234. The game of golf

Golf joke

2009-11-02T15:53:00.009+13:00

A bloke is driving from Sydney to Melbourne and , noticing that he's getting low on fuel, decides to pull off the freeway and find a service station.

The engine is coughing and spluttering when, thank God, he finds an old-fashion service station, just near Gundagai. And an old bloke comes out, tugging at his braces.

"Want some petrol?"

"Yeah. Fill 'er up"

While he's filling the tank, the old bloke looks admiringly at the car.

"What kind of car is this?"

"Well." said the driver, feeling very proud, "this is the latest Toyota Lexus."

"What's it got?"

"Well." says the driver, "it's got everything. Power steering, power seats, power sunroof, power mirrors, AM/FM radio with 10 CD player in the glove compartment with 100 watts per channel. Eight speaker stereo. Rack and pinion steering. Leather interior. Digital instruments. And marvellous eight cylinder engine."

"Gee." says the attendant.

"How much for the petrol?"

"That'll be $30.20."

The driver pulls out his wallet and removes a $20 and a $10 bill. Then he searches his pocket and pulls out a handful of change - and mixed up with the change are some golf tees.

"What are them little wooden things?" asks the old bloke.

"That's where I put my balls on when I drive."

"Gee." says the old bloke. "Them Toyota people think of everything!"

(contributed by RM)

Ben Hogan's golf tips

2009-09-18T09:46:00.015+12:00

I received this sketch from a friend on my Google group, extanjong.

(sketch contributed by Uki)

I like this tip: "less is more"
For the beginner golfer, it is not easy to accept this tip which means that if he uses less force (power) he will hit the ball further. No way! (He is thinking that I was trying to pull a fast one on him and so refuses to believe me) However, the logic is very simple:

1. There ain't no trees in the middle of the fairway! After landing the ball will roll on and on...

2. If he uses less power, his chances of striking the ball on the "sweet spot" of the club is increased.

If he had used all his strength no one knows where the ball goes, probably into the bush where the rough will prevent it rolling at all. It could be even worse. The ball may hit a tree and bounce backwards towards the golfer! While he stands at the tee, if a golfer thinks of all these tips given on the sketch, he will become a very confused golfer and will probably miss hitting the ball altogether.

I usually think of not more than 2. (less is more, release). All the other stuff will take care of themselves if we have hit enough balls at the range. The golf swing becomes automatic after hitting 30,000 balls. We call this phenomena, muscle memory. Just hit the ball as usual and let it go wherever it wants to. If not happy with the end result, we adjust one variable at a time until we get it right.

That picture has most of the 65 points to keep an eye on, when you go to the tee box!
When I think of more than 3, I cannot coordinate my movements any more. I become frozen and cannot hit the ball well.

However, when I have more than 1.5 seconds to analyst my own swing fault, having a comprehensive list like this one, can actually help me understand what has gone wrong and slowly working towards a solution.

For example at the driving range. There is time to see the immediate result of the swing and to think about a way to correct the swing fault based on the list you have here. Usually the feel of the swing is a good guide towards a correct solution. Golf is a game that is learned by doing. We must have some swing theory, the correct grip and reasonable equipment. The rest is up to us. No amount of golf lessons from a pro can help unless we are willing to spend the time to practice at the range with buckets of balls.

I find the most interesting moment was when I suddenly discovered one day that I could actually bend the ball deliberately left or right around a tree at the dogleg. That was when I became addicted to the game.

Bending the ball's flight left is quite easy for me when using a mid iron (5,6,7). Somehow, along the way I have lost the ability to bend the ball right. With the long irons the reverse is true. Easy for me to slice with a 3 iron; much harder to draw to the left. It is even more difficult with the driver. When you can hit a deliberate draw shot, bending slightly to the left, with the longest club in the bag, you have arrived and can start telling people that you are a golfer and a single handicapper!

It is right to say that muscle memory is transient and cannot be saved on hard disk (utak) permanently; but it can be grooved into our swing at the driving range if we are willing to hit enough buckets of balls! Practising on the golf course is an impossibility because our muscle memory is gone by the time we meet another similar situation when we need to execute another similar shot (eg a drive on the tee box or a shot out of the bunker). Usually it is at least 5 to 10 minutes later. It is a no go; has to be done at the driving range where the time interval between shots can be as little as 15 seconds and the muscle memory is still very fresh. You can make one small change at a time until finally you got the result you wanted. Then you continue to hit your buckets of balls until you have grooved your swing. It becomes second nature from now onwards and you no longer need to think about it, any more. It just happens when you pick up your club, every time.

The doughnut effect

2009-03-19T15:26:00.005+13:00

A golfing friend recently relate to me about an interesting article that he has read on the internet:

An American NASA scientist analyzed and came to the conclusion that a flight of 4 golfers would leave more than 400 foot prints on a green during putting. Most of these foot prints are concentrated around the cup because every golfer removes his ball from the cup after putting. He does it in a certain fixed sequence of movements, usually ending with one foot in front (leaning on his putter?!) and the other foot behind him as he bends to retrieve his ball from the cup. This very posture causes the green around the hole (18" radius) to be compressed more than the rest, forming what is termed a "doughnut". In fact the grass around the hole never had a chance to recover sufficiently so that a circular impression is left permanently around the cup until its location is changed by the green keeper by digging a new hole. The same doughnut will be formed around the next location of the cup.

This doughnut shaped patch of grass around the cup causes all slow putts to break to both sides near the hole so that the ball appears to avoid the hole. A golfer thinks that he has read the green incorrectly (he hasn't). We call this the doughnut effect! It has fooled many unwary golfers. To overcome this doughnut effect on the green, for short putts, we charge the hole, aiming to stop at a spot 18" behind the cup. This way, the ball does not turn sideways and away from the hole.

(contributed by Tsun Kong)

How to hit a straight ball

2008-04-26T12:12:00.010+12:00

Many golfers make the common mistake of trying to coordinate too many variables into their swing e.g: grip, foot position, line up to target, set-up, bent knees, straight back, chin up, straight left forearm, wrist cocked, slow back swing, accelerating down swing, in-to-in swing, weight transfer left to right, weight transfer right to left, moving the left hip out of the way, head very still, rotate, follow through, hit down, take divot with iron, release on impact, right wrist rolling over left at impact, full release and use no more than 70 % full power.

If you think of all these things you will certainly end up a very confused golfer at the tee. You will probably not hit the ball exactly the way you want it. It could result in any one of these shots:miss, fade, slice, draw, hook, shank, fluff, top, sky, fat.

