Tag Archives: golf

Short People Travel Too

28 Mar

Although throughout the school holiday week, we did not go anywhere due to M2 wanting to prepare for her exams, we did go away on the last weekend before school reopened. We joined our golf club for two away-Interclub matches, a 2D/1N trip to Port Dickson and Malacca. It was a good short getaway I must say.

When we stayed overnight in Malacca at Kings Green Hotel, I was impressed with the hotel on two things: the pillows and hooks in the bathroom. The pillows were plump and just right! And the bed was equally good with the right firmness. For once, I didn’t have to whip out my travel pillow, which I brought along, to have a good night’s sleep. And the bathroom hooks! There was ample which is rare, with a row of four hooks at a height that short people appreciates.

This reminds me of our last hotel stay in December last year.

We were in Ho Chi Minh City when M1 was back for her Christmas break. The hotel we stayed at, Sunrise Central Hotel was pretty strategic. Located in District 1, just next to Grand Silverland Hotel (which I stayed at during my June golf trip last year as well), it was within walking distance to food and shopping. The room may be small compared to Grand Silverland’s room but was decent. However, one thing irked me.

There were just not enough hooks to hang clothes in the bathroom and the only one available was way too high! It is as though such tourist hotels are catered only to tall people with an easy reach to hang up their clothes or towel.

The bathroom door actually had a glass panel (unusual with such a feature) and there was no practical place for the hook to be except way above the glass panel. Why didn’t they consider having the hook at the wall right behind the door at a reachable height instead? The hook was at least a good six feet high or more.

I am average in height for an Asian at 156cm (5 feet 1.5 inches), not short but not tall either. When I stretched my arm up to measure the height of the hook, my arm was pretty straight upwards and I still had to be on tip toe to hang my towel. I don’t think this is right, is it? I can’t imagine how my girls dealt with it, as they are slightly shorter than me. Even the closet, the rod inside was pretty high up. Sigh…

Usually when such situations arose, I would, albeit reluctantly just put down the toilet seat cover and place my clean clothes on it because I don’t like to walk into a cold room after a hot shower even with a snugly wrapped towel. All that nice after-shower toasty feeling would be lost immediately once the cold air hits the skin.

Whoever assigned the contractors or installers to put these things up should remember that short people travel too and these things are important to us. And to consider adding another hook in the bathroom as well for practicality. Goodness only knows how clean (or unclean) those toilet seat covers are and for me, after a long day playing tourist, I seriously don’t need to do any yoga stretches in the bathroom to get to my clothes.

 

These babies were so comfy!

 

The row of hooks just above my eyebrows

 

 

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3.45am Tops It All

21 Feb

What’s worse than waking up at 5.30am for golf? Waking up at 3.45am for golf! Yes. This tops it all – the 5.30am, 5.00am and even 4.30am in the past.

Over the weekend, I did just that, waking up at 3.45am. It was a day trip from my Club to Ipoh for an Interclub match. With the tee-off scheduled at 8.00am, naturally our entourage had to start the journey early, like in the wee hours of the morning at 5.00am.

But we left the club only at 5.15am and arrived after the two and a half hours bumpy bus ride. With 15 minutes left before tee-off, the tee-off had to be delayed slightly for us to have a decently paced breakfast without choking. And after a quick group photo session, everyone’s off onto the fairways.

It was my first time playing at Royal Perak Golf Club. The past few trips to Ipoh for golf and food, RPGC was somehow never on our agenda. Well, there’s always a first time.

It’s a scenic course with lots of trees, short old ones and tall ones too. The fairways were generally narrow and very undulating. One has to be accurate and straight when teeing off to have a good second shot opportunity. Our flight mates were very serious and good golfers. My partner—another Club member, not hubby—and I totally lost out to them in terms of the golf course knowledge and management.

Did we have a good game? Err… well, I wore my new Adidas shoes and it felt very comfortable. No pruned toes. And I laughed a lot because I felt I was playing jackpot and not golf, raking up several 7s in a row on my scorecard! It’s one of those days that you cannot do anything else but just laugh at yourself.

