Pakdokter and regular golf buddy at the RSGC, pakTengku Azman, had booked to play at the Santiburi Golf Course early Thursday morning. The Santiburi Golf Club was a short 15 minutes drive from our hotel up a winding mountainous road that took us through little villages and abandoned 'villa' development projects.
There was hardly anybody else playing at the golf course that morning. Koh Samui island must be too remote for most people or the cost is too prohibitive for people to play. A game of golf will make you poorer by about RM$435!... which covers the green fee, a buggy and a caddy. However this was made up by a pretty and well designed course which gave a fantastic vista of the island and the seas from vantage spots of the hills
During the drive, pakTengku told pakdokter that his wife had told him before he left that morning that she believed that he should have no problem beating pakdokter again in the game today! Apparently, all this while, PakTengku had been telling his wife that he had been beating pakdokter all the time whether at the RSGC or during our overseas tours!
Wow....pakdokter did not realise until then that pakdokter had to play against and face not only pakTengku but also his spouse......!
look at how 'unfriendly' he is...pakdokter had one 'friendly' hand on pak Tengku's shoulder but both of pakTengku's hands were firmly on his club.....
pakdokter and his caddy, Hong.....
pakTengku and his caddy, Jen....Playing from the blue tees, the Santiburi Golf Course measures a total of 6461 yards. The course is mostly characterised by narrow tight fairways with steep and undulating terrains. The rough is easily 6 inches thick and whatever the species the grass was, one is lucky to get out of the rough in one stroke!
coconut trees and blue skies....
hole No. 1, par 5 measuring 434 yards from the blue tee....pakTengku started out with a par here..PakTengku started out well scoring a 'par' at the short par-5 1st hole. Pakdokter was 1-down with a bogey for the starting hole but made amends with a par at the next par-4 2nd hole which pakTengku triple-bogeyed.
hole No. 5, downhill through a narrow fairway...
oops....where is pakTengku's ball...
pakdokter helped to locate pakTengku's ball hidden deep in the rough.....but still pakdokter was 2-up...
a great bunker play which sent the ball close to the pin...
and 'Hong' insisted that pakdokter must take a shot of himself here...
At the start of the 2nd Nine, pakdokter noticed 'twitches' on pakTengku's face. The 10th hole was an uphill fairway with a ravine to the left and a hill-slope to the right. PakTengku used his driver but sent his ball way into the trees on the right hill-slope. Pakdokter used the trusted fairway wood-5 and sent the ball to the middle of the fairway......
at the tee at hole No. 10.....oops 'masuk hutan...'
the 17th hole is the most scenic....look at the clouds...
the final hole that decided the game for 'the happy couple'...PakTengku hit a great drive down the steep fairway of hole No.18 leaving him with an easy pitching wedge shot to put his ball 2-on on the green. Pakdokter hit equally well with the fairway wood but, alas, the cross-wind caught the ball and took it into the rough on the right. This forced pakdokter to pitch the ball out on to the fairway and knock the third onto the green.
1 comment:
I have always been a strong golfer whenever I am on an oversea golfing trip. The good Doc and our buddy Pak Hyder should know...
It is therefore not so much "pleading for kindness.." that made me won on our first day at Santiburi but the measured strategy and golfing skills. And best of all I was able to physco a shrink...Ha..ha..ha.
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