The desirable shots are fade and draw. We try to avoid making all the other shots. An ideally straight shot down the middle is rare and is not actually possible to repeat. It does happen occasionally and is not a consistent outcome even for the professionals. A little spin on the ball helps us to control its flight, either to the right (fade) or to the left (draw).
When a golfer is new at the game he hardly ever draws the ball. His shots are mainly fades or slice to the right. Usually after his handicap comes down to 18 or less (takes 2 years), he starts to draw and hook the ball to the left. This is normal progress. First you slice, then you hook your shots. Every golfer goes through this cycle. This is a most frustrating time for him because now he cannot stop bending the ball to the left. When he was new to the game he cannot stop bending the ball to the right.As his understanding of the mechanics of the ideal golf swing increases, one day he will suddenly be able to bend the ball’s flight left or right at will. When this happens, he becomes completely addicted to the game of golf. He will play golf at every opportunity he gets. When he cannot get to the golf course he will go to the driving range or even to the nearest park, to hit his bucket of balls. As he plays more frequently he will see his ability improve almost daily. His handicap comes down steadily and he begins to think that a handicap of 9 (single figure handicap) is soon coming within his reach.
This is the most interesting time for the player. His addiction and commitment to the game of golf is almost complete. We hear quite often that a golfer’s wife has become a golf widow. The comparison is very apt. All it means is this. He prefers now to spend all his spare time playing golf rather than be with her. He actually gets an adrenalin rush every time he birdies a hole, almost comparable to a sexual climax.

The anticipation of this rush starts every time he tees up his golf ball at the tee. This is repeated many times, as a round of golf consists of playing 18 holes. For 3 or 4 hours these peaks and troughs continue to maintain him in this euphoric state. There are very few ball games that can deliver such a mental high for such a long period of time. It is in anticipation of this adrenalin rush (high) that golfers get excited every time they make arrangements to play a game.

Types of golf shots

2008-04-25T12:54:00.007+12:00

Fade and slice
An out-to-in swing of the golf club with respect to the target line, produces a slice which bends the ball to the right. A less severe slice is called a fade. Some times a slice is caused by not moving the left hip out of the way towards the left during the down swing. This error is not too obvious unless a high speed video is available for analyzing the fault. No matter what the cause, a slice is always the result of hitting the ball with an open club face. This part is always true.

An open club face cuts across the ball imparting a clockwise rotation. The transfer of force from the club to the ball results in two major component, linear forward force and rotational momentum. Initially the ball goes slightly left of the target line. As the forward component diminishes the rotational component takes over. The ball moves more and more towards the right. The shape of the ball’s trajectory is decided by the magnitude of each component at that particular point in time. A fade carries some back spin and lands softly.

Draw and hook
A shot that bends to the left a little is called a draw. It is the result of an in-to-out swing. A shot that bends a lot to the left is called a hook. Draw and hook shots are caused by hitting the ball with a closed club face. This type of impact causes the ball to rotate in an anti-clockwise direction. Initially the ball goes to slightly right of target. As the forward momentum diminishes, the rotational force bends the ball towards the left. A draw shot will usually go further than a fade because it also carries some top spin. On landing the ball rolls further on the ground. A shank is produced when the ball missed the face of the club completely and makes contact with the hosel, the lower end of the shaft where it connects to the face. A shanked ball goes sharply at an angle away from the target line, either left or right. This is caused by standing too close to the ball at address or dropping the shoulder at the start of the down swing. In any case, the ball did not make contact with the club face at impact. Its flight is completely out of control.
A topped shot (skull) is caused by striking the ball way above the equator. The ball will not become airborne for long. It rolls a short distance on the ground due to having a lot of top spin. However, every time the ball makes contact with the ground it loses distance due to friction with the tuff. Another factor also comes into play, the terrain (bounce). The direction of the ball becomes very unpredictable.
A sky shot goes very high and does not go forward far enough. The club face makes very little contact with the ball, mostly below the equator.
A fat shot is caused by the club making contact with the ground first, then it bounces forward and strikes the ball. Most of the power is absorbed by the ground before it was transferred to the ball. The ball loses distance even though it usually moves in the general direction of the target.

How the game is played

2008-04-24T14:54:00.010+12:00

Most golf courses are designed with a mixture of holes of different lengths. The majority are par 4 (10 holes) The rest are par 5 and par 3 (8 holes).
Par 4 holes are usually between 250 and 380M in length. In any case, the average golfer requires at least two strokes to reach the green. Then he putts the ball twice on the green with his putter and it falls into the hole and he makes par. (4 strokes)

Par 5 holes are usually longer than 400M. The golfer normally requires at least 3 strokes to reach the green. He putts the ball two times and it falls into the hole. In total he hit the ball 5 times to make par.
Par 3 holes are the shortest hole on a golf course. They are usually less than 200M long. Holes can be as short as 100M with a water hazard right in front of the tee to make life a little more exciting for the player.

There is a club in the bag which can hit the ball the exact distance to the green. The golfer putts the ball on the green two times, the ball falls into the hole and he again makes par. That is how the course designer meant the course to be played. Amateur golfers are not able to play to this high standard. It does not matter. Depending on his official handicap he is allowed to use more than the number of strokes stipulated for any hole. If he uses one more stroke than what the course designer intended, he does not make par. His score is called a bogie. We call this result, one-over-par or just simply one-over or bogie. He marks his actual score for each hole on the card. If he requires more strokes than bogie to finish the hole, he simply records the exact number of strokes he has taken to finish that hole.

Then he tees up the ball for the next hole and continues hitting the ball with different clubs until it drops into the hole. Again he records the number of strokes taken each time for each hole. At the end of the game, he sums up his score for all 18 holes. This result is the gross score. To obtain his nett score, he simply subtracts his course handicap from the gross score. The lowest nett score decides the winner in stroke play.

e.g. gross score 98
Handicap 24
nett score 74 (+2)

This is 2 over par (a good result)
A putter is a short club which is specially designed for use on the green. A player is permitted to choose to use any club at other times when he is not hitting the ball on the green. In his bag at any one time, during a round, he is allowed to have a maximum of 14 clubs. He may use less than 14, if he wishes. However if it was discovered that he had more than 14 clubs in his bag, he loses the match.

Why so many clubs?

2008-04-23T15:39:00.018+12:00

A golf set is designed in such a way that each club is intended to hit a golf ball to a certain distance at a certain height. The game is simple if the golfer uses exactly the same swing with exactly the same power every time. The shaft length decides the distance the ball travels; while the face angle decides the height of the ball trajectory. In other words a golfer allows the club to decide the distance and trajectory. The longer the club the further the ball goes. The bigger the face angle the higher the trajectory of the ball. All that is required for the golfer to do is to hit the ball consistently with exactly the same power every time.

We do not try to hit the ball harder with the same club in order to move it further. This is because we are unable to measure how much harder we need to hit the ball the second time in order to get slightly more distance. All that is required for the golfer to do is change his club in order to get the distance he wants. He hits the ball with exactly the same force every time, using the same swing and exactly the same set up. The length of the shaft decides how far the ball goes.

The difference in ball distance between consecutive clubs is about 10M. If a golfer hits a golf ball 120M with an 8-iron, he will hit it 130M with a 7-iron and only 110M with a 9-iron. First of all, he needs to find out exactly how far he hits the ball by going to a driving range and keeping a record of these figures for use later on a golf course. Distances vary between golfers depending on physique, sex and age.
An important point to remember is this. The winner of a match is not decided by how far a golfer hits the ball. It is decided by how accurately he can place it with his clubs. The player who hits the ball the least number of times in a round, wins the match (stroke play).