The Interclub match saw our visiting team losing out to the host team by only four points, 998 to 1002 with a Four Balls, Best Ball format for scoring. Oooh.. ouch, so close. I am sure revenge is on every members’ mind when we host them for a return match in the near future.

We headed home immediately after the luncheon and prize presentation. And in the blink of an eye, another Sunday went by so soon.

  

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New Shoes Again!

20 Feb

What can I say? Shoe Queen? Shoe-crazed? Fetish? Obsession? I have valid reasons for the latest purchase.

Firstly, my FootJoy is on the verge of falling apart. My only pair of water-resistant spiked golf shoe, I felt I needed a replacement of the same kind like pronto. Most of my other shoes are spikeless and not so water-resistant.

Secondly, wearing the Skechers during a game three weeks’ ago had my toes all pruned. The morning dew and a misstep into a puddle of water early on in the game was too intense for the non-water resistant shoes to handle. And once you have soggy shoes, the discomfort level increases while the game performance decreases. Sigh…

Thirdly, I had to dispose two spikeless pairs, the Nike and Head as they were also falling apart. So it’s not like I am increasing my shoe count, it’s a replacement.

If you must know, last count of my golf shoes prior to disposing and acquiring, I have two Adidas, one FJ, one Nike, one Head, one Skechers and one True Linkswear. Obsession? I think so.

  

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Customary Routine

31 Jan

Over the years whenever we return to hubby’s hometown for the Reunion Dinner, we would also play a round of golf at the nearby golf club. This year, the customary routine had to be modified slightly because we came back a day earlier than our usual four days, three nights stay.

We are playing at our golf club today. Looking forward to some good golf to work off all that food consumed!

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Silly Me

6 Jan

With only four hours of sleep the night before, it was hard to function yesterday. I have forgotten what and how it’s like to dig deep into the reserves to function normally.

But we had no choice because M1’s flight was 8.00am and we had to wake up by 3.00am. Our body system and morning rituals were messed up a little because by 6.00am after checking in, we had two breakfasts already, once at home and another at the airport whilst waiting with her!

Thankfully it wasn’t an emotional farewell. There were some tears I’d admit and I managed to hold them at bay. But the void in the heart, it started to build and felt heavy. Sniffle…

After the goodbye, we headed straight for the office, dropping off M2 at school on the way (yes, she was late). I tried to work to keep busy but found myself constantly checking flightaware.com. By 1.00pm, I gave up and decided to channel my energy elsewhere. Otherwise the void would envelop me with more anxiety. Playing my virtual games didn’t help because I had the computer in front of me.

So we went to play golf.

And I played horribly because I couldn’t focus. A far cry compared to my December game where I hit 6 pars and every department worked so well. This time every department was not functioning. And not only the body was tired and sapped of energy, my mind kept wandering. I also kept looking at my iPhone whenever we had to wait, to see where the plane was! Silly me.

I was creating my anxiety further when Flightaware showed the plane had landed in Narita but we didn’t get an update from M1. Knowing full well the transit time was barely sufficient and the security process was probably very stringent with the inbound flight to the US, there may not be an update. Yet I was wishfully anticipating one. Silly me.

By the 15th Hole, a relatively short 100m across-the-pond-Par 3, the silly me changed from my usual iron to a shorter one just because it was a red flag. What was I thinking? Already tired to the core and a shorter club?? Big mistake. I dumped my shot into the water. Twice! Silly me.

After that, I told hubby we should just give up the last three holes because both of us had no more energy left to continue. Also I had no focus at all, it was pointless to carry on. Came home so drained…

By 10.30pm, I don’t know about hubby but I was knocked out and didn’t see my phone until 7.00am this morning that M1 finally updated. After close to 24 hours of travel, she had arrived safely but still one more car ride to get to campus. All that unnecessary anxiety. Silly me.

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Ending the Year

30 Dec

Today I am back to reality as I have to go in to the office. It won’t be a lot of work but just to clear things that piled up during my absence. 

