Make it a good walk
Golf is an enjoyable sport as long as there is an element of
exercise involved, like walking, otherwise it’s just a parlour game.
Bukit Jambul Country Club in Penang has issues with members now not allowed to walk the course.
The
phrase “Golf is a good walk spoilt” is often attributed to the famous
American scribe Mark Twain, who was said to have used it to describe his
frustration with the game.
The truth is that Twain, whose real
name is
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, never uttered those words but it seems
a
US magazine in the 1930s attributed the phrase to him because “it
sounded like something Twain would say”.
Regardless of who is the
original author, we golf mortals, who find the simple instruction of
keeping the ball in a straight direction an impossible task, find so
much truth in that phrase.
Even
a demi-god like
Tiger Woods is struggling to keep his game together and
often refers to the present state of his game as military golf because
he keeps hitting the ball left and then right and then left and then
right again – like soldiers marching.
However, all of us continue
to chase after the white dimpled ball because we want to get better at
it and it is probably the only form of exercise we get after hours in
the office. Thus, it’s a good walk spoilt – a good exercise pursuit
interjected by bad golf.
This brings me to the recent controversy
surrounding the Bukit Jambul Country Club in Penang where the
management company running it has decided to ban golfers from walking.
The actual ruling is not a ban on walking but rather that all golfers taking to the course must rent a buggy.
The
clash between the golfers and the club operators – Taiyo Resorts – has
descended into all sorts of battles from name calling at press
conferences to disciplinary hearing against members who opposed the
buggy only ruling which took affect on Feb 1.
It all started when some 100 members voiced their displeasure over the compulsory buggy-use rule at the golf club.
According
to the club’s liaison committee chairman, Stanley Park, from that day
walking hours were restricted to after 5pm (only on Monday and Tuesday).
Many other clubs around the country also restrict golfing to non-peak
hours but none have enforced it as strictly as BJCC.
“However,
the club has already made known to the members of the
Liaison Committee
during one of our regular meetings, that BJCC shall be a full buggy
course as soon as the renovations of the fairways gets completed,” Park
said in an interview.
More than 100 disgruntled golfers protested
at the club on Feb 2, saying the ruling was not suitable due to the way
the course was built as it was designed for golfers to walk and not
intended to be a buggy course.
They also complained about the increase in the buggy rental rates from RM22 to RM37 for the first nine holes.
Taiyo
Resorts’ managing director Datuk Eiro Sakamoto argued that majority of
the club’s 2,800 members did not object to the new ruling and it was
just a few golfers who were making noise.
It cannot be denied
that the “buggy only” ruling is a way for the company to increase their
ancillary income – after all it had promised the state government, which
owns the course an increase in profit.
However, most visitors to
Bukit Jambul would rent a buggy as it is quite a commando course with
hilly and tight fairways that are quite sapping for those unused to such
conditions.
But for golfers, seeking a good workout, Bukit
Jambul is the perfect course to keep fit and to test whether you can
avoid playing Tiger’s military golf.
Making money from running a
golf club is not an easy thing especially when you have a course built
into the top of a hill. Maintenance, I expect, would be high and the
green fees collection cannot be much.
The subscription is just
over RM90 and with 2,800 members, this works out to be RM252,000 per
month. The extra revenue from F&B plus ancillary income like
golf
buggy rental becomes important.
However, the management of BJCC must take cognisance of the importance of walking when playing golf.
It improves your game because it keeps the rhythm going when one walks:
This is how the game is supposed to be played and this way the game finishes faster as the golfer walks straight to the ball.
It improves the fellowship among the flight of golfers because all four of them can walk and talk at the same time.
I hope that the matter can be resolved amicably as golf is a gentleman’s game with proper rules.
So till next month, walk the course and truly enjoy the view.
Keep Walking.. Keep Walking...Keep Walking
Keep Walking.....
Because...
The Organs of your body have their sensory touches at the bottom of your foot.
If you massage these points you will find relief from aches and pains as you can see the heart is on the left foot.
Typically they are shown as points and arrows to show which organ it connects to.
It is indeed correct since the nerves connected to these organs terminate here.
This is covered in great details in Acu-pressure studies.
God created our body so well that he thought of even this.
He made us walk so that we will always be pressing these pressure points and thus keeping these organs activated at all times.
So, keep walking....... LIVE LONGER !!!!!
Golfer or not, you must see this clip...
- http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=aw-nt0eTb2w
It's all in the balance... (He plays off 3!!) And he walks the course!!!!!
Is there something unreal with our fliers at the club?
Hear that members are filing court action for some declaration of rights to play golf the way it was meant to be played?
Perhaps some of you LC members can show this clip to the presiding judge. Thanks
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BJCC Golf Club management Fiasco: challenges ...
BJCC management fiasco: 'Outsourcing not the fair way ...
Golf, a good walking game!