On all the fairways there are distance markers to guide a golfer in his choice of clubs. A red (90M ) , white (135M) and blue marker (180M) are usually placed in the middle of the fairways to guide a golfer to choose a suitable club. Some golf cars also use a GPS meter to show the exact distance to the green (accuracy within one metre). All this estimations of distances is the responsibility of a professional caddy. Some times he even decides on which club the pro uses. Very often a caddy gets a percentage of the prize money for doing this work. It could be very considerable. Tiger Woods' caddy, Steve Williams made over $1.2 million last year.

Ode to the game of GOLF

2007-05-19T19:21:00.005+12:00

In my hand I hold a ball ....
white and dimpled, rather small

Oh, how bland it does appear...
this harmless looking little sphere

By its size, I could not guess

The awesome strength it does possess
But since I fell into its spell I've wandered through the fires of hell ...
My life has not been quite the same ...

Since I chose to pay this stupid game It rules my mind for hours on end

A fortune it has made me spend....
It has made me swear and yell and cry I hate myself and want to die
It promises a thing called par If I can hit straight and far....

To master such a tiny ball should not be very hard at all.

But my desires the ball refuses And does exactly like it chooses
It hooks and slices Dribbles and dies And even disappears before my eyes
Often it will take a whim To hit a tree or take a swim....
With miles of grass on which to land It finds a tiny patch of sand Then has me offering my soul If only it would find the hole....
It's made me whimper like a pup And swear that I will finally give it up...

And take a drink to ease my sorrow ....

But the ball knows ....

I will be back tomorrow !!!!

(Contributed by Uki)
Note : This Ode was taken from a scrap of old sport page of a magazine of an unknown origin that I found while playing this "stupid game" at a club I don’t remember exactly where.

Control of the ball

2007-05-17T17:54:00.008+12:00

The secret of playing consistent golf is gaining control of the ball. This can be achieved easily if a golfer uses only 70% power and not his full strength. As a golfer gains confidence and control of the ball he may increase power progressively up to a maximum of 90%.
Do not try to increase distance by increasing power. Simply use a longer club and hitting the ball in the same way as always, using the same power, same grip, same swing, same set up every time. Let the club decide the distance.

Do not increase power in order to get more distance. Change the club to a smaller number (longer shaft and steeper face angle). The difference in ball distance between irons is around 10 metres.
Last week I tried out a 6, 7 and 8 irons at a park at the lake side. The balls all landed around roughly the same spot; but the ball hit with a longer iron rolled further after landing. From the 100M mark I usually use an 8 iron for the green. That means I will use a 7 iron from around 110M and a 6 iron from 120M.

I noticed that all my balls landed in roughly the same spot but rolling 10M further with the next longer iron. Of course there are other variables to consider, like the condition of the fairways, lie, bounce, wind direction etc. All these variables are outside our control; but we can certainly control the power we use for hitting the ball.
Many golfers are surprised that a ball hit with 70% power usually goes further than one hit with 100%. The first one goes straight down the fairway, and keeps on rolling on and on. Whereas the other one goes a long way into the bush, or hit a tree and cannot roll any further. The logic is simple: There ain't no trees in the middle of the fairways.

Golf anomaly

2007-05-17T17:41:00.014+12:00

When a golfer holds a driver with his right hand lower on the grip than his left hand (right hander) his right shoulder will naturally be lower than his left shoulder during his set up and address. To start with, his shoulder is lope sided. The ball he hits with this club will naturally bend towards the right (a slice). Is it possible to hit a straight ball with this lope sided set up?

When I started going to the driving range a few years ago, I produced a slice every time for a whole year. Then I had this bright idea. If I learned to draw the ball to the left I would get rid of this horrible slice. For two years I tried to draw the ball to the left. I failed...

However it was not completely a failure because even though I failed to bend the ball to the left it was no longer going to the right! I have succeeded where most other golfers have failed to do. I can hit the ball straight down the middle of the fairway every time! That was when I decided finally to stop going to the driving range and started to play some real golf on a golf course!

I had a big surprise waiting for me there. In September 2005 for my first round of golf at the Narrows I scored 126 strokes against my Taiwanese partner’s 86. The reason was simple. I was a ball hitter and he was a golfer! My iron shots were non existent and I, three putted too many holes! Since that day, 18 months ago, I have played 153 rounds of golf and practiced chipping at a nearby park. My irons caught up with my driver and my putting is coming along just fine because I am starting to learn to read the breaks on the green. I am no longer a ball hitter. My handicap today is 14. Yesterday’s round, I scored 90 (+4).

Another golf anomaly is this incorrect golf tip:
If you wish to hit the ball further, hit harder!
Other golfers suggest using less power; just the opposite!

This is not obvious for beginners or non golfers. If more power is used, it is more probable that the club will not hit the ball at the sweet spot (centre). It will fly, but veering left or right into the bush, hit a tree and stop in mid flight. Whereas a ball hit with less force has more chance to fly down the middle of the fairways where there are no trees. After landing, It will continue to roll on and on....therefore goes further. Simple!

A cure for a slice

2007-04-29T18:00:00.009+12:00

A slice is a golf ball going forward for about 100 metres and then bends sharply to the right into the bush. Most new golfers suffer from this malady. The driver is the longest club in the bag. It is not an easy club to use. When a golfer sets up for a tee shot many things can happen:

1. He may be standing too close to the ball.

2. On the takeaway, his club head may have inadvertently crossed the target line.
3. His down swing could have come from the OUTSIDE in.
4. At impact his club face may still be in OPEN position.
5. He does not release his wrists by allowing his right wrist to roll over his left at the moment of impact.

A golf swing happens so quickly that it is almost impossible for any golfer to know exactly what is wrong with it when it produces a slice. A friend standing close by as an observer can help a golfer a lot in identifying the fault. A high speed video camera is useful here. Basically a slice is the result of hitting a golf ball with an OPEN club face. When your hands are placed on a club, one below the other, the right shoulder must certainly be lower than the left. From the start this set up is already lobe sided. It is therefore almost impossible to hit a ball squarely on the sweet spot and producing a straight trajectory. Unless you use a putting grip for your tee shot, the result will most likely be a SLICE. A new golfer hardly ever hook the ball to the left. That is a fault reserved exclusively for low handicappers... At the driving range I was slicing my tee shots to the right for a long time. One day I had a brain wave: If I learned to hit a draw shot to the left I would no longer slice the ball! I tried for a whole year to do just this without success. No matter what I tried, the ball did not bend to the left. However all my balls went perfectly straight down the middle! That was when I stopped trying to draw the ball to the left. I have succeeded in another area. I can repeatedly hit straight balls through those rugby goal posts at 180M. I no longer sliced the balls off the tee! I have achieved something else which is very desirable. I can hit perfectly straight balls every time down the middle. I stopped trying to hit a draw shot with my driver and left the driving range to play some real golf on a golf course.

