Tag Archives: Scotty Cameron

Unfathomable Phenomenon, Part 2

28 Jul

The mind is a powerful thing. Today I decided to be more disciplined in my thoughts during the golf game. Week in, week out, I play so badly at my home club; it has created a lot of self-doubt and a loss of confidence. There’s nothing to lose this week except maybe the contributed pool money for the winners.

I manifested more positivity and made some changes to my approach. I also decided to use that big-ass golf umbrella instead of my usual minuscule one to protect myself from the sun and heat. Since I always collapse after the turn, I thought a bigger umbrella might help eliminate the discomfort. And it did help!

I tuned out the other players in my flight and focused on my approach for every shot. All these little measures and changes helped amazingly. The heat did not get to me, and the external noise from the chatter did not affect my swing or focus. Putting was good at 30 despite raking up three holes where I three-putted. A case of could-have and should-have. Oh well.

It’s funny how all these small adjustments seem to work out well. Why didn’t I think of these changes before, and had to endure so many rounds of unsatisfactory golf? So today is the first time after so many rounds that I finally managed to play under my club handicap at my home club! Wheee, a truly rewarding feeling.

To cap off the satisfaction, I was joint second runners-up in the group, and was duly rewarded from the pool money. Nice! The unfathomable phenomenon is basically a mind game, a test of mental strength, and I did well in today’s game. This is just as important as the golf swing and all. Fixed my mindset, changed my attitude, and focused on my approach. Now that I know what I should actually do, I hope to maintain the outlook and start playing better golf from now on. My next game is this Thursday.

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Same Same But Different

14 Jul

Week in, week out, the routine feels the same; yet it is different, hence the saying, same same but different. Over the weekend, it was yet another outstation golf trip, but with our golf club instead of on our own.

Last Friday, hubby and I joined our club for an Interclub golf trip to Johor. The week before, I was in Seremban with my golf buddies for a 2D/1N excursion; this time, it was a 3D/2N outing.

Our first game was at Johor Golf and Country Club, which has been undergoing massive redevelopment but is open for play. The golf course was very enjoyable; however, the clubhouse is still under renovation, so we were not able to use the facility. Nonetheless, I give it a thumbs-up and would like to play there again once the redevelopment is completed and the clubhouse is ready.

The next day, we played at Orchard Golf and Country Club. Not a very nice course, honestly. Everything that worked the day before fell flat. Putting sucked because the greens were bald! So many times, my ball skidded past the hole and didn’t roll into it; a forgettable round of golf.

The hotel we stayed at is the usual choice whenever we travel down to Johor with the club. You can tell it is an old hotel when there are no modern plug points with USB ports at the bedside for charging use. But the seasoned traveler in me brought all the necessary charging docks, plugs and cables to overcome this, having stayed here on past trips with the club.

Finally, on the last day we had our Interclub golf challenge against Palm Resort Golf and Country Club. We were slated to play the Cempaka course. The other two courses were Allamanda and Melati.

Our day did not start well. An illegally parked car blocked our bus from leaving the open space car park compound, delaying us by 20 minutes. Then, as we made our way to the club, traffic was at a standstill on the narrow road for another 20 minutes, creating further anxiety for an already delayed journey. I thought we would arrive late, but thankfully, there was some breathing space and soon the tournament started after a quick breakfast.

It was a shotgun start, and my flight started on Hole 4. All was fine and going well until we crossed over to the back nine, which was very long. All the Par 3s, my goodness! I had to pull out my driver twice and couldn’t even reach the green. So demoralizing.

Towards the last three holes, the sky turned dark and threatened with rolling thunder, and strong wind followed. Dang! I rushed through my shots. Ugh. Beaten by the weather and overall unfamiliarity of the course!

We left Palm Resort defeated in the team event, unfortunately, but took heart that our club will host them for a return match in September at our home course. The team will take revenge then and take the trophy back. Hahahaha. Moving forward, I feel I could have played better, and would like to return to this golf club. Perhaps another trip down South? Something to think about.

