By Alex Kami, NSC Member and Golfing Coach for Collin Morikawa
Bethpage Black, Augusta, Whistling Straits – arguably known for being the most difficult golf courses in the US. Nothing compared to the daunting challenges of the Milpitas Golfland Golf and Country Club. It’s on the bucket list of all golfers, but only a few make the cut. Windmills, castles and pagodas – only those with strong character can face these challenges. That few became the twelve NSCers who got the acceptance letter to enter the 2nd Annual NSC Miniature Golf Invitational Tournament on October 3.
At the opening of the resort, the 12 chosen presented their golden ticket to the chief mini-golfateer, Angie to enter the hallowed grounds. The field was set.
Group 1: Jeanne, Christie, John, Lorraine. Group 2: Curtis, Albert, Janet, Rod. Group 3: Alex, David, Bev, Wendy
The day was set with four themes. Heat, mounds, lunch, Costa Rica.
Let’s start with heat. Silicon Valley experienced a major heatwave that day. At the end of the round, noon, the outside temperature was 99F. Definitely warmer than Costa Rica. Regardless, the twelve marched on, water in hand, and slayed each of the eighteen holes.
Mounds. The resort has three courses. Group 1 and 2 picked course 1 and Group 3 chose course 2 so they could cheat without the other groups noticing. The most difficult holes had a mound with a crater at the top. Think Mount Arenal in Costa Rica. If you don’t hit it perfectly, the speed of the ball will carry the ball out of the crater resulting in costly strokes.
Group 3 had to modify the Rules of Golf. On the green (term used loosely), Alex’s ball was in front of David’s. By rule, furthest out hits first – David. What happens if David hits Alex’s ball? David gets a double penalty (Rule 11.1a). Hmm? Why don’t Alex putt first? Can’t do that since he would put a footprint on David’s line. A Costa Rican player on an adjacent hole advised, “Have you noticed the ground is carpeted, not real grass?” Oh okay, problem solved, Alex can putt first. Note – many brain cells died on this topic. Also note – none in the group brought ball markers.
Our leader, Angie, acted as our referee by going around to each group and clarifying the rules based on each player’s lie. Actually, just taking pictures, and talking about Costa Rica.
In the end, Rod and Janet were the champions of the men’s and women’s flights, respectively. Bev had one confirmed hole-in-one. We reported it to the Costa Rican Golf Association, but they chuckled and didn’t take us seriously.
Once the tournament ended, a celebration banquet was called at the nearby Cheung Hing Seafood Restaurant (no it’s not Costa Rican). In addition to the Golfland survivors, non-mini-golfers Amy, David, and Tony joined us. They wanted to know if mini-golf in Milpitas is any different than in Costa Rica. We didn’t know.
One table was very lucky to have Janet as the unofficial, gracious concierge. Not only did they have more than enough delicious dishes with variety, they were treated to a pastry dish made from durian adding a whole new dimension to their experience. You won’t be able to get this in Costa Rica.
At the end, Jeanne and Angie announced the champions of the tournament. Drumroll please. “The champions are the people going to [you guessed it] Costa Rica!”
Prologue. With all due respect to Costa Rica, we all had a fabulous experience. It would’ve been impossible without Angie spending her time and effort in organizing the event. Let’s give a big shout-out and thanks to Angie!
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