Golfing with Gary, The Heat and my Birthday...

A few weeks back I was lucky enough to golf in my second tournament here in Dubai and won it. the prize was a round of golf at the Majlis, Emirates Golf Course, a clinic lesson from Gary Player and to golf the 7th hole a par 3 with Mr. Player. I woke up in the morning and I was very excited to be doing all three and to tell the truth even just one of those things would have sent me over the moon. The Majlis course is 250 US to play on it; it is where the Desert Classic is played each year in January. It was a beautiful course and very well designed. I was playing with 3 other guys and one of which is a kid by the name of Matthew Turner who played in the last Desert Classic and made the cut at 17 years old. He was a treat to watch play golf. I had always thought of myself as a bit of a long ball hitter but after watching this kids swing I am a mid range golfer. He was out driving me by 50 yards on every drive and on the long drive hole the winner had me by well over 75 yards. it was unreal to see the club head speed of Matt, and he was in control too which was even more impressive. So I got to the course where we warmed up and hit some balls before the tournament, Gary Player had his Clinic that he talked about some of his accomplishments and how he practices and prepares for a tournament or even a game of golf. He is 73 years old and still does over 1000 sit-ups everyday. He talked about fitness and how obesity is killing the youth of today and even called out a few people in the crowd to tell them that they are killing themselves. I am happy I was not sitting up front when he started to dole out his advice...He said that every amateur should have at least one hybrid in his bag and to get rid of the 3, 4, and even 5 iron if they are not playing 2-3 times a week. he said that everyone should get a weighted club to swing with to get the feel for and also to be able to swing it right and left handed so that you are always balanced in your swing and strength. it was very interesting to see him hit a ball too it was so smooth and effortless. He did talk about Tiger Woods a great deal too in his mental strength is second to none. He talked about anyone who does not have the mental strength and will to win will never succeed in golf or in life. It was a great time and I was really glad to be there to listen to him talk.

We started on the 18th hole as it was a shotgun start I had envisioned all of the best golfers who had ever played on this course standing on this tee box waiting to go after this hole in 2 shots, there is water in front of the green and it is not as easy shot at all. I laid up and got a birdie out of the hole which i was very happy with of course and even Matt Turner said it was a great birdie, always good when a kid almost half your age and being a scratch handicap said he was impressed with your shots. The rest of the round went really well, we were playing a team stable ford so the top two scores on the hole are the ones that counted. Myself and Matt took most of the scores as the other guys were dead weight and the high handicapper in the group could not make a shot to save his life...I am thinking he cried to himself when he was driving his Ferrari home to his model wife. He was a good guy and had more cash then he knew what to do with but could not golf to save his life. It was fun to watch at times. On the 7th hole we got to play the hole with Gary and I have to admit I was nervous to hit a ball in front of him but I blocked everything out when it was my turn and hit a fantastic shot about 8 feet from the pin. Mr. Player threw his hands up and said it was one of the nicest swings he had seen all day and asked me what I played off of. I had told him it was a 14 to which he asked if I was part of the handicap committee where I can give myself a way higher handicap than I am playing off. I smiled and thanked him and then realized that Gary just called me a sandbagger...ha ha good times. The rest of the round went amazing and I walked away with a 81 and 3 putted 4 holes. I was very happy with the golf that day!! We went to the dinner afterwards it was a real feast and I did realize how much money I do not make... I was happy that one of the guys in my group was like me and we hit it off well. Paul Dow had a rough day but he was a rugby player from England so we found lots of things to talk about and even laugh at the fact we did not belong at this event. I did get my name in a Raffle and won a ticket for another raffle where the duty free shop at the airport is giving away a car and only 500 tickets are sold for it, so here is hoping my name gets drawn for that!!

The weather is no jumped to well over 40 degrees every day, while I hear in Alberta it is a balmy 15 degrees most days, I have a feeling I will be shivering for a few weeks when I get back again. I am happy to put up with it though to see everyone again, I am excited to just be back and enjoy the little things that you tend to completely forget about when you get into a daily routine. I know that I will receive no sympathy for the heat but it is something that can be a bit much especially the last few weeks we are here in June, it will be over 50 most days....uggh.

last but not least it is my birthday this week...32... hard to believe that I am in Dubai for it. 10 years ago, which feels like a lifetime I would not have guessed that I would be out of the country in my 30s let alone starting my life and career here has been quite amazing. I have had an amazing last 2 years and really am looking forward to where my life is going to go next.

anyway 6 and a half weeks I will be back in Canada!! I am looking forward to it!