I attended a Tibetan language course and my teachers were very “official’ in the sense that they thought the official Lhasa Tibetan. It was the Tibetan which is used in official scripts and documents.
It is a great language to learn and it helped me to decipher some of the strange looking characters in Tibetan pechas or sadhanas (those texts that consists of strips of paper that Tibetan monks used in their daily practice and chants). However, I discovered that the words I learnt were never heard when I eavesdropped into their daily conversations.
I soon discovered the reasons for this. First, the Tibetans speak many dialects and it is impossible for the novice to understand anything since words are pronounced differently.
Second, the colloquial Tibetan is often corrupted with the local language. For example in China, Chinese words have crept in. Similarly in India, Hindi words are commonly used. Words like badam, aloo, deema karab are so much a part of the spoken Tibatan that to understand anything, one will need to know some Hindi as well!
In despair I sought the help of my teacher’s wife and charming colleague. I was warned that what I am about to learn cannot be found in the books. I was going to learn corrupted speak. In golf lingo, I was going to slice and hook instead of learning to hit the ball straight.
Know what? Learning to slice was much easier. In a few short lessons, enlightenment dawned. I finally could get little snippets of stolen conversation (not that I understand them)
In conclusion, it is easier to learn to hear how people talk even though it is “unorthodox” language. Like golf, the slice may not be correct golf but it gets the ball going. In fact, it may be more natural. And learning becomes even more fun.

Sean O’Hair posted the lowest score in the first round of the Tour championship last Thursday piping Tiger Woods by a shot. More to this story is the heartwarming feeling behind it.

O’hair credited his good score to a putting tip Tiger gave him during their nine-hole practice the day before. I learnt something too. It seemed he used to de-loft his putter on the takeaway which is something I am also guilty of. This tends to give the stroke a jab on contact with the ball.

I would imagine that this makes the ball skid off rather than roll which should be the proper way to start the ball off. The ball would then tend to keep its line better and the feel of the length if the roll is better.

There is so much good feel in this piece of news. Professional Golf is big money and yet they are sharing tips on how to improve. This selfless sharing is so heartwarming and it happens all the time. It re-affirms my belief that golf is a great gentlemen’s game.

It is exasperating. Many seasoned golfers who have been at the game for decades never ever scored a hole in one. Then one evening, a newbie  flightmate lets loose with what no decent golfer would call a swing on the 13th. The ball swerves off to the right, hits a tree, bumps a greenside sprinkler, hops, rolls, strikes the pin and pops into the cup. Believe that!

It happened to one architect friend. It happened to me too though not as dramatic. I have twice witnessed hole-in-ones. The closest I have come to one was when the ball stopped half way into the cup. If I had stomped a little harder, it just might have gone in.

Hah..golfers’ tales you say. Well..but you have heard it from me. Really, there are ways to score them and maybe what I am about to say may help you.

First, never use the correct club. From what I’ve heard, most hole-in-ones are achieved with clubs you would never have imagined to use. There was this lady in England who did it with a driver on a 105 yarder. That hacker in the tale earlier too used a 3 wood on a 165 yarder. Maybe there is something there-pull out that wood from your bag.

Next, don’t even think of scoring them in competitions where grand prizes are offered. Actually, from what I’ve heard from tournament organizers, they are meant to be teasers. Nobody ever wins them. Yeah?

If you are serious in achieving this feat, try the evening games. By the way, from all I’ve heard they tend to happen more during that time. I have yet to hear of one done in the morning. The best times seems to be when the sunlight is fading. The lack of visibility seems to help in some strange way. I was actually thinking of getting a pair of incorrect foggy eyeglasses. It may work.

Hole-in-oners are generally pensioners. They do it for fun and there seem to be one or two who scores them regularly. I think they have the motivation as seen from the lustful rounds of beers after. You have your doubts too? Me too. Actually I can’t help but suspect that fading memory cells has something to do with it. If you are below 75, hard luck.

There- you have it. Good luck!

Disclaimer : I deny all responsibility for any failure in following these tips.