Note: Day 8 was a travel day for Mike.
No blog as of yesterday as I had to neatly pack up the traveling golf show in my room and head with my Thai driver to the air port in Phuket. Every time you step into one of these vehicles, these guys or gals has to take a photo of you at pickup and the drop off destination. I assume this is so they have a record of delivery so they can collect their $$$ at the end of the day…. Or if somehow you turn up missing they have something to show the Police. After my plane landed in Bangkok, another guy from Golf Asia was waiting for me with a sign that said “Mr Michael” and readily ushered me into the van for the 3.5 hr drive out of the city and to the beach town of Hua Hin. That’s farther than I expected for sure and I ended up killing an entire day traveling.
For those that are not familiar, the standard currency here is the Thai baht. At present 100 Thai baht is about $2.80 USD. You can have a bulging pocket full and it’s probably not enough to buy a dozen Pro Vs, but it’s probably enough to eat on for a full week if you are diligent and take advantage of the delicious street food.
Tipping is not a standard practice in Thailand, other than caddies which rely on it, no one else gets tipped. Europeans and Russians don’t tip, but since I’m an ambassador of Franklin County CC and the USA, I’m giving a little something to everyone that does something for me. You never get another chance to make a good first impression and it’s by and large pocket change. The people are so gracious and appreciative you just can’t help feeling good about yourself.
Today I played Palm Hills CC and I certainly needed some “feel good” myself after 3 bogeys.. all from senseless 3 putts on the front. I didn’t miss a green on that front side but some of these greens are quite large and I was no where near the hole. None the less, on the exterior I was trying to smile and be pleasant but inside I was steaming like a kettle.
My caddie today was a tiny little gal named Sonja…. She was as timid as a mouse that’s been chased by cats and of absolutely zero assistance. When I asked her about the pin placement or yardage or slope of the green… anything informational she looked at me the way my dog Molly does when I’ve got a piece of cheese in my hand…. She’s profoundly interested but she just can’t get the words out.
I was paired up today with a couple from Sweden who live in Hua Hin for three months of the year. They had a lot of good things to say about this area and like all I have met…. They were genuinely nice folks to play with.
Palm Hills is a good test of golf. I played the yellow tees today at about 6400yds. The back nine played into the wind for most of the holes and it was not easy.
The greens were firm Bermuda with quite a bit of undulation and down grain the ball is going to roll and keep rolling painfully until it gets to a flat place and gravity gives out. You just can’t be above the hole…. Which would have been valuable info from my caddie on approach shots but I was flying solo with my rangefinder the entire day.
Another thing in Thailand, that I have seen, is that practice facilities at most places flat out suck. I hit some range balls today in a poof of dust off of hard pan that were so beat up you could not distinguish the maker. The putting green, although huge was also nothing like the greens on the course. Most holes were about 3” in diameter as the cups had not been changed in what appeared to be months. That’s strange to me as Palm Hills is surrounded by million dollar homes and probably caters to the affluent.
I enclosed some beach pics from in front of my hotel. After back nine bogies on both par fives from easy wedge distance…. I’m going to have to go put my toes in the sand and stare off into the horizon with deep breathing to get my blood pressure down and optimism up.
Tomorrow is another day but I have a feeling it’s only going to get tougher as it’s a championship layout upcoming. Also back to the Wilson cap….that bucket hat from Vegas is bad luck.
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