For All You Golfers

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Many of you will laugh when you learn that I have taken up the game of golf again. No I am not under duress! Go figure! I am playing with Munira (who is an addict and very good player) and a friend Sheila from the UK. There is a nine hole golf course here in Kisumu right along Lake Victoria - the Nyanza Club - with a couple of extra greens and tee boxes - to mix it up a bit for 18 holes. I am using Amin Gilani’s clubs (Munira’s husband) and have become quite fond of his big bertha driver in addition to a Calaway five hybrid wood! Actually I have no idea what the club is but it is amazing out of the rough and strategically placed bunkers! This is a links style course….and the rough is a killer - machete material! The course has been trying to expand the last number of years but they are in constant battle with the local squatters and the vegetation. A tee box or green is created and then it disappears - literally! Sometimes a pin also disappears. You’ll love the hippo, crocodile and safari ant rules of play! You can drop another ball, penalty free if you encounter any of the above. - of course well out of range of the so called obstacle!!! I’ve learned you don’t mess with safari ants - they bite on mass and can almost pick you up and carry you away -- ouch! I am quite taken with the Sausage Trees!

We play early in the morning (8 am) or later in the day (5 pm) because of the heat. And it is mandatory to have a caddy. I’ve been able to pick up a temporary club membership for 1000 shillings - about $16 for the month. I am now the 5th women player at the club. And for each 9 holes the caddy gets 150 shillings ($2.40) plus a pop! Young lads hang about the club and many of them are very good golfers - will sometimes be sponsored by a member so they can play. My caddy yesterday, Frances, was very knowledgeable about the game and was quite helpful with tweeking my swing. He got my swing pretty quickly. If I missed a shot…I would hear quietly that I need to slow my swing down - sound familiar???? Too funny! So I was off today to buy a golf glove and balls...the balls were more expensive than the glove. I may have to buy some used balls that local kids fish out of the water hazards. Sheila and I play again today at 4:30 if the rain stops! Cheers All!

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Comments

[Sheila]

Incredulous
They grow on Trees there??!!