OMG! A golf course!

This has been a long wait. It's 5:00am and still pitch black out. Just got in a taxi. I crashed at 9:00pm and was awake at 2:00am. So excited to play I couldn't go back to sleep.

Will be playing today with Jeff Stubbs (superintendent), Liam O'Shea (Middle Years coordinator), and Andrew Lawrence (3rd grade teacher). Feels right to have a Lawrence in the group.

We have to tee off before 7:00am to get the best rate, 1000 RMB. Exchange rate is around 7:1, so a little under $150 USD. We'll be playing the Lake Hill Golf course. It's about a 50 minute drive from school. Meeting up with the others in town. Jeff has a large SUV and has volunteered to drive.

My Achilles' tendon is still pretty sore, but I think I'll be fine. It helps that when I rotate forward the weight goes to the left foot and not the right.

Round finished. A great time was had by all playing some bad golf. Hit some great ones. Hit some awful ones. Lots of smiles and laughs. Here's some pics.

We had two "caddies" that rode on the back of our carts. They're referred to as player assistants. The young lady that rode with Andrew and me was named Chen Ling. She worked hard and was helpful. She always had clubs in hand and figured out quickly that I used my (S)and Wedge around the greens. She's not a golfer, but she understands her job well. The other young man with Liam and Jeff wasn't near as attentive. They each were paid 400 RMB for the round. I'm not certain, but my impression was that everyone takes a cart and everyone takes an assistant.

The course was in good shape. Very green and well cared for. The bunkers were in excellent shape. I found one on the first tee and not again all day. Others in our group spent a lot of time in the sand. I would love to play this course again. Some of the par fours were on the shorter end, but blind shots made it difficult to know how far it was safe. Two of my best drives of the day had bad results because I just gripped it and ripped it.

I went 48-44. Perhaps my worst day putting ever. I'm afraid it was over 40 total putts. I can feel Steve cringe as I type this. The concept of short game was a foreign concept to this foreigner. Hitting 7 pars means that I was 20 over par on the other 11 holes. Whatever. We had a great time. I might be able to get them all in for another round in a month. Hoping that some of the folks that I met at the driving range will be into a round too. If not, I would probably go myself and play with some strangers. That could be fun as well.

Nap time now. Didn't think I would be so tired riding for 18 holes, but my bad wheel means I had to limp pretty badly through most of it. Totally worth it. 👍

😴