Today (Wednesday 17th August 2016) was spent at the first day of Women's Olympic Golf and a very nice day it has been too. We got to the venue a bit before 11am. First impressions weren't that impressive - a lot of gravel and a lot of sand. Further on to the actual course it was quite a bit nicer. We quickly realised this was going to be one of the quietest venues we will get to and we took some time for photos by these rings.
We made it to the first tee for the second to last group. We were glad to see there were other spectators there. But after a while we realised a good proportion, maybe even more than half, of the people watching were wearing some sort of accreditation - we could have been in the minority for actually paying for our tickets!
I realised quickly that this was going to be a massive contrast to basketball yesterday. There the mood was make as much noise as possible and there was a DJ mixing tunes. Here there was a list of Do's and Don'ts on the big screen including something like do applaud a good shot in an appropriate manor but don't mockingly applaud or jeer a bad shot. The upshot was that I was scared into not doing anything! But after a while I started to enjoy the quiet of the day.
The final group came out which included the Brit we would be supporting, Charley Hull. She was also with a Swede and a Kiwi (odd bunch of food!). For some reason I didn't really warm to Charley, which is very unfair on her as she did nothing wrong to deserve my reaction and it definitely says more about me than her. Something about her seemed a bit blingy to me. Which was again odd, as I thought very positively towards the golfers clothes in general thinking how modest and comfy they were compared to other sports and even deciding that some of them I could even imagine wearing myself! I also really liked the golf bags finding them very stylish.
Another early realisation was how hard I found it to see the ball after they had hit it! Fortunately either I got better at following it as the day went on, or I just stood in better positions for better angles. I was thinking it was going to be rather a frustrating day if I never saw where the ball went. Also, at least the sky was blue which we guessed might make it easier to see.
There were quite a few ropes around the course so that we didn't walk on the fairway or greens. Sometimes ropes were dropped so we could pass, or ropes were held up so players could get from one hole to another. All in all it wasn't always clear to us where to go to follow the action. We were trying to get to the second green but had reached another area of scrubland beach and as the sixth green was just next to us we decided to stop there and wait for Charley's group to catch up. This turned out to be one of my favourite parts of the day. It was hot all day but fortunately there was usually a gentle breeze. We sat by the green's rope on a slight incline and it was really interesting to watch the other groups arrive, play and move on. We got to see the different size of each groups spectators and entourage. We got to see a lot of putting and also see what the games makers got up to in between groups. Their main job was to hold up the 'Quiet Please' signs as each golfer took their shot. I liked the way they lifted their arms and I had an inward titter at those who seemed to be enjoying their importance - and also their turmoil when someone was walking by making a noise but they themselves couldn't make a noise to shush them; they just had to stare and point their arms intently!
Another interesting observation while we waited was looking at the caddies. I liked picking up clues on the various relationships between caddies and players. There were some female caddies but most seemed to be men. I never did quite work out what they kept in their bib pockets. Both caddies and players got out their notebooks after each hole. I wonder if they were making notes for tomorrow's round or checking up on the next hole.
We picked up the final group and followed them around to the end, only maybe missing a green or a tee off if there was an out and back on a couple of holes. I was surprised how often the three players would hit to within few metres of each other's balls. I guess if you're a pro and know where it's best for the ball to go then you can hit it right there.
Charley seemed to us to miss quite a few birdie opportunities later on but finished the day three under, three shots off the leader so all pretty good. The biggest thrill of the day was the Kiwi getting a hole in two on a par four. We were where she hit it from so didn't see it go in but heard the cheer. The Swede had been leading the group for most of the time but then had a bad end to the round dropping right off.
My summary of the day was that it was relaxed. I had to keep reminding myself that these were Olympic athletes, playing in the Olympics, as they seemed quite regular and relaxed to me. And for us it was a delightfully relaxed day. We walked a little bit, then would stop for a while for three players to eye up their shots and take them, then we'd walk a bit more and often have a sit down at a green. How pleasant! I looked at my watch at one point and was shocked to discover it was already ten to three. By the time I got round to asking John what time he thought it was, it had already leapt without my realising it to quarter to four (John guessed 2 o'clock). The next time I checked on the way to the 18th, another 55 minutes had happened and it was twenty to five. Thanks golf for a nice day. Not dramatic but pleasant!
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