Student Profile - Part I

This week I would like to introduce you to one of my students, a man by the name of Henryk Mazur. Originally from Poland, Henryk has lived and worked in a variety of countries all over the world and is currently based in South Korea. Henryk is one of the most interesting people I have ever met and his story is one I would like to share with you.

I first meet Henryk in the lobby of our golf club’s hotel. He had just arrived on his flight from Korea. His reason for coming to Shanghai was threefold. He wanted to learn how to play golf, lose weight, and educate himself on living a healthy lifestyle. It was an unusual request to hear from a student, but I saw this as an excellent opportunity to help Henryk achieve something special. Weeks before his arrival, I had prepared an extensive program that we would follow during his visit in Shanghai. Henryk was like a small child on Christmas morning, filled with excitement as I revealed the week long plan I had prepared for him.

Later that evening, I took Henryk to enjoy a wonderful dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse. This might sound like the worst decision for someone wanting to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle, but I quickly pointed out that the key for success is establishing balance, and sometimes there are reasons to celebrate. I wanted to celebrate the start of a good week together, and the start of our friendship. We allowed ourselves to indulge that first night, knowing that when we woke the next day, it was time to get to work.

For the next week our routine was very consistent. We started early in the morning with a workout at the club’s gym, followed by a healthy breakfast and a few hours of golf instruction. After breaking for lunch, we then went back to the range for more lessons. Finishing in the late afternoon, we then ventured into the city for dinner. Our evening meal varied each night, sometimes eating Western food and sometimes Chinese, but we focused on our goal of eating healthy fresh meals. After the end of each action-packed day we rewarded ourselves with a full body massage at the local studio. Costing a mere 60RMB (about 8.75USD) for a full hour, it’s almost a sin not to take advantage of this while visiting China.

After finishing his week training, Henryk was feeling healthier, achieved a life-long goal of learning to play golf, and lost 3kg in the process. He returned to Korea with a new level of self-confidence and maintained his healthy lifestyle back in Korea. Just three weeks ago, Henryk came back to Shanghai for a second visit. Having lost an additional 7kg, Henryk was looking great and wanted to learn more golf and get ready for his first 18 hole round on the course.

During his two visits to Shanghai, I was able to teach Henryk a lot of things about living a healthy lifestyle and in return I was able to learn a lot from Henryk’s vast experiences in Asia. Henryk’s work as an engineer is very specialized as he travels around the world completing 3-6 months contracts at various facilities. The result is he has lived and worked in nearly every Asian country at some point over the last 20 years. I loved hearing his stories and learned a lot from his experiences. Henryk further enhanced my knowledge and taught me a lot about dealing with Asian cultures. Despite not being able to speak any oriental languages, Henryk has a wonderful way of communicating through his vibrant expressions and unchanging positive attitude. This was something I realized I wasn’t doing, as sometimes the frustrations of China would result in me getting irritated and losing my temper. Henryk pointed this out to me and after spending a week with him, my experiences in dealing with the Chinese improved tremendously.

Despite only knowing each other a few months, Henryk and I already have a great friendship. We've helped each other out and serve as a source of motivation for one another. On Henryk’s final day in Shanghai, I took him to play his first 18 holes of golf. He played great for a first-timer and was there when I made the double eagle “2” on the Par 5. It was a special day for the both of us, and we both agreed it was destiny that I hit that rare shot during his first round of golf. Afterwards I invited Henryk out to dinner to celebrate my “Double Eagle”. We went back to where it all started enjoying a bottle of red wine and steaks at the Brazilian restaurant, a truly fitting ending to his second visit to Shanghai.

"Welcome to the Blog"

Welcome everyone and thank you for taking time to visit my blog! Over the past three weeks I have been gathering information and preparing this website to share with you all. My plan is to make a new entry at least once a week with the main goal of this project to stay better connected with friends and family back home and all over the world.

I have already published three posts for you to read. The three posts cover my two most recent trips in China along with a special round of golf I played two weeks ago. For now most of the content will be golf related, but as I continue to make more posts I will start mixing in some other content to do my best to give you all a good overview of the life I live here in China.

Please enjoy the following posts and I'll write again soon!

Shot of a Lifetime

This past week I experienced one of the most exciting shots of my golfing career. I took one of my students out to play a course in Shanghai called “Yin Tao”. The 13th Hole at Yin Tao is a 520-yard dogleg right Par 5. After hitting a nice drive down the fairway, I was left with 220 yards to the hole. Yin Tao’s 13th hole features an island green, surrounded by water on all sides. I hit my second shot toward the middle of the green, but because of my angle from the fairway and a few trees in front of me, I lost track of the ball and did not see it land.

As we began approaching the green, my caddie and I disagreed on where my ball landed. She felt I hit it short and began looking for it near the water hazard. I knew I hit the shot well and proceeded to the back of the green to begin my search for the ball. We both looked for a couple minutes before I casually strode by the hole, taking a slight glance inside. I was absolutely astonished to find my Taylormade golf ball sitting inside the hole!

