Olaf has been nursing a back injury for the past 4 months now. It’s not really as bad as it sounds but it is a really big annoyance. But the time has finally arrived for Olaf to rejoin the lush greens. Having spent a few sessions with the golfer’s meet in the driving range with my fellow beginners, seems Olaf has learned more from them than vice versa. My first round and in the very first tee, a par four 380 meter. Being very careful not to hurt my back (and my pride), I swung very smoothly and wow! A two hundred and twenty meter drive! I must be dreaming but no, it was still there! I’m back and with a vengeance!

Continuing from the last installment of the series A Beginners’ Guide to Golf, let’s look a few things that you will need in order to start playing the game. As always as your pro will tell you is to get a pair of gloves. And there are a few for you to shop for! And please don’t borrow or nick somebody’s old gloves. For one, gloves come in sizes. And if you are a right handed person, you buy a left hand glove and vice versa for the left hander.

Olaf was recently asked a question and would like to share this view with all my viewers out there. Why did you pick up golf? I couldn’t actually answer the question because as far as I can remember, I recalled a certain person by the name of Jack Nicklaus. I watched one of his instructional video and was instantly hooked. But it comes to no surprise that a lot of my friends are eager to take up the sport but have no idea where to start. So, the question is not why we would like to pick up golf but HOW do we start to play this game called “GOLF”?

In the previous part one and part two, Calvin has given his thoughts on the Malaysian and Asian Golf Tour. The saga now continues…..

Olaf: How do you rate Malaysian Golf Courses on a scale of 1 (best) to 5 (worst)?
Calvin: Definitely in the 2nd category.

Olaf: Which 3 courses do you think are in the top three?
Calvin: The Saujana, Kota Permai and The Mines (All three courses have been hosting major golf events in Malaysia for quite a while now).

Before we go any further on the technical part of acquiring a handicap card or the task of rating our game, I like to bring to attention to the courses available to the fair country of Malaysia. Golfing with a card has its pros and cons. Take a few examples that I have come across:

First and foremost: Golfing in Malaysia, it is customary to show your handicap card in certain Golf Courses to ensure that you have a certain degree of etiquette when you are playing. So, is there any other use for it apart from registering over at the counter? The answer is yes. Why? To show your playing partners today that you have a handicap that is about 6 stokes higher than truth.

Following the first installment of the interview, the saga continues as we now try to find out just how Calvin thinks on his game as opposed to the current greats of the game and how he thinks he can stack up against them……

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Olaf: Now we come to the ultimate questions of truth and honesty from your side. A lot of us, ordinary golfers or hopefuls wish to stand face to face and tee to tee with some golf heroes we see on television. You have obviously teed up with a few of them and probably can stack well against them? So first question: How far can you drive on the average?
Calvin: I would average around 290 to 310 yards.

A few of days ago, Olaf had a great opportunity to swing a few rounds and a long chat with a Malaysian pro golfer. It was a peek into an astonishing side of a golf journeyman that had mainly gone almost un-noticed; virtually ignored by the masses in the golfing world. In the following week, Olaf will present the transcript of the whole interview in a 4-parter and hopefully open a window to a world we don’t see everyday.