Who is winning the Ryder Cup this year? America this time or Europe continues dominating? Is the fact that Tiger is out going to favour Europe or Europe was gonna win anyway seeing this has happen with Tiger in the Team?
I know in Zambia we talk about football alot but I also happy that there is
the occasional Wimbledon, the occasional Heaton vs Mayweather discussion and other sports. One thing for sure is that we are sports men or sportsmen or at least people that love sports alot. I decided to l0ok at golf seeing it is the gentleman's game and I rarely fantasise about the fairway when twist and turf on the turf at Barclays Sports Complex playing football. I know cricket and tennis are the ultimate gentleman's game but a game whose name is sometimes argued to have come from the moniker "Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbiden", in short GOLF, sounds sexy.
What made me think was golf was two things this week, football personalities have of late been getting into other sports to try and divert attention away from football what with such sagas as Ronaldo's. First Calderon took advantage of the Spanish Euro win and Nadal's win to use the attention from tennis onto his Ronaldo pursuit instead of away from football. On the other hand SIR Alex Ferguson has urged his United team to take inspiration from Padraig Harrington's successful British Open defence as they look to repeat the heroics of last season. Granted he knows winning big competitions in successive years is "terribly difficult", Ferguson remains energised and enthused by the ability of top sports people to maintain their focus under extreme pressure. Using Golf, Fergie praised Sunderland supporter Harrington for the way he retained his title at Royal Birkdale - and challenged his players to show similar drive and ambition in the months ahead. He said "Harrington, however, was so cool and showed to me he had the bottle. When he needed to perform in the last six holes, he had four birdies. His second shot at the 17th, right on the pin... unbelievable. He thoroughly deserved the victory." On retaining the European Cup and chalking up a hat-trick of Premier League victories Ferguson said: "It can be done.
The second Golf moment this was, again related to Harrington's win, is when American players complained of the conditions at the British Open. This is how BBC Blogger Robbo Robson put it about those who were complaining of the conditions: "Yanks mostly, who bleated on about how nasty it is to have to play golf when it's windy and raining. Ah, bless! But just where do you think golf was invented? California perhaps where every day is the same day and the grass never changes and the bunkers are filled in with sand imported from the Outer Hebrides? No, it was invented in Scotland, that haven of climatic peace and serenity. Shut up or go home!" Robbo then ended "I can't wait for the Ryder Cup! All we need is a light breeze and the Americans will just hand it over while they put on their anoraks and hide in the clubhouse".
Golf and yours truly go way back. . . if 1998 is way back. But for a guy who spent along time in the village during my formative years and so never had a chance to go to trust schools or tag on Dad's spurs to a golf course, that is way back. I remember buying an almost complete golf set (3 woods, 2 putters, lots of irons with only about two clubs missing). We used to go to Chainama Golf Club to pick stray golf balls and then go play at the University of Zambia (UNZA). This was during the 8 month closure. I must admit it is a very tough game to play and the skill levels involved plus decision-making vis-a-vis opportunity costs are as high as probably only in the mini-game of Pool or Snooker. Every shot in golf is a compromise between length and precision, and long shots are often less precise than short ones. A longer shot may result in a better score if it helps reduce the total number of strokes for a given hole, but the benefit may be more than outweighed by additional strokes or penalties if a ball is lost, out of bounds, or comes to rest on difficult ground. Therefore, a skilled golfer must assess the quality of his or her shots in a particular situation in order to judge whether the possible benefits of aggressive play are worth the risks. And then there is the wind and the slope when the ball lands etc.
Problem was on the first two to three times we tried playing golf, my first short with the 3 wood always got the first ball into the Goma lakes. I had to buy a book from the UNZA Bookshop to improve my swing and understand my scoring etc. It worked. As more balls dropped into the lakes, we had to move away from the water and "teed off" near the back gate of UNZA with the "greens" nearer to the water. We played both stroke play and match play and this was foursome or singles etc. I am not sure what my handicap is now but back then, it came close to the average entrant at Chainama Golf Club. So we enlisted as student members at the club. Then we got excited one day and starting playing on one green during an actual game instead of being at the practice range. This infuriated the club captain and coupled with us having untucked our shirts, hence breaking club rules, we got de-registered barely two weeks into our membership. And that was the end of yours truly's golf career. It ended before it started. I guess now that am a bit mobile and can behave better, I would consider going back to Chainama Golf Club. Any volunteers to join me? I still love the way they score in Golf: birdie, albatross, eagle, condor (these are bird-related or feathered) etc. I guess only cricket has a better scoring system. What can beat wickets, runs, not outs, centuries, etc? But cricket is for another "blog". But the types of shots in golf (i.e. drive, approach, chip, punch, knock-down, lay-up, flop shot, draw, fade, shank, chunked shot or turfed shot, duffed shot) are only rivalled if not beaten by pool and snooker which has top-spins, english-left, jump shot, scratch, bottom-right, etc.
