TGM in Hong Kong
 

It seems anywhere you travel you can find friends of LBG!

I'm in Hong Kong on business this month and took the opportunity to meet up with KOC, who has helped feed my increasingly starved golf/TGM addiction! This photo is taken at a driving range in the middle of the city; KOC is on my right and on my left is Kenny, a Hong Kong Henry Griffitts clubfitter.

I also wanted to say thanks to KOC and Kenny for being such gracious hosts; it's been fun hanging out and talking TGM.

Hong Kong is quite the place even for TGM !!!

LBG/TGM friendship around the world
 

bambam,

It is my pleasure and hope you enjoy your golf game in the Hong Kong public golf course next Monday. That is not an easy one...bring more balls there....:laughing9

For the next week before you leave, tongzilla will be with us to hit more balls.

mb6606,

TGM is not popular in Hong Kong...David Leadbetter is...due to his school in Mission Hill and his DVDs

And finally, let me know if any one here will visit this small city.

Small? :)

I think the entire population of the town I live in would fit into one of the MTR trains!

I am sure you will popularize it - I have only been to Hong Kong once - where do people play real golf in Hong Kong? It must be incredibly expensive since there is little land.

We (including me) have 54 holes now for the public...They (rich guys) have a few choice private clubs in HK. And most golfers (also including me) always cross the boarder (China) for more choices.

But even in the huge mother land, it is still incredibly expensive during week end and Sundays (at least HK$1000)...unless you have a membership (at least HK$100,000 up to HK$1,000,000).

For visitors it is even more difficult and more expensive to play. To play in China, visitors have to get a visa, which is about $100 US for a day's pass. There is only one public club in Hong Kong (54 holes designed by Player and Nelson), and you cannot play on the weekend unless at least 50% of your group has HK ID cards. 36 holes (the best ones) of the 54 require a handicap card for all members of your group. As KOC said, there are a few private courses that allow weekday play by non members, but all of these are rather expensive. Even the public course is not cheap; by the time we rent clubs, shoes, and a cart or caddie, we'll be over $1000 HK (approx $130 US). The public club takes up the better part of an island and was the first thing I noticed when we were descending into the city. :) I'm really looking forward to playing; check out these views:

http://picasaweb.google.com/nhbrett/...60022319884114

If you're interested, here's the website for the club: http://www.kscgolf.org.hk/index-e.asp

What about Singapore?
 

If you guys head down to Singapore, give me a buzz. We are only 3 hours from Hong Kong.

Compda,

I always travel 3 hrs for playing golf in China...but Singapore....yes..3 hours by air...:eyes:

Anyway, I will go to find you next year as a trip is planned. Possible not to charge me for golf lesson fee?:laughing9

Sure...if you can out drive me...:happy3:

I have a HK ID card :D but I have never played golf in HK but you are right about it being very expensive.
Good to hear that you enjoyed your trip to HK.
Alex

Dear Alex,

I often saw you name and knew that you must be an Asian...Where are you now?

Thanks...at least you give me a chance....

KOC's clubhead speed 118mph vs. comdpa's 127 mph....

Here is a big question for LBG Pro...of course not asking comdpa...any tips to for me to outdrive comdpa?

Here's the non-LBG Pro answer. He never said you guys had to tee off from the same spot. :) :golf:

It's actually pretty comparable to a nice public course in the states, so no complaints. It's the club, shoe, caddie/cart rental that makes it a little pricey but still within reason. The private clubs here are also inline with guest prices at private clubs in the US.

The really cool thing is that for the past 3 days and the first time this month, we've been blessed with sunshine and no rain. Victoria peak on Saturday evening, Llama island hike yesterday afternoon, and golf today - perfect :)

Business and Pleasure
 

You should never have this much fun on an International business trip...:naughty:

I'm jealous! :salut:

But when you are away from family for over a month, go for it!!!

Until...Tilt :) Game over.

That would be your Business Amex card limit.
That of course is negotiable.

Golf today in Hong Kong, temperature 34-36 degree Celsius...no cart...hilly...bambam will be out of water...Let’s wait for his report…I would like to know how many balls he lost…haha

I won't go into detail about our work schedule the past few weeks, except to say that we earned this weekend. In fact, our CEO ended up covering our golf for today. :salut:

The time away from the wife and boys has been both good and bad, and I am looking forward to heading home this weekend. I sure hope my wife has been taking good care of those new Henry-Griffitts clubs :) you know, pulling them out of the bag and swinging them every now and again...I'm sure they're lonely.

'Hilly' is an understatement for a guy from the flat farm lands of Indiana.

I thought it was hot here until our hike on Sunday - hot was redefined, then I thought it was hot on Sunday until our 1:30 tee time today. 36C (97F), yes, but with 90+% humidity! Up the mountain. Down the mountain. No carts allowed on the north course. Three fairly fit guys; all 3 of us were soaked with sweat before we started, and we had several climbs on our back nine (1-9 since we started on 10) that nearly brought us to our knees. 2+ liters of water and a gatorade - 0 bathroom breaks.

I didn't lose too many balls considering all of the 'hills', water, and on average only 10 yards on either side of the fairway/green before the ball was down the side of a mountain or in some seriously thick, ball eating junk (almost an automatic double). The only excuses :crybaby: I'm going to throw out there are that the banged up, stock Dunlop R-flex, graphite shafted rentals were a far cry from my custom fit, stiff, pured Henry-Griffitts and my x-stiff driver; also, the greens were recently aerated and heavily sanded, which made birdies very hard to come by - only 1 for the group today. I lost 2 balls on the first 3 holes of the back - 1 bad swing and 1 good swing with a bad yardage - dead at the pin, landed about 2 yards on the back edge of the green before rolling down the mountain. By then I had the clubs pretty well figured out and only had one more bogey coming in, including a good par on the tough 450 yard, uphill 9th. The front (10-18) wasn't as friendly, as I struggled with the driver and ballooning irons for the first 5 or 6 holes. I somehow scraped together mostly pars and bogies on the front with one X on the first hole that killed me. I'm not happy with my score, but I'm pretty pleased with the way I gutted out some tough pars and finished strong. Also, I did fare much better than my two playing partners - both on score and lost balls! :) Despite the tough conditions, we had a great time and we all want another crack at that course, however we all agreed that we'll be packing our own clubs next time!!

Here are a couple pictures:


This is the 180 yard 13th (our fourth hole of the day) - lost ball if you're short, left, long, or right, with the wind blowing pretty hard at an angle towards us and the water on the left. Unless you're a lefty, I don't recommend a high, ballooning draw here as you will probably lose a ball like I did. :)



Don't remember the exact hole number, but this was after a pretty good climb and overlooked several holes. This shot shows a deceptively open course, as the landing areas were almost always tight. I thought it was a well designed, fun course.


Another one showing the elevation changes - check out the hole behind the clubhouse.

bambam,

I knew that you would "enjoy" our north course.:laughing9

See you this week before you leave HK.

And its gotta be straight...I can't do 120-127 anymore. That was when I was swinging out of my socks. Now my stock is about 115 so I guess you will be ahead of me.:)

Hi Koc,

I was born in Glasgow, Scotland and have lived here all my life. My parents are originally from Hong Kong hence why I have a HK ID card...makes life a lot simpler when going through customs :D
Alex

I see...so when you have chance to come back, please drop me a message and we can have G.O.L.F.