Golf's aces

This year’s edition of the Alta Vista Christmas Fun Golf Classic teed off yesterday and will run until tomorrow.

This is the first time that the event is running for three days, but participants will only play two rounds within the period.

I played my first round yesterday, teeing off shortly after the fairways were visible during sunrise.

With the course playing shorter as the white tees were used, good scores are expected, but since players will have to play two rounds, this will still boil down to who will be very consistent.

At stake for a hole-in-one are a Kia Carens, a residential lot, a trip to Singapore, first bet coupons from Casino Filipino, a Yamaha golf cart and a Yamaha motorcycle.

These prizes have been assigned to specific holes, but as always due to the requirements of the insurers of the hole-in-one prizes, the par-3s are playing a little longer with the pins placed all the way back.

While the players will always complain about how difficult the pin placements are or how far back the tees have been stretched, scoring an ace is still mainly luck more than skill.

In my many years of writing golf stories, I’ve come across aces that surprised even those who scored them.

There was one instance when the golfer got so mad at his caddy because they could not find his ball, which struck a tree. He was forced to play a second shot and when they reached the green, it turned out that they were looking in the wrong places for his original ball, because it was in the cup.

There are those aces made by shots that have been topped, but the ball still managed to roll into the hole like they have a mind o their own.

There are those that spun back in and many that rolled forward into the cup.

I have also heard so many stories of near aces, which actually mean nothing, but the guys can always brag about what could have been.

As of yesterday afternoon, I did not get any word about any ace scored, but there are two more rounds to play and anything can still happen.

Maybe the insurance companies would realize that they are overcharging for premiums had they seen how badly many of us played the par-3 holes hehehe…

The award rites of the tournament will be held tomorrow evening. This is the time when players with limited golf skills get most of their reasons to play again. That is if they win big prizes in the raffles.

Ask those who have been playing for many years and they’ll tell you that from the giveaways and the raffle prizes that they have taken home, they could have already opened an appliance store.

My good friend Rolando Alberto even told me at the locker yesterday morning that he hasn’t been buying shirts anymore as he gets so many from the tournaments.

Let’s keep playing!

* * *

MILESTONES: Advance birthday greetings to those who are turning a year older tomorrow like my Tao brother Mark Leo Chang and Lucille Ballori.

Advance greetings also to my cousin Rolando Q. Acas of Acas Elektrik Corp., who is celebrating on Monday.

More power to all of you! -  THE FREEMAN