Fair Play: It's more fun breaking the rules in golf
THANK You.” That’s what you say when a flight of slow players lets your group pass them in a golf course. That’s etiquette. Last Monday, we tried golf and we were so nice and so slow that we let six groups—two in the first hole—play ahead. I was with Rick Gabuya, Manny Villaruel and Theresa Gonzales as part of the media division of the Aboitiz Invitational Golf tournament last Monday at the Cebu Country Club.
Come to think of it, I think it’s only the four of us who knew we were competing in the media division as the rest of the field—all serious golfers—plodded on without us.
We were there on the invitation of Thet Mesias of AEV Corp Comm who, on the day of the event, wisely decided to stay off the greens.
to our golf instructor Jumbo and our caddies—Vangie Tagos, Jasmine Torres, Wilfreda and Belinda Tuñacao—who willfully helped us break every rule in golf, the four of us had fun blasting away at the course. Though I think that cute girl who took a photo of us didn’t enjoy it too much when in his first tee-off, one editor (who shall not be named) hit her!
And she was standing about 75 degrees away from where the ball should have flown.
We learned that day that golf is mental. It’s seriously MENTAL! After a few (relatively) good shots, I hit one that travelled less than a spitting distance away and my caddy’s diagnosis? “That happened because you were trying too hard to hit the ball.”
The same was true regarding the lake—which we all hit. If you think you’re going to hit the lake, you will hit the lake. I guess, that means that next time I buy a lottery ticket, I’ll tell myself, “This time, I won’t win it.”
Jumbo, the instructor, told us form is everything in golf. It’s all about perception he said. Whether you’ve had a bad or really bad shot, keep your form. The guys watching you won’t see where your ball hit but they’d see your form, so, you have to make sure you sell your form.
Manny, who left after three holes, said he loved the scenery and what’s there not to love? We really got to appreciate it because we were so slow, even if our balls would mysteriously find themselves back in the fairways from the rough, sometimes lined up next to each other!
Overall, it was a great experience as we got to appreciate the sport that we regularly read about but rarely experience. Next year, I hope to be on the greens with the same group again, so this time, we can play our final nine holes.
Come to think of it, I think it’s only the four of us who knew we were competing in the media division as the rest of the field—all serious golfers—plodded on without us.
We were there on the invitation of Thet Mesias of AEV Corp Comm who, on the day of the event, wisely decided to stay off the greens.
to our golf instructor Jumbo and our caddies—Vangie Tagos, Jasmine Torres, Wilfreda and Belinda Tuñacao—who willfully helped us break every rule in golf, the four of us had fun blasting away at the course. Though I think that cute girl who took a photo of us didn’t enjoy it too much when in his first tee-off, one editor (who shall not be named) hit her!
And she was standing about 75 degrees away from where the ball should have flown.
We learned that day that golf is mental. It’s seriously MENTAL! After a few (relatively) good shots, I hit one that travelled less than a spitting distance away and my caddy’s diagnosis? “That happened because you were trying too hard to hit the ball.”
The same was true regarding the lake—which we all hit. If you think you’re going to hit the lake, you will hit the lake. I guess, that means that next time I buy a lottery ticket, I’ll tell myself, “This time, I won’t win it.”
Jumbo, the instructor, told us form is everything in golf. It’s all about perception he said. Whether you’ve had a bad or really bad shot, keep your form. The guys watching you won’t see where your ball hit but they’d see your form, so, you have to make sure you sell your form.
Manny, who left after three holes, said he loved the scenery and what’s there not to love? We really got to appreciate it because we were so slow, even if our balls would mysteriously find themselves back in the fairways from the rough, sometimes lined up next to each other!
Overall, it was a great experience as we got to appreciate the sport that we regularly read about but rarely experience. Next year, I hope to be on the greens with the same group again, so this time, we can play our final nine holes.
Comments