Yesterday after lunch at the club, we went for a day tour of the city. We visited the Jakarta Cathedral and the Istiqlal Mosque.
Beautiful architecture
Both places of worship had very different and fascinating architecture. I even felt a sense of peace upon entering the premises, which was unexpected but embraced nonetheless.
Then it was time to head back to the hotel to rest. But some of us detoured to have body massages and foot reflexology. I opted for the foot massage to ease my pain from the plantar fasciitis. My masseur was excellent, as it did help tremendously.
The final touch using a hammer to my legs!Simple yet satisfying
By nightfall, I was drained of energy and had an early night after a simple Bakso dinner. So far, I am very impressed with Jakarta. We play Suvarna Jakarta Golf Club the next day.
Over the weekend, hubby and I participated in our golf club’s Interclub away games. It was a short and tiring trip down South for the sixty players from our club for two interclub matches. We left in two buses in the wee hours of the morning for Palm Resort Golf & Country Club.
From the clubhouse overlooking the fairways beyond
The Saturday afternoon tee-off was at the Allamanda course. We were unfamiliar with the challenging course layout, but enjoyable nonetheless. Thank goodness I resolved my approach shot problem, and it helped. However, we lost our match to the better pair. For the record, I made 31 putts.
The hospitality shown to us was second to none. Everyone had a good time. Although we were the visiting team, we gave the home team a good fight and won 12.5 points against their 7.5 points in the Matchplay format. The match trophy is ours until the next Interclub game again to decide who will hoist the trophy.
It was a nice feeling to end with a win. Our entourage bade farewell to our host and checked into the hotel. I was so tired because the plantar fasciitis on my right foot acted up, and walking anymore after the game was killing me. I did 15,871 steps, covering 10.41km.
I have figured out the reasons for my recent up-and-down trend. Firstly, I picked up a new injury! Silly me, how could I overlook this? I have had plantar fasciitis on my right foot for the past few months.
I will be fine if I play at courses that allow buggies on the fairways because I can minimize walking. Sadly, this is not often, and my foot hurts to high heaven even before completing the game. Ouch, indeed.
Secondly, the wedges that I have in the golf bag. I took out my Cleveland CBX2 52-degree wedge and had a Cleveland Smart Sole 50-degree Gap wedge instead for the last few games. Because of the swap, the short game has not been very sharp. You could say I wasn’t used to the Gap wedge.
Well, I put the 52-wedge back for the buggy-on-course game this morning. And I am pleased with the outcome because the short game improved. Also, being buggy on the course, my foot pain was manageable because I walked less.
I need to be more aware and know where the problem lies. Once I can manage the situation well, be it my short game or physical pain, the up-and-down trend should be a thing of the past.
After several days of rest, I hit the golf course yesterday. It has been too hot to stay home and be a sloth. The heat and humidity bites at the skin, making it very uncomfortable.
But it was an afternoon game, and I was expecting the worse. Luckily, there was enough wind to cool down the body. Anyway, it was the company and camaraderie that I wanted to have instead of staring at the computer and having designer’s block.
Sometimes it is not the game but the people and friendship. So there wasn’t too much walking and golf, but rather, laughter and chatter.
Separately, I discovered a possible problem with my game. My driver has a gap at the joint between the head and the shaft. My goodness! It is a miracle the club head is still intact upon contact for the past several games.
A loose driver head!
Could this be the reason for my recent downward slide? Most of my tee-offs have been short lately, thus, making the subsequent shots harder. I did notice this gap some time ago but took no heed of it. However, with my recent slide, I questioned everything, and this came to light.
So I used a different driver for yesterday’s game while the problem club was being fixed and recalibrated. Hopefully, after the adjustment, I can tee off well again with my regular driver and subsequently play better golf. Keeping my fingers crossed on this. But until then, more rest to manage the plantar fasciitis on the foot.
Lately, I have been on a downward slide in my golf game. It is disheartening. It is not like I don’t know how to play the game. I suspect it is the state of the mind. Sometimes some things are unexplainable, and this is one of those times.
Perhaps playing so much is not good but detrimental instead. I have picked up a new injury along the way. This time, it is plantar fasciitis of my right foot. And the pain level differs each time; obviously, it hurts more when I walk too much.
And when it hurts, it affects the concentration and state of mind. It becomes a domino effect, and I start a downward freefall. Everything falls apart, from the tee-off, and fairway shots with any club, to the short game and putting. It is demoralizing and aggravating at the same time. Sigh.
Barely a month ago, I was playing good golf. But now, I cannot hold myself up to complete a decent round of 18 holes. I need to manage my pain and control my state of mind to stay focused. Otherwise, I should consider taking a break from golf to rest and reset.
