Nearer is not easier

Insurance companies usually require a minimum distance of 150 yards from the tee mound to the hole when they insure prizes put on line for a hole-in-one in golf tournaments.

The reason is obvious. It makes it more difficult for the players to get their ball, which has a diameter of not less than 1.68 inches into that cup that has a diameter of 4.25 inches. 

To the non-golfers, the game is plain stupid. To those who have picked up a golf club and started hitting that small white bedimpled orb, it is a challenge that is most enjoyable.

Last weekend, my fellow organizers of the Christmas Fun Golf Classic at Alta Vista decided to tweak two of the par-3 holes since none of the prizes put on line for an ace were insured.

The tee mound on the 2nd was put at about 90 yards and since it is a downhill hole, you need to hit your shot about a little over 80 yards.

On the 13th, the tees were 81 yards away.

To make it more interesting, the holes were about 10 inches in diameter. 

The length from the tee and the size of the holes were supposed to make a hole-in-one easier to score. After two days of competition and with close to 300 players trying their luck, nobody managed to hit an ace.

In fact, many missed the green. I asked one of the top golfers of the club, who spends a lot of hours on the driving range if he practices hitting 80-yard shots, he said he doesn’t.

This proves the insurance companies wrong. Or maybe we were just so amazed at how short was the hole that we got too excited and hit our shots too fat or skulled the ball.

But it surely was easier to hole out once you get to the green, but not necessarily a guarantee you won’t three-putt.

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With only a few more days to go before Christmas, you might want to share some of your extras to those who have less in life.

The Cebu City Sports Commission started a project early this year asking for extra sports gear and equipment that might be lying somewhere in your homes that can be used by the less privileged.

The call has been answered by many including Southwestern University, which donated several sports gear that have been in their inventory for a long time, but had never been used.

Maybe you might want to do something sporty this Christmas so don’t hesitate to visit the office of the CCSC inside the Cebu City Sports Center.

Our executive director Brando Velasquez and the rest of the staff would be happy to receive to donations that will be used for the grassroots development program.

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MILESTONES: Belated birthday greetings to my mistah Stephen Parreño, who turned a year older last Monday.

The same goes to those who celebrated yesterday like my aunt Maluth Cabalit, my Tao brother Mark Chang, Lucille Ballori, and Tess Chan.

Today’s greetings go to my cousin Rolando Q. Acas of Acas Elektrik, Fr. Landz Pizza and CC101. The same goes to my fellow PSIS-7 board member Glenn Java, Lt. Col. Noel Baluyan of the Phil. Army, and GMA-7 Cebu’s Suzanne Salva-Alueta.

Congratulations also to my golfing partner, Lt. Gen. Jessie Dellosa, who was installed as the 43rd Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines last Monday.

More power to all of you! - THE FREEMAN