Recently GolfNick received this question from one of my reader Umi in the Kuala Kubu Bharu post:

Golfnick, tell me more what would you expect of a golf course. From your experience on which course that you truly enjoyed your golf game most & why? — Umi, on Kuala Kubu Bharu, Malaysia

I was trying to reply and midway, I realized I’ve written long enough for a post. So I’ve decided make a post with the reply instead. After all, it is an interesting and engaging question. Thanks Umi.

Ah! Golf Courses…. how can we actually rate them? It’s a very good question actually! How does one rate a golf course? As they would say” one man’s spit is another man’s poison.” But let’s look at it from my perspective as an average weekend golfer as opposed to an actual golf professional. I supposed I should break it down into a few categories:

It always surprises me how a rare chance to give a few tips to a beginner can actually help them. Many weeks ago, a few blogger friends started to take up the game. Of course, knowing that I am not a qualified coach of any kind. I brought them to the range and see how much they could actually absorb from my tips that I learned from instructional DVDs and CDs. However, I can proudly say that they are all aces in my book. I believe that Han, Wingz and Kenny will all be ready for their first test of fire in two months. BUT I do also like to re-iterate that they would do much better under the guidance of a qualified professional; but the choice is up to them.

 Usual day of Sunday Golf

Joe, an elderly gentleman of seventy five was dejected over the fact that his failing eyesight no longer let him see where his ball was going. So Olaf said ” I’ll tell you what, Joe”. I’ll fix you up with Chuubs, a great chum of mine. He has great vision. Please be forewarned though that Chubbs is nearly 55 years old but he has an eye like an eagle for the ball. So we took of for an 18-hole on a Sunday morning. And straight off the tee, Joe cracks a drive about 180 yards but sails off to the right. ” Did you guys see it?” Joe ask excitedly. ” Yeah, I saw it!” said Chuubs. So we set off for the ball and upon reaching the rough on the right, Joe ask ” Well, where is it?”. Chubbs said ” Where’s what?. Joe responded quite annoyed ” The f******g ball”. Chubbs said shyly ” I don’t remember”…..

If every golfer on the planet has been watching the television screen for the past few days, how do you rate the 2007 US Open? The Oakmont course is playing so hard that the players have been silently crying foul. Some have been rather verbal over their treatment as they succumb to the difficulty of the course. The top golfers in the world are all there and it has been nothing short of humiliation over their play for the past couple of days. Scores posted were so poor by their normal standards that they were left contemplating whether they should have bothered teeing off on Thursday.

I never thought that I would say this. When Olaf started to golf about 5 years ago, I believe now that it really is a tell tale sign of your character when one golfs. When I started, my temper was terrible. Hence my swing! I threw more clubs in disgust at the slightest frustration. My swing was relatively the same; A long way over the top plus a very big lash at the ball. Comes back to the same question, is golf a way of life? It certainly dictates the way a golfer swings his club. Let’s see a few examples of golfers.

This is a major cause of concern for a lot of golfers. In the game of golf, this element is the greatest and severest test for every one. This game is meant for gentlemen and ladies of the highest order (used to be). This is a game where your greatest opponent happens to be not your golfing buddies or favorite weekend foursomes BUT your own self. WHY? because if you are a true lover of the game, you can call a penalty on yourself. Read up on Bobby Jones or even watching the movie itself on him. And you will find that this golfer is the perfect gentleman. Much has been written and said of the silly rules of golf. The little small rules that people often mistake as well, a silly rule! But without these rules, where are we?

What a week we had. A total of nearly 1500 balls between all of us. Glad I still have my arms hanging from the sockets. Golfnick has been most impressed by the improvements of these guys. Kudos to all of you. However I must admit, ole olaf may not have the proper qualification for guiding these newbies but I think we are on the right track. Here are some of my views on how we can improve them from hence…