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December Golf Report

How should I phrase this? In December, I was less undefeated than I would have liked. In fact, I was less undefeated than at any time in recent memory. In fact, in singles matches I may have been completely defeated. I did, however, make a number of impressive birdie dances at some of the finest golf courses in Southeast Asia. 

Did you notice that the birdies come preponderantly on one-shot holes or in pool halls? If you saw my drives this month, you wouldn't be surprised. I was featured prominently in this month's issue of Golf Today magazine, but clearly not for my golfing prowess. 

So what lies ahead for 2012? A few visits to the driving range are in order. And I'll be starting with a clean slate, undefeated and untested from 1 January, so this will be another chance for that elusive undeafeted year. 

August Golf Report

What a month! I won four matches to start before losing my fifth and final match of August. Yesterday I was soundly defeated in a high-stakes match at one of Japan's finest courses. Next week I'll be paying off the bet, and I hesitate to go into all the details, but I can say that it involves ramen. 

August started with sartorial elegance on a cerulean morning at Higashi Hirono. Two birdies on the day, with accompanying dances, and I was optimistic that I would have another undefeated month. I won the next day at Yamaguchi, and then again in a hard-fought 2&1 victory at The Orchard that we celebrated into the evening.

Then it was back to Japan, and a truly dominating performance in the mountains of Nagano, with three birdies on the fast bentgrass greens of Minami Tateshina Golf Course. 

So when I teed it up yesterday, I was expecting another birdie-filled performance and another victory to close out the month. But I won't make excuses. If I were to be so mean, I might say that I should not have stopped after nine holes to have soup, and salad, and wagyu beef served with daikon and soy sauce. Maybe I shouldn't have had the ice-cold jug of Asahi with the beef at 10:30 in the morning. Perhaps the coffee after my mid-round meal caused my paroxysmal tee shot on the 10^th. Maybe I should have asked to see my opponent's handicap card before I agreed to play him at scratch. Maybe I should have brought a full set of clubs. 

With more big matches coming up in September, and then the Micah Woods Invitational in October, I must make a rapid recovery from this stunning loss.

Insights Into Golf, Life, and Turfgrass

It has been pointed out from many corners that I have been making a lot of birdie dances recently. I'll personally take a lot of the credit for that, but I also want to share with you a new philosophy that is helping me to make incredible breakthroughs in my golf and in my turfgrass work. 

That philosophy? A simple (perhaps too simple?) one:

“it's not rocet science”

I'm not quite sure what that means, but ever since I was introduced to this philosophy at a sporting goods shop in Sannomiya, I've made birdie after birdie, and breakthrough after breakthrough in my attempts to produce more incompehensible bubble charts and heat maps.

I presented the interactive and animated bubble charts in a seminar at University of the Philippines Los Baños last week, at the invitation of Dr. Amihan Arquiza. This seminar was actually a double debut, as this was also my first time to wear my new tie from Barneys New York. Taste, luxury, humor — Barneys New York is … a mecca for discerning fashionistas and clothing connoisseurs since 1923. Of course it is. This is not rocet science, after all. 

Nor is the birdie dance.

March Golf Report

My record this month was four wins in four matches. I'm undefeated in the first quarter of 2011. In fact, I'm undefeated since early November of last year. And perhaps I am feeling a little bit of pressure, because I fell behind in each of my matches before storming back for decisive victories. 

My match at Sta. Elena GC was long over (I won 6&5) by the time I reached the par-5 17^th hole and blasted this 3-wood shot more than 220 yards across the chasm and over the green, nearly missed chipping in for an eagle and settled for an easy birdie. I would go on to win 4&3 at The Orchard the next day despite falling 3 down early in the match. 

My next match was at Siam CC's Plantation Course, and despite losing the first hole I came back to win 8&7 against a woefully over-matched opponent. My score on the front 9 nearly matched his extensive list of excuses (37 at last count). Of course more than 40 hours on planes, no sleep, rental clubs, jet lag, heat, sweat, unfamiliarity with caddies, not having played for weeks or months, and sundry other excuses were all employed in an attempt to throw me off my game at this challenging course (see below!) but all to no avail; I won the press 6&5.

And then it was on to Thai CC, one of the best courses in Thailand, for a match on a windy spring day against the formidable John Kim.

I played, perhaps, my best round of the month this day, and by the back 9, even Mr. Kim's caddie was exulting in my fine shotmaking. By the time I calmly rolled in a twisting birdie on the 17^th and then nearly birdied the 18^th as well, the match was long over. And so was my golf for the month, as I returned to my work and considered my match schedule for the upcoming months.

In which I encounter an old Acquaintance

You may recall that I won a large trophy last November at the Chairman's Cup in Boracay. But I did not bring the trophy to Thailand with me after the staggering victory. This trophy's large size and the sheer mass of the crystal atop the plinth cause logistical problems for the traveler.

It was thus with great affection that I made a reunion with my trophy last week at the first quarterly meeting of the Philippine Turfgrass Association. I'll save the details of my recent play for this month's golf report, but I can hint that, as regards the trophy, "I saw no shadow of another parting from her."

Too full of Adventure to be briefly described

I have traveled to six countries this month, getting on an airplane once every 54 hours (on average) and staying at hotels from the waterfront at Kota Kinabalu to the noisome streets of Kowloon and to a surprisingly quiet Kanda last week. I returned to Thailand in the early morning hours today and have three consecutive days here before my next departure. 