There were some good memories as we left Johor for home at 3.00 pm. Traffic was horrendous, doubling the travel time back, arriving at the club near midnight. What a trip, what a journey towards the end. So another one filed away for remembrance until my next golf trip!

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Redemption!

7 Jul

Soon after the demoralizing Annual Club Championship golf result, I took a break and went away to play more golf! It’s weird, but going away with some golf buddies helped. Perhaps it is the golf course of choice because I played one game on Tuesday—two days after the annual weekend—at my club’s Hills course and fared just as badly. So it is the golf course! Hahahaha, a fact that I cannot understand.

My golf buddies and I did a mid-week 2D/1N to Seremban and Port Dickson last week. And it was a very enjoyable outing in terms of the golf, company and food. I vaguely remembered the layout of Seremban International Golf Club (SIGC), having played there before in recent years, and played a decent round. But the second game on the second day was redemption!

It’s been a long time since I last played at Port Dickson Golf and Country Club. So familiarity was not on my side, but I took it in stride. My ball striking was crisp, and my putting was exceptional again, with 29 putts.

I returned with a personal best gross score of 91, almost breaking 90!!! It is redemption indeed. I could have broken 90 if not for a three-putt. Oh well, I am happy with the results. It reaffirms I can play good golf. It is not me but the course doing weird things to the mind when the outcome is not what we hope for.

Second to my personal best score, I did not lose a single golf ball for the two games! Typically, at my home course, losing three or four balls for one game is expected, and the score is an eye-popping figure. My home course sucks, in other words! Hahahaha.

I left the outcome as is, taking a real break from golf for the next few days after that fantastic feel-good score, before my next golf adventure.

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Resetting My Problems, Part 2

30 Jun

Guess what? My terrible golf continues – not a whole lot, but enough to demoralize me. As mentioned, I participated in my club’s Annual Club Championship tournament over the weekend. It was a mixed-fortune outing, with an improved score only on the first day; the second day’s outcome unfortunately regressed the overall two-day total. Like I have repeatedly emphasized, the spirit and mind are willing, but the body and ability are not. Sigh.

There were some brilliant moments, but there were more of the opposite that I could not recover from to minimize the damage. The first day’s score had four pars to cover the disasters on several holes. Pars are not to improve the score but to do damage control so that the score does not blow up!

However, on the second day, Lady Luck was not on my side; I could only manage one par. How is this miserly one par enough to minimize the disasters that occurred? We are not even talking about birdies, which were nil, zilch, and nada. 

So many near misses. A typical bogey became a double bogey, a par became a bogey, and worse, a double-bogey hole exploded to become a double par or more! Every hole, there were little mistakes here and there that added up the strokes! The only bright outcome from the experience was my putting. It was my saving Grace from an even higher overall score! Hats off to my caddy, who was of great help in this department for both days.

On the first day, I recorded only 29 putts, very impressive putting overall, I have to say, but alas, the same cannot be said for the other departments of the game. Honestly, it is rather amazing that I improved to 28 putts for the second day; I just took more strokes to get to the green! The irony.

Now that the stress of preparing for the Annual Championship is over, I can heave a sigh of relief. I can feel the tiredness in my bones and joints. Was it worth it? No. I am in more pain than ever! And although I gripe about not being physically fit, I actually played a game this morning, albeit half-heartedly. Sucker. It’s a love-hate relationship for this game called golf.

I will have a physiotherapy session soon to reset my body, and I hope it will help so I can play better golf in my next game.

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Putting is Effing Hard

4 Nov

I have played five games so far with my new set of Honma Beres NX irons. And I love them! My ball striking has been effortless, and the ball trajectory has been very high and far. I am getting better distances and control. The irons complement my current driver, woods, and hybrid clubs, and I should be playing better.

All my equipment is excellent—except for two things: one being the persistent cough that slows me down and leaves me breathless. And two, being my putting. It sucks! I switched to my TaylorMade Spider Mini not too long ago, after some disastrous putting with the Scotty. And you know what? Bad decision to switch!