I joined some Taiwanese golfers and we played 18 holes daily at the Narrows. After 142 rounds my irons caught up and I began to spend more time at the lake side practising my chipping and pitching. I added a 60 degrees lobe wedge to my bag. My handicap went down from 23 to 18 within a year. Today I play off a handicap index of 15. If I practise some more on my putting I am confident to cut at least 5 strokes off my card. Perhaps it is still possible for me to become a single handicapper? It is good to have dreams.

golf school

2007-02-18T20:15:00.001+13:00

Today I started coaching my first group of golf students (Germany, Japan and Mongolia). They were sent to me by Sandy at the migrant centre. She runs a 7 weeks course for new immigrants looking for jobs in NZ. This is one of her many class projects. She coaches immigrants on how to find a job in New Zealand. Topics include employment laws, the Waitangi Treaty, Maori culture, CV writing, how to conduct yourself at job interviews, door knocking etc.Good luck guys. I hope that I was helpful to you this morning talking about my favourite topic: GOLF

Lost balls

2006-08-30T19:34:00.011+12:00

While searching for a lost ball during a practrice round today I found 62 others! Three of them has my mark (blue arrow) on them. At this rate I will not need to buy any more new golf balls for a while.

At the 4th, par 5 hole I used my 3 wood to hit the second shot. It went wide. I dropped 8 more balls on the fairway and hit them. They went about 180M. I was pleased to find 3 of them ending up in a cluster on the fairway and only 2 balls were in the rough. I teed off 12 balls at the 14th hole and lost only one ball which hit a tree and disappeared in the rough. Slowly I am getting more consistency. By the time I came to the last hole it was already getting dark. I needed the pin to see the hole. I will put a torchlight in my bag...

I love Saturdays. On Saturday mornings the kiwis (New Zealanders) hold garage sales. Yesterday I bought 200 used balls for $45. (The cost of a new golf ball is around $2 each.) There is an old lady whose farm is just beside a golf course. Valerie Morgan told me that after her cows ate all the grass on certain paddocks she regularly found about 20 golf balls during her walks around her dairy farm. She sells all the good shiny ones to other golfers for $1 each. I pay her 25 cents each for the rest. We have a very good deal going!

In America there was once a very clever young man, no, not Bill Gates! His hobby was scuba diving. On many golf courses large ponds are dug at strategic points to trap wayward balls, usually in front of a green or along the right side of the fairways. These water hazards soon filled with golf balls. This scuba diver quietly signed contracts with all these golf courses giving him exclusive rights for recovery of lost balls. Initially he used his mother's washing machine to wash these recycled balls and sell them. Soon he could buy his own washing machines and employ many scuba divers and started a very lucrative business! Today he is a millionaire and his second hand golf balls are exported and sold all over the world! I found them in K-Mart and the Warehouse, selling for around $1 each.

I would not pay good money for something I can get any time for free! This is the beauty of the natural gully system which drains Hamilton. All heavy down pours ended up in the gully which leads eventually into the Waikato River. At the Narrows where I started golfing there are five holes with ob lines on the right hand side of the fairways. Every time I chased my wayward balls outside the ob lines I seldom find my own ball. However I always managed to come back up the gully with pockets full of other people's balls. One time, while playing alone I found 96 lost balls.

Golf set

2006-08-28T19:37:00.008+12:00

The game of golf is played with 14 clubs. The longest one, the one wood (on the left) is called a driver (10 to 12 degree face). It is used for starting the game on par 4 and 5 holes. The shortest one, the putter (90 degree face) is used on the green for rolling the ball into the hole. The 12 other clubs are used for hitting the ball to fixed distances (shaft length) and heights ( face angle) from the fairway or rough. The idea is to hit the ball exactly the same way for each of these 12 clubs and let the club decide the distance and the height of the trajectory. I find that using 80% power works best for me.
I carry three special utility clubs in my bag: a rescue/hybrid club (iron/wood), a 9 wood (replacing the 3 iron) and a 60 degree lobe wedge for pitching the ball from the rough around the greens.

If I use just 5 clubs (driver, 4-iron, 8-iron, lobe-wedge and putter) I can usually play under 100 strokes for 18 holes. The other 9 clubs allow me to refine my strategy and to cut 6 to 8 strokes from my score.

A page from my journal

2006-08-18T20:31:00.011+12:00

I saw a programme about baby boomers on BBC this morning. I suppose I am one of them. My next project is to sell the house and buy a Harley! Baby boomers do not age graciously. As soon as their children left school, found a job and left home they go back to their second childhood! Many of them have a lot of spare cash and spare time, enjoying the great life doing things they have always wanted to do.

For me I went blogging, sailing, golfing, fishing and volunteering. Christine is close behind me, finding her true self with help from a Taiwanese friend, exploring the Tao (way of life). She is not a Buddhist or Christian. Religion is too serious a commitment for her because she has experienced too much freedom in England and now New Zealand. She has joined a group tramping all over NZ and now she learns dancing, tai-chi, tao and vegetarian cooking. She also likes gardening. Her specialties are roses.

Yesterday I met Robert at the car park at Narrows. We tried our best to persuade Kevin Lee to join us at Te Awamutu. He was not keen. I played one under at 93 while Robert scored 94. I need to practice more on my putting if I wish to lower my handicap. All my long clubs are ok. I skulled the chip twice and 4 putted a few times! My preparations for putting are not good enough and I need new glasses to read the green better. Robert’s tee shot hooked violently three times for no reason. I advised him to try to analyze it to find out why, so that he could correct his own faults and bring down his handicap. It was 18 at his peak. I think with a little bit of work I can lower my h’cap down to 16 or even less. Putting, putting, PUTTING… Perhaps if I buy a new putter?

Well, I know all the excuses for not practising putting. I do not think that golf will be as interesting if I can one putt for birdie every time!! I told Robert yesterday: The reason that he played golf was because he knew that he could do it (birdie the hole). All that he is asking for now, was simply to repeat the same feat again. Most golfers are addicted to golf for this reason. Once upon a time he has experienced personal success. Knowing that a birdie is not impossible is a real motivating factor for most golfers to stay addicted to the game of golf. He could do it once so he should be able to do it again. Wrong! That was just a fluke when he birdied the hole last month.

To repeat the feat he needs to hit 40,000 balls at the range! Most golfers do not have the inclination or time to do this. At most he can play two rounds a week on the course and that is all. Under this limiting condition it is not easy to improve on his game. If he does not have time to visit the driving range in between rounds he can only hope to maintain his handicap. To lower it, he needs to play at least 3 rounds a week with visits to a driving range in between rounds to put right any faults or weaknesses.

