Wednesday
Golf at New Kuta Golf Club
Jl Raya Uluwatu, Pecatu, Badung, 80361
ph 0361 8481333
fax 0361 8481400
Arising from my bed with renewed vigour , today was to be a 'boy's day out' .Three of us had arranged with Mr Sampson of Raffles golf fame to partake in their twice weekly tournament. Our check in time was between 11.15 am and 11.45 am for a 12 midday shotgun start. I'm sure my 3 playing companions had now wished that shotgun had been trained on me !
Having had brekkie, consisting of guava, pawpaw, melon, custard apples, pineapple, banana, passion fruit, tamarillos, rambutans and oranges I felt an energy from deep within that made me feel today was going to be a watershed in my golfing career.How wrong can you be?
The girls, as they do, at the last minute decide they want to go to Carrefour to do some shopping , so we all pile into the Avanza with the trusty Wayan at the wheel and head off down Sunset Road. Traffic as crazy as ever, as they have all re-appeared knowing it's safe if I'm not at the helm, we weave in and out the ever continuing rush hour, and with time ticking past, we are now concerned we are going to be late for our check in time.So what was to be a stress free day out now became something akin to beating the team you all hate in Amazing Race . We did arrive just in time, signed up with the Raffles guys and introduced to the committee. My playing partner Greg shot a very creditable 86 on only what can be described as a hellishly difficult course, and today was indeed the day I truly found out that I can only play the game form the neck up. Some holes I couldn't complete, on others I lost 2 balls, on others , I just wanted to end it all.It's damn tough!
We were partnered with a really nice American gentleman called Jack , and although it was completely my fault that our team finished last, not one person berated me , and all I
got all day was encouragement and real time lessons.
It took us best part of 5 hours to complete the course, and I'm sure my caddy was glad to see the end.She had seen parts of that course that she had never seen before , deep rough, bramble bushes, bunkers , I gave here a 100,000 tip for her patience, beauty and advice.Her best advice to me was , that next time, I should stay in the 19th hole
At the end of the day, Raffles re-convene in the bar and hand out prizes for nearest the pin, longest drive, best team, and best individual score.Needless to say I never troubled the scorers for any of them, and my sole contribution was when we had to do a minute speech on where we came from, and a bit about ouselves. I was lucky enough to meet another forumite at the table, who shared a taxi with us on the way back to Seminyak
We ended up hiring an MPV from the golf course to get back to our Villa, and he whinged all the way back about how far he had to drive. I eventually got fed up of this and asked him to pull over before we got home, and outside a little burger joint called Big Bad Dog
Well, the burgers were not big, but certainly bad, and now our version of John Daly is holed up with Bali Belly. Strange though, because I had basically the same food, but, with heaps more chilli.Perhaps that's the key?
We walk the rest of the way home in the very dimly lit lanes, and recount our day to all the girls who had enjoyed a full on days shopping
I cannot recommend highly enough that anyone, who is a decent handicap golfer, should hook up with these Raffles guys, a great bunch, a great day, just sorry I let the side down.It is in the most beautiful setting, you can take some of the most spectacular photos, and just keep away from the edge of the cliff!
More tomorrow...wi-fi seems to be all good again now...have a nice day...WHARFIE.xxx