The back pain I mentioned at the beginning of the year led to more than what it was. One should not assume and brush things aside when in pain, be it a nagging back pain, pinched nerve, or pulled muscle. Initially, I thought with rest, the pain would subside, and I would be fine. But no, it was far worse.
For more than a week, I experienced excruciating pain five times which had me almost keeling over each time it hit. Something is not right with my body!
I consulted a doctor friend verbally and then saw three doctors for the recurring issue. And I also did several blood and urine tests to identify the problem.
And what a problem it was – I had kidney stones. Dang! By Thursday afternoon, the urologist specialist I visited ordered a CT scan to be done. And that evening, I was hospitalized. Everything happened very fast!
The next day, I underwent a cystoscopy and had the stones blasted to smithereens. Being sedated in the OT room, I could hardly give a first-hand update on the situation then; hence no story on Friday.
I am home now and recuperating well after being discharged on Saturday afternoon. I am thankful all this is behind me by now and in time to get ready to usher in the Lunar New Year of the Water Rabbit!
The New Year started off with a bang, literally. Fireworks went off at the stroke of midnight, and 15 minutes into the new year, the fireworks continued. We have gotten used to this, having firework displays close to home.
For many years, we don’t even have to drive out to join the merry-making crowd to see the colorful displays and usher in the New Year. The comforts of home, especially from the bedrooms, give us the best views without the crowd and sweaty bodies.
My New Year did not start so smoothly. I injured my left knee while golfing. To make matters worse, I pulled my back muscle too. And at the end of the New Year game, I was in excruciating pain from the back injury. During lunch, it was horrible; I was nauseous and could not eat. We left so that I could recover from this unexpected ordeal.
I felt like a machete was chopping my back repeatedly. Even the painkiller could not help. Why is my New Year kicking off so dramatically? Ugh. Thank goodness all that excruciating pain subsided with rest and some roll-on medication. Lesson learned: do not pull weeds at awkward angles before a golf game. Happy New Year, people!
I am enjoying the break from golf after getting my latest tattoo. It is advisable to allow the tattoo to heal, considering where it is on my arm. So best to avoid exerting repetitive motions, as in playing golf, the better and faster the recovery.
Actually, for a change, it is nice not having to wake up twice or thrice a week for the game. Sometimes the obsession with the game is too much. So much so that whatever injuries we pick up along the way will never heal.
Before getting the tattoo inked, I was experiencing pain in my right arm, a new injury I picked up when I was golfing so often. My game suffered along the way, unfortunately, and my arm never had any opportunity to rest. But now, with the tattoo excuse, it is a blessing in disguise, and my arm is getting the much-needed rest.
I will rest for another week before picking up my golf clubs again. The skin above my Snoopy tattoo is peeling this week, signs of the skin healing and regenerating itself. By the end of next week, the skin above the tattoo would have healed, and the injured arm would have recovered. I should be back in action!
I have been having this nagging shoulder pain for some time now. It probably came about from playing golf. Too much golf? Hmm. There are days when I am doing house chores, and the pain suddenly strikes when I use my arms too much. Ouch.
As a result of this nagging pain, my golf game has suffered. I find my ball striking distances have reduced. Sigh. Perhaps less golf to allow the muscle to heal? Then again, to do fewer house chores as well? Hmm. What a thought! Well, here’s wishing myself a speedy recovery.
It looks like the negative vibes coming into the New Year have continued. Boo hoo hoo. When will I shed this?
On New Year’s day, we caught a rat, only for it to escape the next day! How did the rat manage to open the cage door? What stumped us was the unexplained fact that the cage was across the garden and on its side, and not at the original spot where we left it? Did the rat have assistance from the garden squirrels or otherwise? Creepy.
Lucky rat, it survived this round, but we will get it next time.
My first golf game for the New Year was a disastrous outing. Strange, considering just a week ago, I played one of my best games. And as if this was not demoralizing enough, I slipped and fell on the second hole. Although I was not injured, the mishap was enough to wreck the mental approach to the game. It was a downhill performance for the rest of the 16 holes. Sigh.
And last night, the aquarium pump started acting up with strange noises! It’s a brand new unit, hardly a year old, and this happened. I can cry with all these unfortunate happenings.
To top off the terrible start, my golf game this morning was even worse than Sunday’s game! I hope this is now rock bottom because when you’re right at the bottom and cannot go any lower, moving upwards is the next step.
I can only hope this belief will hold when I play my next game on Thursday. Let’s hope this terrible start to the New Year ends by then.
Angieneering 
Remarks