With the time I have now available it is an excellent opportunity for me to improve on my handicap. Provided I would put aside time for putting practice. I can tell you this: Putting is the most boring way to past the time! I prefer to use my driver and learn to draw the ball to the left. Then there is that fairway wood that went 200M yesterday! What about that 9 wood shot which hit the first green near the pin? Most golfers do not practise putting because they have other more glaring weaknesses e.g. using the 3 iron. A 3-iron has a very low trajectory. It is therefore excellent for hitting balls out from under the trees without too much loss in distance. Golf practice is all about priority. There are 13 other clubs in the bag which always require our more urgent attention!

Ball hitter vs golfer

2006-07-27T19:58:00.015+12:00

Yesterday I met another kiwi golfer, David Burns at the Narrows. He was waiting for his partner who was suddenly called away at the third hole (because his wife has locked her keys inside her car again!) I stopped playing my practice round and we talked about the game of golf. Burns has played golf for 15 years and his handicap is 10. I told him about hitting 40,000 balls over 3 years at the driving range. He did not believe me and he wanted a demonstration.

I hit a deliberate draw shot for him. He was satisfied. Then he also hit a draw shot to show that he was really handicap 10! Having many golf theories is good; but what really matters is to be able to place that little white ball where you intended. That half hour's discussion on golf techniques has helped me a lot, clarifying in my mind and sorting out my true understanding of the golf swing. My swing was horrible but I could still put many balls through the middle of the goal posts. Burn's grip was back to front (with his left hand lower than his right) and yet his handicap is 10! We agreed that what is important is to put the ball into the hole. It is not really important how you do it.

This discussion about the golf swing has helped to clarify my thoughts on my methods compared with the proper swing techniques. Ben Hogan coined two new words when he tried to explain the golf swing in his famous book, The fundamentals of golf. He talked about supination and pronation. All that he was trying to say was: opening and closing the club face at the correct moment relative to impact. At address he suggested that the club face should be slightly open (supination). On impact we allow the right wrist to roll over the left and closing the club face at the exact moment. This process he called pronation (closing of the club face). Other golf experts refer to this action as release. They usually suggest that the take away of the club head should always be very slow and that the down swing must have increasing acceleration through the ball.

It was usually cold and foggy in winter in Hamilton. To start my blood circulation in the morning I went to the driving range on Ulster Street to hit 100 balls ($6). Very soon the owner operator, Brian Boys noticed that I was a regular customer and he suggested that I bought a blue card (bus ticket). It cost $90 for 20 visits. Every time I visited the driving range, Brian punched a hole on it and gave me 100 balls ($4.50). Over 3 years I have hit over 40,000 balls at the range! I was basically using the range as my gym for a workout in winter to jump start my engine. I do not feel cold any more after a hot shower. I was not a golfer but merely a ball hitter. Things soon changed...
A young Chinese student, Orin, doing a post grad degree at the Waikato U noticed that the method I was using to hit the balls was all wrong based on his sifu’s description of a golf swing. David Jin, his coach whom he called uncle is a Taiwanese who worked as a sports instructor at Taipei University. He taught basketball and other sports. He has just completed a master degree in sports science in America. At the time he was coaching Orin he was a PR prisoner in New Zealand. To obtain confirmation of this status it was an immigration requirement for all immigrants to live in NZ for a period of two years. (Previously it was a NZ government policy for all Chinese to pay a poll tax of 100 pounds to the government before he is allowed to bring his wife from China. Things have not changed that much. Pakehas are still afraid of the yellow hoards from the north. Across the ditch, they called it the "White Australia" policy) Uncle was playing golf by day and badminton at night just to fill in his time in jail. There are many Chinese, Koreans and Japanese in PR jail in New Zealand just like him. Pansy Wong our MP and Jacinda don't want to know us...
Orin's curiosity finally got the better of him. One day at the driving range he said to me:
“ Uncle, how did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“I noticed that your set up time was extremely short; but you still managed to put 30% of your drives through those rugby goal posts at the 180M mark. You fired your shots like a machine gun!”
“Really?"
Orin did not know that if I changed to a 3 wood I could put 50% through those rugby goal posts and if I used a 5 wood I could place 75% on target! The secret of golfing success is regular practice, nothing else matters... Wealthy golfers mistakenly thought that it was their expensive clubs or unique one design putters. They are only half right. They need to hit only 39,000 balls...

“ I would like to introduce you to my sifu from Taiwan”
“Why”
" He heard about your unusual style from me and he wished to see how you do it"
That was the story of how I stopped being a ball hitter and became a golfer! I finally agreed to meet this sports coach at the Narrows. Our group soon grew to three and more to include all the Taiwanese golfers in Hamilton. During the first round that we played at Narrows I scored 125 against his 86! Since I became a full member of the golf club in September 2005, I have stopped going to Brian’s driving range. The reason was because I realized that I also needed to know how to use the irons and the putter before I could lower my score to become a true golfer with an official handicap. I knew how to use only the woods and that was certainly not enough. I needed to have a repertoir of iron shots from the fairways, rough, sand bunkers and on the putting greens.

A putt at 3 feet is counted as one stroke on the card, so is a drive of 300 metres! Imagine if I can chip a ball into the cup every time, I will birdie almost every hole! Again imagine that if all my chip and pitch shots always missed the cup by only two feet, I could tap the ball in for par...So, why are you spending so much time on your longest club, the driver and not spending your valuable time practising your irons? The truth is this: If you could chip or pitch the ball into the hole every time, you do not need the two shortest clubs in your bag!!

I soon realized that for the same amount of money that I spent at the driving range I could play a round of golf at the Narrows every day for a whole year! Shortly, I met another Taiwanese, Kenny Chen. His handicap was 15 and he could draw the ball at will with his driver! The two of us and uncle Jin played daily at the Narrows for 6 months until they went home to Taiwan early this year. My irons slowly caught up with my woods and my handicap came down to 20.

We have played golf at Ngaruwahia, Cambridge, Morrinsville, Park International and St. Andrews. We also went on a three day golf tour to Thames and Matarangi at the Coromandel peninsular. These Taiwanese gentlemen helped to make me into a golf addict. After they left I could not always find a partner. It was not a problem at all. I was practising alone and using two balls or more! That is why golf is such a superior game. It is the only ball game in the world that does not require a playing partner to return the ball to you for your next shot. You use your own individual ball and your partner uses his. If he is not there, you simply hit his ball for him until he returns from Taiwan, kati-kati, KK or where ever. *Smile!*

New bag

2006-07-06T09:54:00.003+12:00

I found this golf bag on special at Rebel Sports yesterday for $89. My old bag cost $129 two years ago. It is getting a bit worn now. Golf equipment manufacturers moved their factories to China to use all the cheap labour there and also hoping that just 1% of the population takes up golf one day and buy their gear locally! The electric golf trolley I bought from the Frankton market for $80.; but without any warrantee. It was a really good buy because the lowest price for this item in the shops was $450.