In the last two games with the Mini, I did 37 putts each time! Thirty seven-effing putts. Man, that’s like six to seven additional strokes unnecessarily. The second-to-last round was the last straw, where I had three three-putts and two four-putts! I couldn’t get over this. Just two days earlier, I had three putts on five holes. Argh!

When I got home, the first thing I did was remove the TaylorMade Spider Mini and put back my Scotty Cameron in the bag. And sure enough, the last game back with the Scotty, I fared better. My next game is coming up on Thursday; let’s hope the improvement trend continues.

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Annual Championship 2025

17 Jun

Over the weekend, my golf club held the 2025 Annual Championship for the Ladies, Senior, and Super Senior categories. It was a mixed-feeling experience. The Ladies and Super Senior categories teed off in the morning on Saturday, while the Senior category had their round in the afternoon. The Men category will commence this coming Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

All was good but hot! I played fairly decently and did not blow up any holes – no double-digit scores for the strokeplay event. Putting was good with the Scotty for 31 putts.

The next day, the categories swapped tee-off times, and the Senior category played in the morning. The other two, in the afternoon. And boy, oh boy, was it hot!

Despite the heat, I played much better on the second day. After we completed the back nine holes and crossed over, the weather changed and was cooler. However, don’t be deceived by the drop in the temperature!

As we approached the 4th hole and were about to tee off, an unexpected sudden lightning flashed! It was too close for comfort. We headed to the halfway hut nearby to take shelter, along with other players from within the few holes. But soon, everyone returned to the clubhouse immediately for safety. The rain came down fast and furious, and the siren came on.

The golf course was pelted and looked flooded, and the strong wind blew the sponsor’s drink tent onto the green at Hole 9! I have never seen an incident like this before.

Everyone had to wait out at the clubhouse until the weather improved. However, after some time, the Tournament Director and the Committee decided to abandon the second day of the 2025 Annual Championship tournament due to the weather, and scores from Day One for the Ladies and Super Senior would stand as the final results. While some players were unhappy, I was okay with the decision. The weather got too hot for me. The Senior category was not affected by the weather.

Looking back, my score from Day One compared to my past years’ participation was an improvement. And while I could have played well on the second day, I’m happy with my overall performance. It is over now, and I look forward to taking a break from golf.

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Back to Golf!

6 May

It’s been a month since I last played golf! That’s a long layoff in my books. The trip to China took nine days; upon my return, I fell sick. And it’s taking a long time to recover from this bout of illness. It’s a potent germ from China. The plus side is that I lost some weight, which is nice because it’s so hard to shed a pound or two these days.

Exactly a month on, I played my first game today. How did I fare? There was some rustiness in swinging the clubs. The short game was horrid, but my putting was good, thanks to the ever-reliable Scotty Cameron putter.

All in all, it was a decent return. The tee-offs were respectable and even spectacular at times. But this could be the fairways being so hard, and the ball was able to roll some additional distance. The three- and five-woods were striking well, but it was the short irons that I had trouble.

Such is usually the case with a month’s layoff. All muscle memories are gone when gauging strength and distance. So I shouldn’t stress over this issue. I need to play more to get back my golf mojo, then I will be fine.

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Up and Down Again

11 Mar

Lately, my golf game has not been the best. I have to confess the games played in Vietnam were underwhelming, especially putting. Then again, the erratic putting was due to using a new and different putter. I have to elaborate on this next time.

However, I was not too bothered by my performance. After all, the trip was more about enjoying the company, the sights, the food, and the weather. As an afterthought, if the weather during the three games had been more comfortable and not that cold, would the results have been different? Oh well, that’s golf for you—filled with ‘what ifs’ and ‘could haves’ and ‘should haves’ thereafter.

Subconsciously, I was careful not to aggravate my tennis elbow, so the shots I took were more cautious or held back. It’s interesting to note the cold weather may have helped prevent further flare-ups, so I am grateful for this!

