The Royal Lake Club played its October Medal 2009 at the Lembah Beringin Golf Course. Pakdokter had not played with the RLC members for quite a while now as pakdokter was mostly away when they organised their monthly games or local and overseas tours.
Pakdokter played with 2 senior gentlemen who regularly played in the RLC games. Uncle Chin Hon Sin is 84 years old and his fitness put pakdokter to shame! Uncle Chin swims 100 laps each time at the Lake Club swimming pool - and that is his secret to being so fit. He does it 3 times a week. Uncle Chin played to a handicap of 32 and did much better than pakdokter in this game which was played on a stableford format.
The other golfer in pakdokter's flight was Mr Yu Hong Yan. Mr Yu is 70+ years old and played to a handicap of 24. He was the best in the flight, always driving longest amongst us and carding the best scores.
Pakdokter could not handle the 'heat', and the 2-month lay-off since before the Ramadan had caused pakdokter to loose pakdokter's form. Pakdokter only managed a total of 24 stableford points playing to a handicap of 23.
Mr Yu Hong Yan and Uncle Chin...
Mr Yu and pakdokter....Lembah Beringin is now quite a nice golf course actually. Being managed by the Saujana Group, the course is in good shape and the greens are fast and tricky. Although it is a short course, one has to be really good to putt in on most of the holes which are very tricky and fast.
It is a pity that this 'grandiose' golf resort and residential development project never really took off. Conceived during the years of 'irrational exuberance' of the 1980's and early 1990's, pakdokter can still remember its promotional TV advertisements potraying undulating landscapes with pretty girls trotting around on their horses. It was a dream-like scenery which became a nightmare for many who had invested their life-savings to purchase a part of this 'dream'.
Pakdokter and one of pakdokter's sisters happened to be victims of this 'failed' project. We had bought bungalow lots fronting one of the fairways of the golf course. Pakdokter's poor sister had actually got around to build her dream house. Being altruistic and genuinely sincere in wanting to help a fellow bumiputera contractor in his business, she had given the construction job to one who unfortunately absconded with a big amount of pre-payment without completing the job. And in good faith that the next one would not do the same, she awarded another bumiputera contractor to complete the job. This second contractor did the same, begged for pre-payments to enable him to buy the construction materials to finish the job, but spent the money on a new car and then absconded without completing the house. Pakdokter's sister has given up on completing the house and has decided to try and sell of the project which to date is of no avail. And in the process almost a million bucks has been spent.
It is really sad when bumiputeras who are given the opportunity to make a living (by fellow bumiputeras like us) behave this way. Pakdokter has had similar experiences when pakdokter started out to establish pakdokter's practice many many years ago. It is too painful to write about it.....
When will they ever learn......
pakdokter's sister's abandoned house in Lembah Beringin...
another view of the abandoned project....
pakdokter's bungalow lot is at the top end of this par-5 fairway of hole No. 15
view of hole-15 green from pakdokter's bungalow lot...
view of hole-15 green from pakdokter's bungalow lot...lucky that pakdokter did not start building our holiday home here...
Lembah Beringin would probably only be viable in 20 years time...
1 comment:
Never thought I'd actually come across somebody related to the owner of that bungalow. Been scouting the area for a place to retire. The house is massively overgrown with shrubs these days. Been wondering what could've happened that left the house partially completed like that...
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