Journey to the greens of PGA
March 26th, 2007 by Olaf Bound.sA 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.
—————
Whilst, everyone sees the Tigers, the Ernies, the Phils, or the Vijays who are successful and had made their millions, there are the other millions of golfers who suffer a dissimilar fate. Olaf got a chance to tee up with a tour journeyman in Malaysia and was given the task of interviewing him and bringing his side of the story to the world. In this first parter, I will hope to introduce our friend and journeyman.
Biodata
Name: Calvin Kong
Age: 42
Marital Status: Married with two children
Pro Status: Registered with the Malaysian Professional Golf Association
Current Occupation: Part time golf professional, part time tour player
Calvin hails from Johor, Malaysia. Currently, he ply his trade in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. Being a golf pro means traveling the whole of Malaysia to wherever the tournament brings him but at the price of being away from his family most of the time. Calvin’s family resides in Johor where he only has time to visit his children once a month. Note: Calvin, for now is only considered a semi pro as he has to teach students to supplement his finance. But this man has one of the finest swings Olaf has seen for his entire golfing life (exactly 5 years to date).
At the age of 18, Calvin picked up his interest in golf. When he finally found his swing and got his handicap down to scratch, he decided to finally join the Malaysian tour and hold on to his dreams. In his very first tournament, the Saujana Impian Classic he had made the cut from more than 80 over participants. He hasn’t looked back since.
However, it must be noted that during this interview Calvin clearly is rather peeved at his lack of opportunities to participate in local events (the last event was held in 2006). This clearly indicates the lack of initiative or interest of the local body to concern themselves with the livelihood of the local golf professionals in Malaysia. Whilst qualifications of a place in the Asian Tour is beyond the reach of many local golf professionals, the financial burden (entrance fee, qualifying school and the monies for travel and lodging) is already enough to discourage them! Furthermore will their pure passion for the game be sufficient to drive them through the rigors of the tour, the frustrations of not seeing their families and endless bills that follow from the disappointment of every cut missed.
Below are the excepts of the interview in which Olaf made with him;
Olaf: How did you develop an interest to become a golf pro?
Calvin: Ever since I got my handicap to scratch and couldn’t find anyone to play with me who didn’t ask for too many strokes.
Olaf: You started at the age of 18 years, what has been your best showing to date?
Calvin: I think it was in the Awana Genting Masters (2004). I got 23rd placing from a fairly strong field.
Olaf: You have certainly chosen a very challenging career for yourself, considering that you have to sacrifice the time with your children and wife? Is it worth it?
Calvin: Those are the sacrifices a person needs to make to follow his dreams. But the good side is, I have the free time and have the chance to turn my passion and hobby into a career, whatever the setbacks.
Olaf: Would you choose a similar route for your children, if they possess the same talent that you have?
Calvin: If they have a genuine love for the game, yes definitely. There is still hope as a golfer; it is after all a very big industry.
Olaf: Having first hand experience, what do you think will be the greatest element to becoming a successful touring pro in Malaysia or yet Asia/World?
Calvin: Element number 1 and biggest priority, MONEY! Financial backing! Seriously! IT’s not easy! Having to worry about the finances all the time and trying to play a good round isn’t easy. Getting time to practice and getting enough in the bank to not worry isn’t the easiest in the world. But I guess the mental strength of the game is an equally important factor.
Presently, Calvin has a sponsorship from Wilson for all his equipment, apparels and accessories. (Apparently, Calvin is extremely happy with his sponsor as he will not take a photo without his bag from his sponsors! What a guy!) He is on a constant look out for corporate sponsors for financial assistance but they are extremely difficult to come by.
Olaf feels for Calvin, so Olaf would like to make an appeal to those cooperate biggies who so happen to read this article to support this journeyman. Olaf have head that the Thai Airways sponsors the Thai players’ Air tickets wherever they play, maybe Mas (Malaysia Airlines) or Air Asia is willing to do the same.
—————
In the next parts of the post, Olaf will dwell into the views of Calvin on the Asian Tour, his dreams and his opinion of some of Asia’s finest and the world number 1, TIGER WOODS!. We also will take a deeper look at how he thinks the Golf bodies around the world have largely ignored the talented yet less fortunate.
Stay tuned.