At Vietnam last week I had the opportunity to take this interesting photograph with Tiger Song, the principal of Korea's Songho Golf Design Group. We smiled as we imagined the mirthsome headline Tiger meets Woods. 

In addition to the advisory and research work that took me to Malaysia, Philippines, Hong Kong, and Vietnam this month, I also went to Japan to teach about turfgrass science in full-day seminars at Tokyo and Osaka. One of the challenges in giving seminars in Asia is that the handouts and other presentation materials must invariably be translated well in advance of the seminars. By the time of the actual seminars, we have a lot of fun. 

And the bow tie adds a rakish flair to the proceedings, doesn't it? 

My Contribution to Global Warming

I flew nine times in the past six days, from Bangok to Saigon to Dalat, then from Dalat to Saigan to Bangkok, from Bangkok to Brunei to Kota Kinabalu, then from Kota Kinabalu to Brunei to Manila, and finally back to Bangkok. The Mount Kinabalu Golf Club at Sabah sits at the base of the 4095 meter Mt. Kinabalu. One could understandably be mistaken for thinking this golf course is in Europe or Canada rather than on the island of Borneo.

From Malaysia I went to the Philippines and made a quick visit to the Anvaya Cove project in Bataan to watch the sunset over the South China Sea and to inspect the grass on the three holes already planted at this exciting new golf and resort community. 

Then it was back to Thailand and a trip to Nakhon Ratchasima for Isaan food and some inspection of grasses growing there. There are wild elephants at Khao Yai, and I expect that the Pittsburgh Steelers defense will be as powerful as a herd of wild elephants in the upcoming Super Bowl.

I couldn't return to Bangkok without an obligatory photo in the sunflower fields. That was my week, in short. I now intend to stay domiciled for a week to reduce my carbon footprint. 

Songwriting and an Icon of Philippine Culture

You've heard by now that I made an eagle and two birdies in a tournament round at Boracay in November, winning a behemothian trophy and subsequently taking a hiatus from golf to indulge my other interests. Such as my failed attempt at songwriting.

What you may not have heard is that I celebrated my championship with a legendary songwriter and an icon of Philippine culture, Danny Javier. Composer of such hits as Bakit ang Babae, Pumapatak ang Ulan and Kaibigan, Javier is one of my favorite artists and it was a thrill to meet him.

November Golf Report

I'm still basking in the refulgence of my stunning victory at Boracay. But it would be remiss of me to omit the two small defeats that offset my three gigantic wins in November. First I lost to Pirapon Namatra in a nine hole match at Thailand at the wonderful new nine holes at Bangsai Country Club. That defeat reminds me that although he has twice beaten me in nine hole matches on courses he designed, I cannot remember the last time he beat me in an eighteen hole match.

I beat Tim Walker at cliffside Poro Point (the best nine hole course in Asia) before losing to him in a match among the pine trees at Camp John Hay.

My feats at Boracay in which I defeated Nicer Landas, and then the field, are already well documented and it would be gratuitous of me to describe those eagles, birdies, and the resulting victories again.

Recently I have turned my attention to other pursuits. By day, rock surfing. At night, uranography. Reflections on female pulchritude. Geographic and ecological influences on the distribution of grasses. Songwriting. Trainspotting. The types of activities that one naturally undertakes during such a period of refulgence.

The Manny Pacquiao of Golf: Part 2

After finishing my training at Baguio and the practice round at Boracay, I took a break from golf and went searching for balut on the beaches and backroads of the island. Like Manny Pacquiao, I am a big fan of balut. Is this the performance enhancing drug that Mayweather accuses Pacquiao of ingesting? Let me just say that the balut certainly helped my performance and I am glad it is legal in the Philippines.

So that brings us to the day of the main event, the 11^th Chairman's Cup. Even with the benefit of my Baguio training (like Pacquiao), and the lingering effects of the balut (so very like Pacquiao), and the reassurance of having Nicer Landas in my corner, I remained a bit nervous. And that showed on the first few holes, as I managed a par at the 1^st but added double bogeys on the 2^nd and 6^th. Then, just like Pacquiao, my skill and training paid off as I ran through a spectacular stretch of pars and birdies (and even added an eagle!) on the most challenging section of the course.

By the time I reached the 16^th tee, it was all about enjoying the view and savoring the few remaining shots on my way back to the clubhouse. Much like Pacquiao did in the Margarito fight, I eased off at the end, as the match was clearly over. I didn't add a birdie after the 13^th; there was no need for me to punish the course any more.

Like Pacquiao I celebrated the victory with a party that evening, and like Pacquiao, when I returned to Manila there was another round of celebrations. Some people have asked me what comes next after this, what match can I take on now that will really challenge me? I'm going to leave that up to my managers. But I will say that I may not play another match until 2011. Pacquiao returns to politics after his fights, and I return to science.

I look forward to a November weekend in Boracay next year when I will defend my championship. I'll be training hard over the next year and expect to be in fine form again by the time of the Chairman's Cup. And if you want to beat me, you may need balut, a Baguio training program, and that je ne sais quoi that only rarely shows itself in my opponents but is so much a part of my game.

I would go on to celebrate with an icon of Philippine culture, but that is another story, for another time.