Golf has become a much cheaper sport to play today because of new technology and materials. The new two piece balls last almost forever. A friend recently bought a golf set from Countdown (a supermarket in Hamilton) for $199. It includes 14 clubs, golf bag and cart (trolley). Playing golf has become cheaper than playing badminton or tennis and the best part is: you don't necessarily need a playing partner in the beginning, just a good pro for some lessons on grip and swing. You do need a lot of balls at first because you will lose them all in the bush or in the water hazards

An eagle

2006-06-13T18:19:00.002+12:00

It is a great day for me today. I played a round with Kevin Lee at the Narrows. I scored my first eagle at the 17th hole (258M, par 4, index 17). My tee shot with the driver landed on the right of the fairway near the 75M marker. For the second shot I hit a pitching wedge, high over the right hand bunker. The ball, a Srixon, landed on the fringe and rolled 20M towards the hole. It hit the pin and fell in for an eagle 2. I have made many pars, some birdies and now one eagle. It is time to work on that hole-in-one!

Golf etiquette and strategy

2006-04-21T21:20:00.014+12:00

The rules allow players 5 minutes to search for a lost ball; but golfers are under a lot of pressure to move on during play. Usually there are four balls in front and four balls behind. There is not much chance to stop and search properly for a lost ball in the rough, especially those lost outside ob markers. Balls lost in the water hazard are usually abandoned by the player. A player is expected to produce a new ball, drop it, take a penalty, and play on!

David Jin once told me off for being too strict with following the golf rules! He liked to play a more relaxed game. On the other hand I feel that we should try to play the game according to the rules as much as possible. Kenny Chen was more accommodating. Three of us played a lot of golf together. Yesterday I told William and Chung that they were standing in an incorrect spot when they were watching a player tee off or putt. They were standing in line to the ball and target. Any movements they make is seen by the player out of the corner of his eye and is interfering with his concentration during his set up and swing and thus might affect his shot!

Golf is a gentlemen’s game. It is played with integrity. We do not set out deliberately to win the game in any way that might be considered unfair to another player. In order words we do not try to cheat our opponent. We are solely responsible for keeping score of the number of strokes taken by ourselves and report it correctly, usually after every one has finished putting. It might be considered to be distracting to report our score when some one else is setting up to putt.
Yesterday William apologized to me for talking when I was teeing off at the 14th hole. He said that he did not realize that I was so quick in my set up. I explained to him and Chung that it was because I was afraid to take time over a tee shot. I tend to think about too many things, becoming confused and so ruining my shot. In fact during set up for a tee shot I am thinking of the following:
· Line up my feet to the target.
· Stand in a correct position relative to the ball (towards left or right)
· Check my grip,
· distance to the ball,
· club face open or closed.
· Assume the correct posture.
· Take away slowly,
· Keeping right arm pit closed during the back swing,
· accelerate the club during the down swing,
· moving my hip towards the left
· closing the club face at the moment of impact
· remember to follow through completely
· using only 80% power.

All these action points can be grooved by practice. The correct sequence of body movements can become automatic. There are just too many variables to be considered during a golf swing. It is in fact impossible to do so deliberately because a golf swing has to be carried out in milliseconds. There is not enough time to consider point by point all the relevant components of a perfect golf swing. If you do so you will freeze and will not be able to execute it.
The flight trajectory of the ball tells us what adjustments may be needed to improve our next shot. All this is done by feel and applying some simple logic. However we should change only one variable at a time. If we correct more than one parameter for the next shot we do not know which adjustment gave us the corresponding result in the new trajectory of the ball. This is assuming all things being equal, that other variables have remained unchanged. They do change! This possibility makes the golf swing very challenging for many golfers. So many different things have to be done correctly in sequence or simultaneously. Without constant practice, it is impossible to groove the golf swing.

The game of golf is further complicated by the use of 14 clubs. Each club has a swing plane slightly different from another due to its shaft length. The difference between a 3 and a 4 iron is not very much. Many golfers, who can use a 4 iron quite effectively, find it almost impossible to hit a good 3 iron shot from the fairway. To hit a 3 wood successfully from the fairway is again a very different matter! The whole game is just so challenging that many golfers are addicted to the game, while others simply give up. It certainly helps if you have a lot of time for practice at a driving range.

Standing in one spot with a bucket of 100 balls is the only way to improve your golf game. After you have mastered every one of your wood and iron in the bag you have a big surprise waiting for you; the putter! This club has a completely different requirement. Every stroke of the putter is accomplished by feel alone. Power is no longer a factor here. This fact actually levels the playing field for every one, making the game even more interesting.
A good golfer needs to learn to read the slope of the green. This enables him to predict the break of the ball correctly. The greens are seldom perfectly flat. A putt does not necessarily roll straight to the hole. As it slows down near the hole the ball will also follow the slope of the green, going to the left or to the right. The direction of growth of the grass tends to follow the sun. This also has a marked effect on the ball direction.
The speed of a green varies from early morning to the late afternoon, becoming faster as it dries. Many books have been written about the techniques of putting. The putter itself has undergone many design changes, some bordering on the ridiculous and bizarre. I think it is purely a matter of thinking logically and practicing regularly with the putter you are using now.

A Taiwanese golfer, Joe noticed that I tapped the ball with my putter with very little follow through. It jumped violently before it rolled on the green. He advised me to encourage the ball to roll more by pulling back 3 and pushing forward 5. I should also finish my putting stroke by pointing the putter at the target for 3 seconds or more. That was the best tip I got from any golfer so far. I changed my putting style accordingly and have achieved a much better result since then. Kevin Lee gave me another good tip for putting. I should aim for 5 seconds longer!

The other useful tip on putting came from Kenny. He said that I should not try to sink the ball with one putt if it is more than 5 metres away. Try to putt it into a larger and easier target, a small circle around the hole, say 30 cm diameter. If the ball falls in, it is a birdie. If not, it is only an easy tap in for par! This changed my thinking about putting completely. Previously I tried to sink all my putts irrespective of the distance to the cup. I three putted very often! Now most of my second putt is a short tap into the cup for par!

Another tip was to practice short putts between one and two metres before the game. This gives you a feel of the green for use as reference later.

Putting is very important. If we average 2 putts per hole that is 36 strokes per round! Also consider this: If we can always chip the ball within distance for a tap-in we can reduce the number of putts down to 18 per round! On most courses (with 4 par 3's) we use a driver only 14 times. How often can you hit regulation ON the green with an iron? (1 for par 3, 2 for par 4 and 3 for par 5). If you are playing off a handicap of 18 it is not expected of you to play regulation ON. In fact your game strategy is to bogie every hole! Any par is an accident and a bonus.

These facts indicate clearly that our practice times should be allocated accordingly for the three major clubs! This is the only logical strategy to follow to become a single handicapper! (assuming that we have achieved reasonable standards for the other 11 clubs.) For a beginner, aiming for a bogie for every hole might be a very good strategy. It will return a better score on the cards for new golfers. Golf is a game of mistakes and it is all about finding ways to save par. That is why we carry 14 clubs in the bag. We are expected to make use of every club in the bag, not just our favourite.

