Tag Archives: golf

The Day I Feared, Part 1

10 Sep

Golf is a painful and mental game I have said before. Days when you think you can play well, you end up with such a horrendous score, you’d want to not just hang up those clubs but throw them away. Then days when you think it’s going to be just a meh game, you play one fantastic game, the results make you want to play another 18. Immediately.

More than anything else, golf is not just a strategy game but also a mental one. And a Science challenge because there’s club loft, course elevation, ball trajectory plus wind and swing speed to consider. Seriously, one has to be sensible, calm and mentally strong to pick up and recover when things don’t always go as planned.

Last year around early February, I participated in an Iron Challenge tournament at my Club. The challenge called for players to play 18 holes using just irons; no driver off the tee and no woods or hybrids on the fairways. Just irons and of course the putter to hole out.

Mentally I knew I could do it because I had a strategy. Physically I knew I wouldn’t have any issues because I didn’t have any injuries then and I could handle my 4-iron well to get the distance off the tee and on the fairways.

The game went smoothly and as planned. There was no pressure and I had a lot of fun until the last hole. Oh my goodness, the last hole… It didn’t go as planned with the tee off, the lay-up and the third shot to cross the water, followed by probably two more shots and a putt to close with a bogey or double at most on the Par 5, Hole 18. It was treacherous.

I call my Club’s Hole 18 the Pacific Ocean because the water to cross is so vast visually, it always, always plays the mind and creates fear unnecessarily.

So maybe fear got the better of me that morning?

Or maybe the thought of crossing an ocean without any woods in hand suddenly felt too enormous a task to execute because visually, the water being so vast played the mind. I should have had more faith in my long irons but I had a major collapse at that moment because I feared.

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A New Club

10 Aug

Several months ago I bought a new club, a 3-iron for a steal of a price! With thoughts of going back to playing more golf, I wanted to expand my iron usage ability.

Now I can handle my irons well, up to a 4-iron and I thought with this new addition, it could give me an edge. I don’t use my woods as much; the only wood I have in the bag is a 3-wood which sometimes can work and sometimes not. In other words, my irons work better.

I just need to build back my strength and regain my confidence if there’s any hope to improve the game a notch higher with this new club.

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A Quick Job

9 Aug

Within less than a week, Monument 11 was completed! I ought to give myself a pat on the shoulder as it took less time than I anticipated with the usual steps (after carving) of sanding down to shape, patching any unwanted gaps, painting the base coat and applying the finishing colors.

I am finalising my thoughts to begin the glued two-piece Meranti. However, with several golf games lined up this month, one being a tournament, I will only begin after all the golf in case I aggravate the tennis elbow whilst carving away on the hard Meranti.

As for the idea, I am actually contemplating something new, a Gnome home! I hope I can pull it off.

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Stuck Yet Again

3 Aug

After that creative run to carve up 36 Citizens of Gigglesville, I now find myself suddenly stuck for ideas. I have been staring at this two-piece glued Meranti block for some time already but just cannot figure out what to carve. Another Gandalf-like Gnome? Or perhaps a Gnome abode, something totally different? Hmm…

Actually I am caught in between wanting to start a new piece on a Meranti and wanting to play more golf. Knowing that working on big Meranti pieces will aggravate my tennis elbow will inadvertently affect my golf, the balance is tough.

Then again the itch to carve is strong. That’s why I have continued with more Citizens on soft balsa to preserve the elbow after the 36 Citizens was done.

The block beckoned again. In the end, I opted for a one piece Meranti and started on Monument 11. The block would have to wait.

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Weekend of Champions

30 Jul

I have amazing girlfriends and they inspire me with their grit, mental strength and focus. Over the weekend, three amazing women came out tops in their respective activities, two in golf and one in an ultra-trail race.

Girlfriend #1 defended her Champion title in the Women’s category in her golf club’s Annual Championship, Girlfriend #2 was the Nett Champion amongst men in a golf Invitational tournament while Girlfriend #3 romped to fourth placing in her category in the 100km race. A weekend of champions indeed! Well done, girlfriends, you ladies are simply amazing.

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Bedrock Bottom

16 Jul

I have said many times golf is a funny game. I thought I had hit rock bottom several weeks ago with my inability to play despite all these years at it. Then I managed to bounce back soon after and I thought from there on, it can’t get any worse and I should be on the upwards trend but guess what? I was wrong!

There is an even lower level than rock bottom and it’s called bedrock bottom…

Over the weekend, I participated in my club’s Annual Championship, a two-day tournament. And there’s just no words to describe the performance especially on Day One. Put it this way, it was as though I just picked up the game a month ago and bravely played in a crucial tournament that really tested one’s ability and mental capabilities.

