1,053 days in the Fitness app on my AppleWatch. Oh well, it is for a good reason; we are off to England, sadly not to see the Queen (God bless her soul) but the new King!
Angieneering 
Remarks