The weather of late has been super wonky. It’s humid, raining, or hot like a furnace, and the pattern repeats. It’s a vicious cycle, I tell you. It’s tough, especially when we want to play golf.
An early morning or afternoon tee-off cannot escape the conditions. Most days, it would rain in the afternoon so heavily that the fairways were soggy the next day. And golfing on soft fairways is not fun.
Then there are days that it is so humid and hot that my brain feels fried! I cannot wear my hat. Instead, I use my umbrella, but I end up being so tan – it’s not fun either! It’s a vicious cycle.
Slight drizzle was enough to derail the golf momentum
Just when you thought the hot weather was here to stay to make golf outings hot and humid, it rained this morning to spoil things. The siren did not go off because there was no electric charge in the air. We had no choice but to tee off and play on.
It threw me off in every department when it came to ball striking. Maybe it was the air and the dampness. And for the life of me, my putting skills failed me miserably. After averaging 30 putts for the last few games, the record turned ugly with 38 putts this morning. Ugh, and double ugh.
However, I should not worry too much because the playing conditions were abnormal, with the weather throwing us off. So I shouldn’t retire my Scotty Cameron putter. And it’s not even a setback with the unfortunate outing.
Come Saturday, another game awaits. So, let’s hope the momentum returns.
It has been raining lately, unusual for this time of the year after Chinese New Year. So, whenever it rains, planning laundry is hard; likewise, playing golf in the afternoon.
Yesterday’s afternoon game was a washout. We managed to complete only nine holes. Very unsatisfactory, if you asked me. But I try to take the positives from the shortened round, where the short game and putting improved. It was so much better compared to the previous outing on Tuesday. And I caught up with my golf buddies, which was more important than the game itself. I have not seen them since before the Chinese New Year festivity.
On the brighter side of the weather, the rain cools down the temperature and is more bearable. However, this won’t last, as the Weather app has predicted sunny conditions for the next few days. Brace for the biting heat again!
After playing two decent games with good putting (31 putts), today’s game was just the opposite. What happened?
It is darn right demoralizing when things do not go as planned. My short game was off, while the putting was not any better. Today, I did 38 putts! Yikes. And to add salt to the wound, I had six three-putts, missing several short putts. Horrible.
I hope all these, especially the short-game errors, are temporary. On a brighter note, my tee-off has improved. A slight tweak to my setup had me averaging at least 30 meters more than before! I am most impressed with myself with this newfound ability.
Now, if only I could say the same about my short game and putting. I have another game lined up to fix all these. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the weather will hold for the afternoon game.
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.
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!
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!
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.
This year, Halloween slipped my mind. There were a couple of years I bought a watermelon or two to carve because pumpkins are so expensive. Unfortunately, this time, the novelty of Halloween was not quite there. Maybe it’s the wet weather putting a dampener on the occasion.
The last jack-o’-lantern watermelon, if I remember correctly, was devoured by the garden squirrel after we left it out in the garden. Perhaps it’s a good thing to skip the carving to avoid dealing with the mess after the squirrel’s garden party.
I guess Halloween is not a big celebration for us. More so when the mood to carve watermelons instead of pumpkins is not there. Oh well.
We went and came back from the Forest City Resort Golf trip. It was an enjoyable but tiring trip because of the journey both ways. Waking up at 4.00 a.m. to take the bus with the rest of the group was not fun but necessary for the 12.30 tee-off. But we were delayed along the Plus highway with a traffic crawl due to an earlier accident.
Thankfully, we arrived on time at Senibong Golf Club. After a quick catered lunch, we teed off. I have never played speed golf before. The game at Senibong felt like a race against time! There were three of us on our flight, and buggies were allowed on the course. We found ourselves racing and chasing every shot.
The weather was cloudy, and unexpectedly, rain clouds were threatening. And when we heard thunder, the race to complete the game became more evident. We finished that game in three hours and thirty minutes! What a record.
That evening, we checked into Forest City Resort Golf. The Hotel seems to have lost its luster. Our room did not have a luggage rack. The TV did not work, the furnishings had scratches, the bathroom amenities were minimal, and they wouldn’t issue a second room access card. What has happened?
Luckily, the golf course was pristine and top-notch. The fairways and landscaping were excellent. However, the greens on the Legacy Course were frustrating. It was slow, making putting difficult. I recorded 38 putts compared to 30 putts at Senibong.
Drinks after game
The next day’s game was at the Classic course, and the greens felt better. But being a more challenging course, the return score could have been better. Oh well. The weather was a scorcher, and I don’t think I could have played any better.
Would we return to play again? I wouldn’t mind playing at Senibong, after it was our first time there. As for Forest City, perhaps we should play one course twice instead of both.
Angieneering 
Remarks