A bunker by any other name...

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The Friday before last I was somehow duped into going to IPN again although this time, I'm honestly glad I did because that night I just happened to meet Hakan Zetterstrom, a 25 year old hailing from Lund, Sweden who has been studying here in Aix for the past year or so, completing the last of his studies in Economics before moving on to do his masters back home. Anyways the reason I'm mentioning him is because somehow, the topic of conversation shifted to golf of all things and it turned out that not only does he play, he's good (around a 2 or 3 handicap), plays around Aix AND has an extra set of clubs that I could use if I wanted to join him! Two words: Hell. Yes. Like eating Indian food, playing golf here was among the things I least expected to do!

I believe it was last Wednesday, 25th of June, when we made plans to get in a round so straight after class we arranged to meet at le Place de Quatre Dauphins, where I was also introduced to our playing partner, Jonathan Haillant, a mix of nationalities but who ultimately claims to be from St. Martin/St. Maarten, apparently the smallest island in the world shared by two countries (France and Holland) that is found in the Caribbean. He didn't look it but he was only 21 and is also finishing off his studies here - although just from spending 10 minutes with him it seemed like he spent more of his energy trying to conquer every American girl that walks though Aix! I can't imagine it would be that hard either; apart from irritatingly good looking in the cliched olive skinned Mediterranean kind of way, he's an extremely smooth talker - so far no less than 3 of my friends have already asked if he's single! What I found more interesting was that he actually attended the David Leadbetter IMG Golf Academy as well a few years ago - quite likely he was there at the same time as some of my friends which is really weird!

Anyways so it was the three of us, cram packed with golf clubs and other paraphernalia in Jon's beat up VW on the way to Club Aix-Marseille on the outskirts of Aix, technically in Milles. I was a bit apprehensive at first, seeing as I had not swung a club in nearly 5 months and had already claimed myself a 5 handicapper (which is true! my last round was level par on the Majlis..). At first, my worst fears were realized when I stepped onto the range and started warming up with Hakan's brother's slightly rusty Wilson 8-iron. To quote one my favorite books (A Gentleman's Game by Tom Coyne), "gripping the club for the first time felt like I was holding another man's dick" , colorfully illustrating how awkward it felt swinging after so long. However, I guess when you have practiced something for years and years, it literally gets ingrained into your memory and the very fibers of your muscles, making it impossible to forget. After a few screamers, my fingers just melted into peeling rubber grips and I was instantly transported back to the days where I would practice for hours on end almost every day. Shot after shot, high draw, fade, punch, ripping out consecutive 280+ yard drives that won the gasps of awe of a gawping group of 7 year olds, trying to hit the 50 yard sign and I was once again reminded of how much I love golf.

Nostalgia aside, we finally stepped onto the tee of the Club Aix-Marseille I had just paid 27.50 euros to play. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed at the quality; the fairways provided no roll, the rough was essentially wild grass allowed to grow up to knee length (really punishing any wayward shots) and on the whole, the course was relatively straight forward and plain, rarely displaying any creativity. However, I will concede that the greens were in excellent condition. As for my round, I was actually only 3 over by the time we finished the 12th but I guess I became a little overconfident, royally messing up the next few and essentially killing any chances of a decent score! Hakan and Jon didn't do too badly either but I think I eventually won in the end (we were playing a game based on points that rewarded fairways and greens in regulation).

Nonetheless, apart from the golf, just hanging out with Hakan and Jon (one who I met previously only once in a drunken encounter at IPN and the other that very day) was a real pleasure - it's best described as 4 hours of 'shooting the shit' and guys playing golf, which is always a blast. Again, we only spoke French with each other, even though Hakan is pretty fluent in English. I just realized that between the three of us we really represented a broad diaspora of nationalities! Among the infinite reasons why I love golf, being the reason why I ended up making two great new friends at Aix is definitely one of them! In fact, after the game we met up later to get some beers and watch the Turkey - Germany semi-final at Le Manoir (which, by the way, sells the cheapest girafes , or beer tower at 18 euros)

Seeing as we're on the subject of golf, I might as well break my chronological stream of thought and jump to the other round of golf I played here, again with Hakan and Jonathan, at the Sept Club in Marseille. Not too sure why they picked that name but my guess is because you could literally play with 7 clubs on that course and still shoot a decent round - it's that short! However, it is extremely tight and windy - really reminding me of the Jebel Ali course back home. This time, however, the satisfaction was infinite because I decided to take the 'broke student' image one step further and just sneaked onto the course without anyone seeing -. 18 euros well saved I'd say! Although I do feel a little bad because compared to the last round, this one was definitely worth the money. My actual score was shot to bits due to a few scratches but the highlight was definitely hitting 4 birdies on the last 9 holes! Like last time, it was simply a pleasure to play with the other two, although the experience was slightly tainted by the fact that it was Hakan's last day in Aix before moving back to Sweden.

So with this in mind, after the round we all just headed back to his place, bought some beers and just ended up chilling on the roof of his apartment building, which had a magnificent view of all of Aix, including the cathedral. Sad to see Hakan leave, but at least now I have a valuable contact I can rely on if I ever do end up in Sweden!

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