Does finishing 2nd count as a defeat? In some circles it may, but when you win a big white shoe bag adorned with pink and purple ribbons, it sure feels like a great victory. And that was the case for me in December with golf at the Spring City Golf and Lake Resort in Kunming, the aforementioned prize, additional prizes for winning closest-to-the-pin contests in two consecutive chances, and generally having a great time with playing companions of the best sort. I was at Spring City to speak at a turfgrass management conference. A full report of this conference, in Chinese, is available here, or a summary can be found here in English.