By Jill McGill
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF
I’M BACK FROM A LONG WEEK in Singapore. I would have written yesterday [Monday] but the toothpicks I was using to hold my eyes open didn’t work. I was well into REM shortly after returning home.
It seems as though we were almost exactly halfway around the world last week. Singapore is an awesome place. I have been fortunate to visit there three times and it is still as amazing as it was in 1995. I have never been somewhere so clean. The rest of the world should take a few pointers from Singapore.
One of my favorite things upon arriving is the warning you receive on your embarkation papers that drug trafficking is punishable by death. They aren’t messing around!
Singapore is one degree north of the equator, making it a very sweltering place. I like to think I’m in pretty good shape, but somehow I couldn’t shake the big, fat, sweaty gorilla that jumped on my back every day with about six holes left. I was actually left a little baffled. I think it was virtually impossible to drink enough liquids to counter the heat. This fair-complected girl isn’t made for spending hours in the sun at that latitude.
HSBC did a wonderful job with the hospitality. Our hotel was beautiful and the amenities fantastic. The gym was packed with golfing and caddying gym rats all week. It would be terrific if these sort of facilities were available every week. The food was moderate to good, but didn’t leave me needing anything. And, I want to give a shout out to the AWESOME physio therapists that helped out more then half the field last week. They have hands of magic.
You may be able to tell I have been avoiding writing about the heart of the matter last week … golf. The course was adjacent to the airport, and let’s just say at times I wish I had a 007 gadget that I could have attached to one of the jumbo jets that would lift me off the links and into the sky.
I don’t know how to accurately describe the feelings I had while attempting to make birdies last week. It was somewhat alien. There were a few bright spots, and I believe that with every week there are always positives to take away.
Some I like to keep to myself, and others I’m happy to share. So, the one I’m happy to share is quite obvious: I have nowhere to go but up! So, maybe that is why I was having daydreams of flying.
I know what I need to work on and feel extremely determined to improve. The good news is I have a plan. I’m intending to execute. The next time I write I fully expect to be in a better place.
Congrats to Jiyai Shin. She played awesome and is a great representative for our tour. If you get a chance, look her up. She is a character.
Oh, another highlight for me last week was finding some really cute golf skirts. Woo-hoo!!
For more on Jill, visit JillMcGill.com or see the recent mini profile at ARMCHAIR GOLF.
Great stuff…thanks, Jill and thank you Armchair Golf for giving her a place to enlighten those of us who only dream of living such a life.
Love hearing from Jill. She is most funny, a sincere writer AND an amazing golfer. It is humbling to hear struggles from such a great athlete. I will be rooting for her and anxiously awaiting more of her inside scoop here.
Next time, I want to know where she found her new skirts and if Mr. Mickelson should wear white belts. ;o)
Heather: I think we also need to start talking about yellow belts now. That’s what Camilo wears.
Good point! Why limit ourselves? I think I even saw Camilo in orange shoes and matching belt last year. Clearly someone needs to start compiling this important data for future use. I’ll try to get it done at my shop.