Am thinking of being a small type golfer again. Not to rival Madalitso Muthiya (pictured above) or Machael K. Chiluba. But maybe we can make use of some holidays and afternoons better. All that is needed is golf clubs (quite expensive I must say), golf balls, golf shows, a golf bags, some golf t-shirts, good slacks and belt (ha ha ha!) and pins of course. On clubs, a full set typically consists of a driver, two fairway woods (generally 3- and 5-woods), a set of irons from 3 to 9, a pitching wedge, a sand wedge, a putter, and one more club of the player's choice. Many players opt to avoid the 3- and 4-irons (which are more difficult to hit). Another common variation is to use only the 3, 5, 7 and 9 out of the numbered irons. The extra space in the player's bag can then be filled with more woods, easier-to-hit "hybrid" clubs, additional high-loft or intermediate wedges, and/or a specialized chipping club or multiple putters. Good way to invest into a better future as a mature. Not starting golf when it is too late.
Which reminds me, Madalitso Muthiya has the distinction of being the first and only Black African and Zambian to play in the U.S. Open in 2006.
But before I go, a few other things golf, Tiger Woods (the guy is aptly named for golf right), gets too much money compared to his colleagues and at more than 100 million dollars from sponsors and appearance (this is not including prize money but just endorsements and other contracts), he makes the likes of CR7 look poor (there I go to football). With Schumacher gone and Mike Tyson history, he is going to take long to beat. He deserves the money though. Tiger Woods has helped 'revitalize' world interest in golf. On Sunday April 8th, 2001 he created history by holding all 4 major championships simultaneously: the US Open, British Open, US PGA, and the Masters. In 1930 the legendary Bobby Jones won what is generally regarded as a golfing Grand Slam, when he won the then 4 majors in the same calendar year: the US and British Open and Amateur titles. Maybe the unique title 'GrandMaster of Golf' describes Tiger Wood's achievements.
This inspired the joke "What do you call hundreds of rich, adult white males chasing one black man?" Answer: "The PGA Tour".
I know in Zambia we talk about football alot but I also happy that there is
the occasional Wimbledon, the occasional Heaton vs Mayweather discussion and other sports. One thing for sure is that we are sports men or sportsmen or at least people that love sports alot. I decided to l0ok at golf seeing it is the gentleman's game and I rarely fantasise about the fairway when twist and turf on the turf at Barclays Sports Complex playing football. I know cricket and tennis are the ultimate gentleman's game but a game whose name is sometimes argued to have come from the moniker "Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbiden", in short GOLF, sounds sexy.What made me think was golf was two things this week, football personalities have of late been getting into other sports to try and divert attention away from football what with such sagas as Ronaldo's. First Calderon took advantage of the Spanish Euro win and Nadal's win to use the attention from tennis onto his Ronaldo pursuit instead of away from football. On the other hand SIR Alex Ferguson has urged his United team to take inspiration from Padraig Harrington's successful British Open defence as they look to repeat the heroics of last season. Granted he knows winning big competitions in successive years is "terribly difficult", Ferguson remains energised and enthused by the ability of top sports people to maintain their focus under extreme pressure. Using Golf, Fergie praised Sunderland supporter Harrington for the way he retained his title at Royal Birkdale - and challenged his players to show similar drive and ambition in the months ahead. He said "Harrington, however, was so cool and showed to me he had the bottle. When he needed to perform in the last six holes, he had four birdies. His second shot at the 17th, right on the pin... unbelievable. He thoroughly deserved the victory." On retaining the European Cup and chalking up a hat-trick of Premier League victories Ferguson said: "It can be done.
The second Golf moment this was, again related to Harrington's win, is when American players complained of the conditions at the British Open. This is how BBC Blogger Robbo Robson put it about those who were complaining of the conditions: "Yanks mostly, who bleated on about how nasty it is to have to play golf when it's windy and raining. Ah, bless! But just where do you think golf was invented? California perhaps where every day is the same day and the grass never changes and the bunkers are filled in with sand imported from the Outer Hebrides? No, it was invented in Scotland, that haven of climatic peace and serenity. Shut up or go home!" Robbo then ended "I can't wait for the Ryder Cup! All we need is a light breeze and the Americans will just hand it over while they put on their anoraks and hide in the clubhouse".