However, upon returning to hot and humid conditions, I couldn’t strike the ball well for the few games I played. It was as if I didn’t know how to play golf anymore! What is happening? Sigh.

I hope I can fix my problem soon; otherwise, any upcoming game will be more down than up!

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Ha Long and Hanoi 2025, Part 2

25 Feb

On the third day of our trip to Vietnam, we left Ha Long for Hanoi. The difference is immediate in terms of scenery and traffic. Hanoi was more congested, with more buildings, vehicles, and people. It was cold when the bus pulled up to our next hotel, within the Old Quarter.

After checking in, we went in search of food before wandering the streets to do some shopping. There were some good bargains, but I was selective and did not want to buy for the sake of buying, you know? It was my second trip to Hanoi after all – in the end, I bought two bags of aromatic coffee beans for my indulgence.

My new coffee beans
Street vendors, excellent Vietnamese restaurant, and pho by the road

The third golf game was, by far, the toughest. It was cold and misty, drizzling, and wet. Hilltop Valley Golf Club is not for the faint of heart. The low visibility made it hard to see where the ball flew. Despite the challenges, I was lucky to lose only two balls, unlike a few others, who lost a range from five to ten balls for their round! Dang.

Teeing uphill into the abyss and pray!

My putting was terrible throughout the three days, though. So bad, I have no words to describe. I can only kick myself in the butt for bringing a new, untested putter for this trip! Duh. What was I thinking? But I try not to let the putting mar my overall experience. My flightmates were fun, and it was good company.

Generally, golfing in Hanoi can be very enjoyable if the weather is cool and stays that way. It borders on discomfort when the temperature dips a little, making it hard to grip the golf clubs. Sigh, we are not used to such conditions.

Nevertheless, food is always the bright spot! Vietnamese food is very flavorful but not too extreme in its flavors or oily. Besides the food, Vietnamese coffee is the next best thing! I find myself drinking more coffee than my usual intake.

The famed Train Street, Hanoi beer, and a magnificent-looking black cockerel posing for photos

Now that this trip is done and checked off the bucket list, would I consider returning to these two places again? Of course! There are some more attractions that we missed out on because it was a golf trip above all. So long, Ha Long and Hanoi, we enjoyed ourselves despite the cold weather, but I’m sure we will be back.

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Winning Again, Part 2

6 Aug

I have never been playing better golf than ever. My distance has been far upon tee-off, second and third shots are good, and putting is accurate with the Scotty putter. When all departments are good, what more could I ask for? It feels very uplifting and wonderful. Everything seems to click because I have been winning when it matters.

I thought I had icing on the cake with the last game, returning as my club’s Best Pair with a friend, but it’s another cake with more icing on Saturday!

For months, together with my golf buddies, we planned the annual game for our Tuesday golf group. Being on the committee, we brainstormed, planned, argued, and discussed to ensure the tournament would be the best, being the third edition. There were a lot of logistics to consider when customizing items with the group logo for the goody bag, besides the running of the tournament itself.

Finally, the day arrived, and I’m pleased to say the tournament went smoothly without incident. We had 52 happy golfers, delighted with how things turned out. Although there were minor hiccups, I did not let this affect my focus on playing well, and I did! I thoroughly enjoyed myself despite no more beer available upon our cross-over. I thought my 35 Stableford points were commendable. Little did I realize it was enough for me to come out tops.

The fun and camaraderie continued during lunch. When the Prize Presentation came around, I was declared the Overall Champion! Woo hoo. How’s that for extra icing on the cake? I’m over the moon! Not only was I busy to the core, being on the organizing committee, but to come out tops in the tournament with better players amongst us was exhilarating.

Receiving the trophy from the person the tournament is named after. Taking the customary selfie!

I don’t know if this consistency can continue because I was exhausted mentally and physically by the time the weekend was over. I caught the sniffles soon after, so perhaps it is okay to take a break. I deserve one.

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