It has been a tumultuous year. There have been more downs than ups for me this year – injury that needed treatment, therapy and rest, work stress, death of pets and hearing/reading news of favorite singers (Prince, George Michael) and icons (Carrie Fisher/Princess Leia) gone too soon. I will go into my George Michael mode today, so move aside Michael Buble.

But trips like this to Vietnam with the family and golfing trips with friends are definitely highlights to cherish. I take heart that my 2016 is ending high with a very memorable family trip and looking forward to another occasion like this again. It may not be so soon as M1 goes back to university next week, so we will have to plan.

To all my readers, thank you for your support, reading and following my blog. Here’s wishing you a better and happier 2017!

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A Solid Return

19 Dec

Last Monday was a public holiday so hubby and I went to play golf. And we had the ‘bestest’ weather ever despite a constant downpour in the wee hours of the morning during this wet season. I thought we may have to cancel. Luckily the rain stopped and we teed off at 7.43am, taking the slot of a cancellation, eight minutes earlier than our intended tee off time.

Throughout the 18-holes, the weather was perfect – cool and cloudy. The sun did not even peeked out. Even the pace on the golf course was perfect, no flight in front of us to slow us down nor a flight behind chasing us to hurry on. I guess there were many cancellations when the morning downpour occurred. We had the most enjoyable outing and I must say it was a solid return to the game for me.

After all those months of rest and therapy, it has worked wonders. What made this game different from the few that I dabbled with after my doctor approved for me to play? The confidence in striking the ball well with no more fear of pain recurring upon impact. 

This positive mental approach was key and it showed. I played the game so solid, I raked up 6 pars! Never have I had 6 pars in a game in my home club ever. So this was quite an achievement.

My ball striking was good and every department worked out well – the strength, the distance, the short game and the putting. There were some fumbles due to lack of play but overall, I was very pleased with the outcome. The best part – the pain was none existent which was good. 

But I will not play any games for the remaining days left of the year because M1 is back and I’d rather spend time with her.

Well, it’s nice to keep this good outing to heart so that next year, there will be more pain-free games, something definitely to look forward to for 2017 after M1 goes back to the US. 

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Cloudy with a Chance of Rain

17 Nov

I thought I would go back to golf soon especially after ceremoniously moving my gear to the BMW Golfsport cart bag. But with the weather being cloudy with a chance of rain every single day, I am still waiting for the opportunity.

When will that be, I wonder?

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Ready for Action Again

8 Nov

I have decided to use my BMW Golfsport cart bag to officially mark my return to active golf, weather and office work-load permitting. After all, during the rain-drenched Ipoh outing, there was no major setback. A much improved outing compared to the couple of earlier games. And even after a trip to therapy, all was good. I think I am ready although I still have to take precautions to prevent any recurrence.

I must say the past three months of non-action made me ponder about the many factors of the game of golf. Analyzing how to approach the game better so that injuries do not recur or occur was on my mind a lot. But I also had doubts, that’s why I was not in a hurry to get back and seem to have lost my passion for the game. Thinking too much?

On top of all these thoughts, it made me realized something I often overlooked. I have one beautiful looking golf bag that I won two years ago at the Qualifying Leg to enter the finals of the BMW Golf Cup International. And it’s just sitting there collecting dust. Why? I should use it! Make myself feel good about the game and be passionate about it again. 

So on Sunday, all the clubs and knick-knacks were transferred over to the spanking new bag, ready for action, and the existing Taylormade stand bag will be retired.

  

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Therapy Has Helped

4 Nov

I am happy to say that my wrist and thumb are good again after all that rest and therapy. At my second to last therapy session, the pain has subsided totally despite playing a round of golf in Ipoh over the weekend. It was indeed very encouraging because no pain was felt nor was there any aggravation.

In fact, during gym on Monday I was back to my normal routines that involved the hands. There were no problems doing push ups. And in order to maintain this progress, I have to continue the hand and finger exercises to strengthen the muscles. But it sure looks like I am ready for golf again. Yay.

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