By a not so great golf game. Ask me again, why I love living overseas.
Finally negotiated the trip back from Pusan. Leaving Korea is always nicer than going to it, even if one does have to negotiate the trip to and from two different airports that are far away from where I was or needed to be.
However, this weekend was an adventure to be sure. Our Korean hosts decided that all work and no play makes the Americans very dull boys indeed. (Its a premise I heartily agree with……..). So we were invited to come play golf at “their” course. Now this was a bit of a challenge since I had no shoes for golf nor anything else for that matter (like golf clubs!). Undaunted we accepted. I’m glad we did.
After a very hasty trip over to the closest Lotte Mart ( which seemed to be a nicer version of the Japanese Daei stores) and a quick purchase of a glove, some cheap tennis shoes, and some balls. We showed up at the appointed place at the appointed time. Our Korean hosts took us out to the course, having (I suspect) brow beaten some of their junior folks to give up their clubs for the day so we could use them. Arriving at the course we were met by the hardest working women in Korea that day, the caddies.
Americans, I think, just don’t understand the whole Asian approach to golf. Going to the course is a whole day event-and a leisurely stroll with your friends. Its not a hurry up and catch up with the next group type of event. Second, the movement around many of the courses has been planned and is technologically updated.
Our girl had the bags on the cart in less than 2 minutes. We went in and changed clothes and then proceeded to the first tee. As is the case at many Japanese courses the golf cart was a small remote controlled type that moved along a preset track. The girl simply shuffled back and forth to the cart bringing all four of our clubs at any given time. By the third hole she had my game pretty well dialed in and I stopped trying to choose and just took the club she gave me. I found it interesting that beneath the pink outfit, our caddie was wired like a secret service agent so she could compare notes with her compatriots on the course. This girl spoke fairly good English and I cannot help but think that our hosts and pre-arranged that detail.
The course itself was short with most of the holes averaging 320 yards. Several were iron only holes-something I’m not a fan of, although it was a prudent precaution in a couple of places.
After completing golf-it was into the sauna for a soak (the sauna here is about the same as a Japanese style onsen)-then it was time to change clothes and off to dinner. They took us to a nice restaurant where we ate a very good course style meal-with toasts before each course. It was at the close of this event that I should have called it a night-but some of our Korean compatriots invited us out for drinks and it seemed like a good idea at the time.
It was all down hill from that point. Out we went, out came the shoju,- and out went the lights…………….
Actually, I was lucky. I left early when it became apparent that the goal of the Koreans was to make sure they were the last ones standing. My partner in crime-who works in Korea suggested it would be a good idea-he was quite right. The same cannot be said for my other compatriots who stayed. They were looking more than a little bleary eyed when they got to the bus to the airport the next morning. I know I could have used a few more hours of sleep to be sure.
And now you know why there was no post this weekend.