Bipolar

I play two diametrically different sports – badminton and golf.

Although all I’ve done in golf is mostly on the range and just 36 holes on the course, I’ve come to realise the amount of mental energy and concentration needed to be good in it. It’s a very solitary game. Range is a very solitary thing. Weekday nights and weekend afternoons you see many people going to the range on their own, carefully examining their stance, posture, position of the ball, grip and head and a whole hosts of things. If you hit a good shot, you smile to yourself and maybe pretend to take a break but really you’re looking around to see if anyone saw you hit that great shot. If you hit a bad shot, you curse and also look around to see if anyone saw you.

Edward Murphy correctly observed that when the latter happens, someone would surely have seen it.

On the course, you’re playing against yourself. No one’s giving you evil stares, no one’s standing on the opposing side. You and your club against the holes. And your objective is to get the most negative score than the others.

Badminton is very different. It involves smashing and trickery. It involves looking at your opponent in the eye, with the implied desire to smash hard and fast or drop a shot so delicately.

Badminton is one of the fastest racquet games in the world. Simply because the “ball” doesn’t need to bounce on the ground like tennis, table tennis or squash. Golf is painfully slow at times.

I think many would be bewildered by this post, bordering on obsessive. But well, it’s my blog.