PLAYING GOLF


22 December 2005

It was more than a decade ago when I hit my first golf ball at the driving range. You would not believe that I had been playing the game for 10 long years if you watch me play. It is UGLY. Just last weekend, my divots were flying further than the ball that went scuttering across the fairway in a nasty hook into the bunkers.

You let fly a slew of expletives - at yourself of course. Yes, you get to hear very colorful language at the golf course besides seeing guys peeing (sic) all over the place. Yet they call it a gentleman's game.

Head of states, presidents, ministers, CEOs and ordinary Joes play the game. So, why is the game so facinating and addictive yet at the same time so frustrating. That is the beguling nature of golf. It is a game of irony. For weekend hackers like yours truly, the feeling of hitting an occasional perfect shot is difficult to describe. It is just exhilirating, seeing your ball swooshing high through the air and landing a few feet from the hole. Hey, that is what we call a pro-shot but these are far and few in between. Most of the time you will hacking and swearing away. Maybe it is called exercise and letting off steam for the week of accumulated stress. Well, there is no denying of the fresh air and sunshine out there on the course. You can easily identify a golfer by the tell tale sign of his uneven and unsightly tan.

Ultimately, it is the fun and comradeship with your golfing partners at the 19th hole where you have a couple of cold beers over lunch and talk trash that makes you come back more the next weekend, despite the awfully bad game you just had.

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