I holed out my second shot from 220 yards to score a “2” on the par 5! In golf this is called an “Albatross” or “Double Eagle” and is the rarest shot in golf. Not knowing how to say this in Chinese I asked my caddie what the Chinese name is and she replied that in her six years of working at the club, she had never seen one before and also did not know what it was called. (I have since learned that albatross in Chinese is “Xin Tian Weng”).

I still have not recorded a “Hole-in-One”, but an albatross is much harder to achieve. After “googling” them both I learned that every year over 40,000 hole-in-ones are recorded every year in the US, while only a couple hundred “albatrosses” are reported each year. I’m so happy I put my camera in the bag that day, as I was able to capture a classic picture to go along with this post. My greatest shot in golf…. so far! Enjoy the picture and more to come soon!

Nine Dragon Mountain

This past week I had the pleasure of traveling with a few students to play a new golf course located about 1.5 hours south of Shanghai. The course was built inside a National Park bordering the Bay of Hangzhou, an inlet of the East China Sea. The National Park and golf course share the same name of “九龙山” which directly translated means “Nine Dragon Mountain”. Most of Shanghai’s golf courses are very flat and have very few elevation changes. This was not the case for Nine Dragons. Literally carved from the side of a mountain, the course features a variety of slopes and hills, and was a very fun, challenging test of golf.

The front nine begins with a series of holes directly next to the ocean. Wind is a major factor on these holes, as a stiff ocean breeze comes into play. The 3rd hole is a beautiful, Par 3 with the Bay of Hangzhou serving as a beautiful backdrop. You continue to play around the lighthouse before returning to the mountains for the back nine.

The back nine features many elevation changes and several picturesque holes. I have included some pictures of some of the views one can see while playing the course. Nine Dragons is a private club and a very unique concept in China. In addition to its 18-hole championship golf course, Nine Dragons also has a regulation size polo field, complete with a state of the art horse stable facility. Given its ideal location on the ocean, the club also has a harbor and yacht club. The club’s biggest drawback is its distance from the city, but its makes a perfect day trip or weekend getaway from Shanghai. Definitely one of the more interesting courses I have played in China, this course was a treat, looking forward to teeing it up there again soon.

Golf Holiday in Kunming

This past month I had the opportunity to take a golf holiday and travel to the city of Kunming. Often referred to as the “City of Eternal Spring”, Kunming features some beautiful scenery and is well known for its year-around “Spring-like” weather. I had a former colleague and good friend join me for the trip as we managed to play five rounds of golf during our three-day journey.

Day One began with a visit to the Spring City Golf Resort. Known as one of the top golf resorts in Asia, the resort was built in the early 90’s by a Singaporean businessman and features two championship golf courses. The two courses are the "Lake Course" and "Mountain Course" and are consistently ranked by Golf Digest as the top 2 courses in all of China. Here's a breakdown of the first four pictures starting with the top left.

1. Overview of the "Lake Course" as seen from the 1st hole green, just beautiful.
2. Playing a round with my good friend and the legendary "Ladies Man" Sean Kennedy
3. The "Lake Course" signature hole, built directly on the red clay shore of the lake
4. The signature hole of the Jack Nicklaus designed "Mountain Course" a beautiful Par 3 over water



Day Two started with a visit to "Sunshine Golf Club". Located on the outside of the city, Sunshine was another well-conditioned golf course that provided some beautiful views of downtown Kunming. We had the opportunity to play with one of the club's members who took us for a nice local dinner our first night in Kunming.

After our morning round there, we traveled across the city to play another course called “Lakeview Golf Club”. Designed by the famous English player Nick Faldo, Lakeview was a very flat and simple course that reminded me of the golf courses back in Central Florida. Probably the most unique feature was the presence of large floodlights on every hole, allowing us to play the course well after sunset.

Our final day in Kunming landed us at the city’s first golf club. Built in 1992, Kunming Country Club was an older club that had a old time country club feeling. We were the only ones eating breakfast in the clubhouse, and pretty much played the entire 18 holes without seeing to many other golfers. It seems most of Kunming's golfers opt to play the newer courses in the city, but this course was still a pleasure to play and fitting way to cap off our golf trip to Kunming.

Overall the trip was brief but very action packed. Five courses in three days with two nights of taking in the local nightlife caught up with me, as I was pretty exhausted arriving back into Shanghai. Here's the breakdown on the last 4 photos:

1. Overview of Kunming's Sunshine Golf Club as seen from the 8th tee box.
2. Beautiful Tee Shot on the #14 hole with the city in the backdrop.
3. Playing "night golf"at Kunming's Lakeview Golf Club.
4. The signature hole of the Kunming Country Club, so peaceful in the countryside.