There are devices designed especially for trapping our balls around the greens. These are sand filled bunkers. They are very effective in trapping any errant balls that went astray. To get the ball out is quite simple. There is a special club in the bag designed for getting balls out of sand, the sand wedge. The design of the club or bounce prevents the club digging too far into the sand. The sand wedge removes a portion of sand (with the ball on it) pushing it forward onto the green. At no time was the club face in physical contact with the ball. If the club face inadvertently touches the ball it is likely to overshoot the green and end up in the rough on the opposite side. Some times there is another sand bunker placed there just to trap our ball again!
For chipping from around the green I prefer using a 60 degree lobe-wedge because it imparts more back spin on the ball. The ball flies much higher, lands softly, rolls towards the hole very slowly and stops sooner on the green. For best results, I place my feet together and used a pendulum swing, just like a putting stroke. I could not imagine playing golf without this club in the bag. Some times I also used it as a second sand wedge, especially from the deep bunker around the 18th green at St. Andrews, Hamilton.

Hybrid or rescue clubs

2006-04-13T22:04:00.012+12:00

If you find it difficult to use your 3-wood or the 3-iron effectively on the fairway, it is time to consider a hybrid (rescue) club. This is neither a wood nor an iron. I normally hit the ball 190M with the 3 wood and 160M with the 3 iron. Using the hybrid shown here on the left I can usually hit the ball 175M. This one has a face angle of 21 degrees so that the ball gets off the turf and air borne more easily, usually without taking a divot. The 9-wood in the centre of the picture is excellent for clearing tall trees. It has a 25 degrees face angle. My 60 degree lob wedge on the right is very effective for working around the greens. I use an easy putting stroke with it and keeping my feet together. The ball rises high, lands softly and rolls slowly with back spin towards the pin. I have holed quite a few balls from the rough around the greens at the Narrows.

John Huang, Kevin Lee and me

My Taiwanese golf partners always said that I was lucky! They did not know about the large number of practice balls that I have hit with this club in my back yard at home, into a laundry basket. Recently, I began using this lob wedge as a sand wedge in the bunkers. It worked very well too because of the built-in bounce on the base. Combining the sand and lob wedge as one, allows me to carry a 15th club in my bag! That, my friend, gave me an unfair advantage over Kevin Lee, my golf partner for a number of years! I was able to keep my handicap lower than his for 4 years although he is younger than me by 10 years! In 2010 he finally overtook me and reached handicap 14 in March 2011. My handicap has stayed stable at 16. With advancing age, I do not believe that I will be able to bring it down any more; but I will keep on trying.

Taiwanese golf partners

2006-04-04T21:03:00.014+12:00

It was raining this morning. Today is Kevin Lee's last game of golf with me for a while. He said that he needed a few days to tidy up his house before going home with his sons to Taiwan for holidays for a month. Hopefully Chung would want to remain my golf partner. He is not playing very well because he has no long irons shots and his wedge shot was very haphazard. He needs to practise more with a bucket of balls either at the driving range or by the lake side. I think golf for him and the Taiwanese means different things from what the game means to me.

My score on the card is just as important as the exercise I get by walking 5.8 km every day. Not many people practise at the range for 3 years before they go to the golf course for their first game of golf. I did that! I noticed that Kevin Lee's golf etiquette has improved a lot. He started to repair his pitch marks on the green. Lately he even repaired those marks made by other people! However he is still not taking his turn to hold the flag, putt or play the ball on the fairway. He also has a dangerous habit of walking in front of his partner while the guy was still setting up to hit his ball on the fairway. His golf etiquette has been rather poor in the beginning. He seldom marked his ball on the green because he kept losing his ball markers. I have given him all the markers that I can spare.
I persuaded Chung to submit his card today. He was under the impression that he has to score very well before he could submit a score card. I explained to him that he must start now by submitting his cards until the club awards him an official handicap. Then he can work his handicap down from 36 by continuing to submit a card regularly. He should also take part in the week end competitions.

I told the club committee last X'mas that I have not been playing golf for a while. My handicap was 23 when I stopped playing golf 20 years ago. I was keen to join their X’mas competition. I did not have a club awarded handicap. I have submitted only 2 cards. The committee gave me a temporary handicap of 23 just to play in that competition. I won a ham and my handicap was immediately chopped down to 22. I have since submitted more cards. My handicap today is 20 and I play usually in the low 90's.

Later on I submitted many more cards when I was playing regularly with Kenny Chen who had a handicap of 16. The other golfer in my group David Jin (uncle) did not have a handicap; but he regularly scored below 90. His putting was excellent. By playing so often with these two good golfers my golfing skills have improved a lot. Initially my long irons shots were poor. I was using a hybrid club(chicken leg) and a 9 wood for my fairway shots. Soon I practised more with the 4 iron at the lake side and was able to put aside these non standard utility clubs.

Kenny also carried a hybrid in his bag. His drives were consistent. He could hit an excellent draw shot with his driver. David Jin’s tee shot is high and straight, going about 230M. My drives were around 195M in the beginning. It soon increased to 210M and I was able to give these guys a match and a good run for their money. Unlike the afternoon group who played golf just to kill time in NZ, my group was very competitive. I played with Tom Yang on a few ocassions. He would not even stop talking while I was trying to set up for my tee shot. I have avoided playing with him since that episode. There were other golfers around: Eddy, Simon, Kevin Lee, William Liaw, Chung Shu-Li, Sherman Chang and Joe Kuok.

The Narrows experience

2006-04-03T10:05:00.005+12:00

I think golf for him and the Taiwanese means different things from what the game means to me. My score on the card is just as important as the exercise I get by walking 5.8 km every day. Not many people practise at the range for 3 years before they go to the golf course for their first game of golf. I did that!I noticed that Kevin Lee's golf etiquette has improved a lot. He started to repair his pitch marks on the green. Lately he even repaired those marks made by other people! However he is still not taking his turn to hold the flag, putt or play the ball on the fairway. He also has a dangerous habit of walking in front of his partner while the guy was still setting up to hit his ball on the fairway. His golf etiquette has been rather poor in the beginning. He seldom marked his ball on the green because he kept losing his ball markers. I have given him all the markers that I can spare.

I persuaded Chung to submit his card today. He was under the impression that he has to score very well before he could submit a score card. I explained to him that he must start now by submitting his cards until the club awards him an official handicap. Then he can work his handicap down from 36 by continuing to submit a card regularly. He should also take part in the week end competitions.
I told the club committee last X'mas that I have not been playing golf for a while. My handicap was 23 when I stopped playing golf 20 years ago. I was keen to join their X’mas competition. I did not have a club awarded handicap. I have submitted only 2 cards. The committee gave me a temporary handicap of 23 just to play in that competition. I won a ham and my handicap was immediately chopped down to 22. I have since submitted more cards. My handicap today is 20 and I play usually in the low 90's.
Later on I submitted many more cards when I was playing regularly with Kenny Chen who had a handicap of 16. The other golfer in my group David Jin (uncle) did not have a handicap; but he regularly scored below 90. His putting was excellent. By playing so often with these two good golfers my golfing skills have improved a lot. Initially my long irons shots were poor. I was using a hybrid club(chicken leg) and a 9 wood for my fairway shots. Soon I practised more with the 4 iron at the lake side and was able to put aside these non standard utility clubs. Kenny also carried a hybrid in his bag. His drives were consistent. He could hit an excellent draw shot with his driver. David Jin’s tee shot is high and straight, going about 230M. My drives were around 195M in the beginning. It soon increased to 210M and I was able to give these guys a match and a good run for their money.