Although there was only one OB’ed shot, one obvious shank that resulted in a lost ball, six dunked balls into the ponds, several duffs and mis-hits, these costly mistakes were enough to do me in.

The weather was perfect, the shoes were comfortable, the tennis elbow wasn’t even acting up so there’s really no reason to do all those that I did. Sigh… I am at a loss for words on this.

Thankfully on Day Two, I played better and restored some confidence. Maybe I am not quite ready yet to play competitive golf? After this experience, I hope there won’t be another undiscovered level beyond bedrock bottom to my golfing ability, that’s all I can say!

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What Can I Eat? Part 3

5 Jul

I have never in my wildest dreams thought I would be in a coffee- and alcohol-free situation. I used to live on Coke and Oreos for the caffeine and sugar kick in college and later, thrived on coffee in my professional working life. Then there’s alcohol, a totally different story but not now.

It’s been three months since my laparoscopic surgery and five months since the colonoscopy. Life has resumed with normal activities and recently, I have even gone back to an occasional alcoholic drink or two but not as much as before. Moderation is the key.

Somehow for coffee, I just can’t get back to drinking it on a regular basis. I am not complaining though, I am happy with my decaf Earl Grey.

Health wise, I have maintained my weight which is good but I find I have lost some core strength. Lack of gym sessions to build this back? This is especially very obvious when I play golf because all my distances are off by 10 meters! To compensate this, I have to use a club stronger. Oh well, as long as I can still play golf, I should be thankful.

Initially, within a month from the laparoscopy, I felt fine and pain free. But now, three months later, my pain problems have returned.

One is never cured from Endometriosis unfortunately. I suspect it could be a new round of build up because I have been careful with what I eat. I guess I need to be even more careful all over again if I don’t want to suffer.

The immediate thing to do is to manage the diet by eliminating food that will imbalance the oestrogen. And when the chemical reactions are reduced with a controlled diet, it curtails the Endometriosis the chance to grow and reduces the many symptoms linked to it.

Also I checked again on the list of food to avoid and found out I got my info incorrect on soy products the last time. It’s unfermented soy based foods (like soy milk and soy cheese) that are not good for me, so actually tofu, miso and soy sauce are okay. Thank goodness.

Don’t be surprised if I lose another kilo or two the next few months because it looks like I  shouldn’t be on an in-moderation diet but a restrictive one all over again to manage the pain levels. Sigh…

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It Must Be the Socks

25 Jun

So I played another game of golf on Sunday, this time participating in my Club’s Anniversary Cup. A tournament in other words. I felt that after the last game which was an improvement, I should be on the upward trend. And I am glad to say I was.

It must be the socks I concluded because I gave the Nike shoes another chance and wore thin socks this time. And everything worked. The shoes held up beautifully in the early morning sogginess – a result from rain the night before, and I did not have pruned toes at all after 18-holes. It felt great. The pair of spare socks that I thoughtfully brought along didn’t need to see any action.

And my golf… it was very encouraging. The tee offs were straight, the subsequent shots too and the shot game and putting all worked. Even crossing the water, something I have always feared especially on what I call my phobia holes, was not an issue! Needless to say I am pleased. Extremely pleased.

From here on, I must remember the socks are equally important, not just the shoes and other equipment. When comfort kicks in, a mentally stronger and confident approach to the game will follow.

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Rock Bottom, Part 2

21 Jun

Golf is a funny game. Just when I thought I’d give up the game and just focus on carving, I play a decent game next. This time, it didn’t rain and I opted to wear my Footjoy after the last disastrous game wearing the new Nike shoes. The poor shoes, I should give it another chance.

During the latest game, my shots were good and my putting was impressive despite several near misses. Maybe there’s hope because I had already hit rock bottom the previous game and this game did not plunge any further.

Let’s hope the next game maintains the upward trend.

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Rock Bottom

14 Jun

Last week I hit rock bottom as far as my golfing ability or rather inability is concerned. I have no words to describe. It didn’t even rain and the new Nike shoes which were supposed to help didn’t at all. In fact, it hurt more than helped.

The socks were too thick and caused the feet to hurt, and I couldn’t focus. And then my eyes hurt and I couldn’t focus. My shoulders were so stiff and I couldn’t swing properly. In short, everything did not work out during that game. The only consolation was a few tricky long putts that went in. I know there shouldn’t be any excuses but there were plenty.

Sigh… I can only hope with this rock bottom achievement I should move upwards next because there’s no more room to bottom out even further. If it does at this point, I may just give up golf because there’s no joy in this activity anymore. And carving is looking more appealing because there’s so much more joy to create, see my end results and feel the love when I give them away. There’s no love for the frustration of playing terrible golf.

Will I survive this moment of self-doubt and lack of conviction for the game?

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