Golf and yours truly go way back. . . if 1998 is way back. But for a guy who spent along time in the village during my formative years and so never had a chance to go to trust schools or tag on Dad's spurs to a golf course, that is way back. I remember buying an almost complete golf set (3 woods, 2 putters, lots of irons with only about two clubs missing). We used to go to Chainama Golf Club to pick stray golf balls and then go play at the University of Zambia (UNZA). This was during the 8 month closure. I must admit it is a very tough game to play and the skill levels involved plus decision-making vis-a-vis opportunity costs are as high as probably only in the mini-game of Pool or Snooker. Every shot in golf is a compromise between length and precision, and long shots are often less precise than short ones. A longer shot may result in a better score if it helps reduce the total number of strokes for a given hole, but the benefit may be more than outweighed by additional strokes or penalties if a ball is lost, out of bounds, or comes to rest on difficult ground. Therefore, a skilled golfer must assess the quality of his or her shots in a particular situation in order to judge whether the possible benefits of aggressive play are worth the risks. And then there is the wind and the slope when the ball lands etc.
Problem was on the first two to three times we tried playing golf, my first short with the 3 wood always got the first ball into the Goma lakes. I had to buy a book from the UNZA Bookshop to improve my swing and understand my scoring etc. It worked. As more balls dropped into the lakes, we had to move away from the water and "teed off" near the back gate of UNZA with the "greens" nearer to the water. We played both stroke play and match play and this was foursome or singles etc. I am not sure what my handicap is now but back then, it came close to the average entrant at Chainama Golf Club. So we enlisted as student members at the club. Then we got excited one day and starting playing on one green during an actual game instead of being at the practice range. This infuriated the club captain and coupled with us having untucked our shirts, hence breaking club rules, we got de-registered barely two weeks into our membership. And that was the end of yours truly's golf career. It ended before it started. I guess now that am a bit mobile and can behave better, I would consider going back to Chainama Golf Club. Any volunteers to join me? I still love the way they score in Golf: birdie, albatross, eagle, condor (these are bird-related or feathered) etc. I guess only cricket has a better scoring system. What can beat wickets, runs, not outs, centuries, etc? But cricket is for another "blog". But the types of shots in golf (i.e. drive, approach, chip, punch, knock-down, lay-up, flop shot, draw, fade, shank, chunked shot or turfed shot, duffed shot) are only rivalled if not beaten by pool and snooker which has top-spins, english-left, jump shot, scratch, bottom-right, etc.
Am thinking of being a small type golfer again. Not to rival Madalitso Muthiya (pictured above) or Machael K. Chiluba. But maybe we can make use of some holidays and afternoons better. All that is needed is golf clubs (quite expensive I must say), golf balls, golf shows, a golf bags, some golf t-shirts, good slacks and belt (ha ha ha!) and pins of course. On clubs, a full set typically consists of a driver, two fairway woods (generally 3- and 5-woods), a set of irons from 3 to 9, a pitching wedge, a sand wedge, a putter, and one more club of the player's choice. Many players opt to avoid the 3- and 4-irons (which are more difficult to hit). Another common variation is to use only the 3, 5, 7 and 9 out of the numbered irons. The extra space in the player's bag can then be filled with more woods, easier-to-hit "hybrid" clubs, additional high-loft or intermediate wedges, and/or a specialized chipping club or multiple putters. Good way to invest into a better future as a mature. Not starting golf when it is too late.
Which reminds me, Madalitso Muthiya has the distinction of being the first and only Black African and Zambian to play in the U.S. Open in 2006.
But before I go, a few other things golf, Tiger Woods (the guy is aptly named for golf right), gets too much money compared to his colleagues and at more than 100 million dollars from sponsors and appearance (this is not including prize money but just endorsements and other contracts), he makes the likes of CR7 look poor (there I go to football). With Schumacher gone and Mike Tyson history, he is going to take long to beat. He deserves the money though. Tiger Woods has helped 'revitalize' world interest in golf. On Sunday April 8th, 2001 he created history by holding all 4 major championships simultaneously: the US Open, British Open, US PGA, and the Masters. In 1930 the legendary Bobby Jones won what is generally regarded as a golfing Grand Slam, when he won the then 4 majors in the same calendar year: the US and British Open and Amateur titles. Maybe the unique title 'GrandMaster of Golf' describes Tiger Wood's achievements.
This inspired the joke "What do you call hundreds of rich, adult white males chasing one black man?" Answer: "The PGA Tour".
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