Unlike the afternoon group who played golf just to kill time in NZ, my group was very competitive. I played with Tom Yang on a few ocassions. He would not even stop talking while I was trying to set up for my tee shot. I have avoided playing with him since that episode. There were other golfers around: Eddy, Simon Lee, William Liaw, Chung, Chang and Joe Kuok. Today my drives go around 210/220M, especially in the summer months when the fairways are harder. I have hit balls to 230M at the 8th hole where my ball landed opposite the 9th tee box! From there it was an easy 9 iron shot to the green. I have gained at least 20 metres off my tee shots since I started playing golf at the Narrows last September. My irons have also gone a bit further than before. My 6 iron can now reach the green from the blue marker at 135M. The ball is high and makes a deep pitch mark on the green. It did not roll more than 3 metres.

Today I tried out my 3 wood on the 12th fairway. I hit my third shot 190M onto the green and two putted for a par. It gave me a real sense of achievement! This week my 3 iron was not working well at all. I have lost my confidence in it. So it is staying in the bag! I am thinking seriously of replacing it with that hybrid utility club which is now in storage. It was tempting but that would be taking a step backwards and accepting defeat. At the 10th hole (179M)I used the 3 wood for my tee shot. I hit the ball ON and two putted for par. I had 4 par and 9 bogies giving a score of 92. I submitted the card.

At the car park we met Tom Yang and his wife Rosa getting ready to play golf. They have a friend Lee with them. He was the man who taught Chung how to play golf. Chung said that Lee could reverse the ball backwards on the green using his wedge, just like the pro does it. Chung also hero worships Duncan who has a handicap of 4; but I suspect that the feeling is not mutual. Chung needs to buy a new driver.

With the newer and larger titanium metal woods available today, no body uses a composite driver any more. I started playing golf in 1981 with a similar Spalding driver made of plastic composite. Golf equipment and technology have come a long way since then. Drivers have bigger titanium heads, longer shafts made of carbon fibre and weigh less than older models. The end result is that we can generate more club head speed and hit the ball further. The smaller 1.62" diameter rubber wound balls are no longer in use. Today's golf balls are all 1.68" diameter made in two pieces, a solid core and a very tough covering. They seem to last almost forever. My favourites are Top Flight, Callaway, Titliest and Nike. The higher compression balls go further but are harder to control.

The Links, Hope Island, Gold Coast

2006-02-15T10:33:00.000+13:00

The Royal Pines was closed for an international golf tournament when I was there. However I managed to play one round at the Links, Hope Island and another round at the Gold Coast Country Club. Their golf carts have GPS installed inside showing me all the hazards and exact distance to the green.

The Dunes, Matarangi

2006-01-25T10:44:00.001+13:00

I went on a golf tour with 3 other golfers over the past few days. We played Thames and Matarangi. Next month, I hope to play at Sanctuary Cove Resort and perhaps at the Royal Pines, Gold Coast!

A X'mas ham

2005-10-14T11:13:00.009+13:00

Kenny Chen, Kevin Lee, He, me and David Jin

After I took home the X'mas ham last year the Narrows golf club chopped my handicap down to 22. I now play mostly in the mid 90's. I have played over 70 rounds since the end of last September. Today, my official golf handicap from Narrows is 20.

I am at present sharpening my skills with the long irons. The driver and fairway woods are all ok after 3 years slogging away at the driving range. (For my workout to keep fit during the cold winter months in NZ, I hit 100 balls daily at the range.) My short irons are also doing just fine. I practised those at the lake side for an hour every day. Some times I use my 60 degree chipper to hit balls into a basket at my back yard at home. My Taiwanese golfing partners did not realize how much work exactly I had put into my golf swing before I met them at the Narrows. I must have hit more than 40,000 balls at the Ulster Street driving range. I chipped two balls into the cup last week!
I have practised my 7, 8, 9, P and S daily at the lake side (ex-mini golf site) for a few years. The council has recently put more sand into the 11 bunkers. I am now also getting a lot of practice with my sand wedge. I regard this place as my private golf course because I seldom meet any one else playing there in the morning. Some times I practise a 4 iron there because the par 3 first hole at the Narrows is 161 metres. I need that 4 iron for the tee shot. The 10th hole is also par 3 at 195 metres. Initially I used my driver for that hole because that was exactly the length of my drives! Nowadays I usually hit them 210/220M. I am now using a 3 wood for that hole. (I found out that I am not allowed to tee up more than two club lengths behind the blue markers!)

I found an excellent new way to wait for my golfing partners in the morning. I tee off alone when I am ready, playing hole No 1 and 18; carrying only one or two clubs plus a putter with me. I repeat this process until I see my friends arriving. Then we tee off together at hole No 1. Guess who birdied the first hole?! Too bad Wayne, the club manager has banned me from doing this. He said that I was leaving too many pitch marks on the 18th green. Now for my warming up I play 4 holes alone: No 10, 11, 8 and 9. That usually takes about 30 minutes. Other times I went to practise an hour at the lake side to warm up before I play 18 holes at the Narrows. Kenny and Uncle Jin were very surprised at my elaborate preparations for playing the game.

One day a young Chinese golfer, Orrin talked to me at the driving range. He said that he has mentioned the way I practiced to his sifu, uncle Jin. I was hitting my buckets of golf balls like machine gun fire, taking very little time to set up and aim the balls. Yet he noticed that I hit 30% straight through the goal posts at 180M with my driver. I told him that I could hit 50% through the goal posts with my 3 wood and about 75% with my 5 wood. He asked me what was my secret. I showed him a blue card which I bought regularly from Brian Boys for $90 (for 2000 balls). Every visit Brian punched a hole and gave me 2 tokens for the machine which dispensed 100 balls. I used about 8 blue cards a year for 3 years. This does not include those balls I hit using my own practice balls at the lake side.

I told Orrin that there was no secret. All he needed to do was hit 100 balls daily together with me for 3 years!! Orrin arranged for me to meet his coach, David Jin (uncle). Although he did not have an official handicap uncle played in the mid 80's. Later Kenny Chen (handicap 16) joined us and we formed a threesome. We played 4 rounds a week at the Narrows from September last year until February this year when these two golfers went home to Taiwan. I have now joined other Taiwanese golfers. Many of them played golf daily for the exercise to keep fit. They did not bother much about etiquette or getting a playing handicap. Some times there were 6 people in their group. Can you imagine getting stuck behind them! They give slow play a new meaning!!