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the drawers and lots of Christian stuff. I feel a bit strange but the people are nice and it's a perfect location in the heart of town. It's also perfect because it's amazingly cheap and about a 5-minute walk to the golf mall.
Taniya Plaza is a mall in Bangkok with five floors of nothing but golf stores. Guess how many size twelve golf shoes were in that mall? Two. With Jintana's prodding I bought the expensive Mizunos because neither of us could stand the blue camouflage design on the cheaper Adidas. Oh well, probably my last pair and they would keep my feet dry in my early-morning rounds when the grass is wet.
Now, back at North Hill with my new shoes on, I lock the car and go pay green fees. Then I head out to the kiosk that houses the starter and snack stand. Ploy, my caddy, is waiting and today there are no other early golfers. I can wait for almost dawn before I tee off. I use my new swing, hit it pretty well, and do the same on my second shot. Then I chunk one. Damn. I go on to play badly, lots of sideways shots, and by the time it's over I realize my extra distance has cost me three balls in the water. I love golf.
When I finished, a golfer just going out looked at his watch. He couldn't believe I was finished. It was 8:30 a.m.
Afterwards I was supposed to meet my friend John.
John is my age and a better player but I finally put a stop to our games together. He likes to play slowly, asking the caddy where every trap and tree is, the exact distance, then a practice swing or two, then a very careful setting up and a slow swing with lots of wrist break and (this pisses me off no end) great contact.
He has one swing thought which he's repeated about 3000 times in our friendship (I never exaggerate), that if you swing slowly the ball will go farther. Being a blatant contrarian, this only spurs me on to swing faster and harder. My argument is, show me a PGA tour player who swings slowly. I'm 80 years old, and if I swing any slower I'll be at full stop. I haven't compressed a ball in 20 years.
So my theory is to swing hard in case I hit it.
I finally stopped our games because of the speed tug of war. He compromised by going faster, I compromised by going slower, but it was uncomfortable. We still meet for the occasional meal and this morning I finished, went home and showered and then drove to Chez Nous for breakfast. You guessed it, a French bakery with great food. Being a musician I had pesto pasta for breakfast. I told John I was trying to make a better turn on my backswing, and he told me I might want to try swinging slower. 3001.
John is a retired banker, very successful, who started in Canada, lived a few years in Jamaica, and ended up in Australia. He comes to Thailand and Kuala Lompur in the winter months. I've seen pictures of him when he was young, and I'm thinking he was a stud. He also is a mild Trump supporter, so we walk on eggs when we talk politics. We agree on some things, but not on others.