Thursday, January 11, 2007 Chiongbian: Cebu’s 10 busiest days By Edgar R. Chiongbian Teetime
WELCOME to the 12th Asean Summit. It is finally here and it’s crunch time.
Today begins the 10 busiest days that Cebu has yet to experience. It’s may be the first time but certainly not the last. So guys, deal or no deal, get used to it or move to another city. But hey, it will not hurt to complain because that is self-therapy.
Today is also the start of the religious celebration of Sinulog that was opened with a 4 a.m. procession this morning from Fuente Osmeña to the Basilica, and signals the beginning of the nine days novena for the Santo Niño.
In last year’s Sinulog, everyone went out to celebrate on Saturday and Sunday that it seemed all the cars, vans, jeeps, jeepneys, taxis, motorcycles, tricycles, bicycles, trisikads, push carts, strollers etc. were on the road. Traffic was so bad that the roads looked like a huge parking lot. This will be our norm for the next 10 days so don’t fret about the traffic; it will be there whether you like it or not.
For the golfers, it is one week before the Coral Invitational golf tournament of Cebu Country Club, otherwise called the Coral Tee. Too much wet weather you say? You are right but this is the best time to practice and improve your game. Many good golfers force themselves to play golf on bad weather for the opportunity to practice under difficult conditions. You might not agree with this but if you give it a try, it could make you a better golfer and on any weather condition.
Coral Tee is the signature member-guest golf tournament of Cebu Country Club and is the biggest golf tournament outside of Manila. The format of the tournament is the two-man team playing two days on the Modified Stableford scoring system. The tournament starts next Wednesday through Saturday, which is a free Sunday to watch or attend the Sinulog “Mardi Gras” parade.
Practice rounds for the Coral Tee are next Monday and Tuesday. You can play even if your partner is not present. Tee times for the tournament will be posted this weekend and the invitations are available at the CCC office for more information about the evening functions.
This year’s Coral Tee has on the block a Grand Vitara to take home if you make a hole-in-one in any of the par 3 holes. And an electric golf cart, a high-end golf set and a gold watch are also offered as bonus hole-in-one prizes on three of the four par 3’s.
Working hard on another big sports event is Nonoy Tirol, the overall chairman of the Copa de Casino Español. This event is huge because it incorporates eight different sports events under the umbrella of one tournament. The sports are Badminton, Basketball, Billiards/Darts, Bowling, Golf, Tennis and Swimming, and a Texas hold-em (non-wager) Poker tournament.
The sport festival is a Casino Español de Cebu activity but is open to non-members. If you are interested to join, contact Rudy Rubi and he can direct you to the chairman of the sport you want. Other CE members actively involved in organizing are Rico Gandionco, Boy Limkakeng, Bunny Pages, Joe Camaya, Jeffrey Dico, Lito Sy, Rudy Co, Gina Juan, Alex Oquias and Luis Moro.
I had the opportunity to visit Chester Cokaliong’s home two weeks ago and was completely awed. Never mind the house, it’s beautiful but the basement was out of this world. A memorabilia room was overflowing with trophies, pictures, write-ups, basketball uniforms and shoes, etc. The room is so huge that even with all the stuff and a good size centerpiece, a TV crew was able to fit in for an interview.
And that’s not all, a state of the art movie theater right next to the memorabilia room. Never seen anything like it. One leathered chair probably costs a thousand dollars. And there were 25 of them, tiered just like a theater.
Golf Tip: Players who are good putters want to lead the putter-head with their hands into impact to prevent the breakdown of the left wrist. However, this has a tendency to de-loft the clubface and creates skidding or bouncing. To avoid de-lofting the clubface and getting the best roll, you must keep the shaft perpendicular to the ground at address and at the same position at impact; not leaning toward or away from the target line.
When keeping a solid left wrist, you must make sure that your putter, hands, arms and shoulders swing out as a unit and let gravity do the work. Take the putter back in one piece and release everything to impact like a free-swinging pendulum. The less you force the through-stroke, the more solid the contact and a smother roll.
