Adventures in Golf

In his last newsletter Miguel alluded to the fact that he had a new passion…golf.

He also has several other passions, the sports amongst them being fast-paced, strenuous and energy consuming. Golf is none of these.

It has taken me several years to convince Miguel that he is extremely privileged to be a member of two of the top ten best golf courses in Mexico. In some publications, they are up there with the World’s 100 Best – and how sad not to know how to play.

I don’t know whether it was my powers of persuasion, his aching body from so many punishing rugby and riding sessions or – probably closer to the truth – the fact that his children wanted to learn. But Miguel showed a distinct interest in taking up the game in the heat of the past summer. What a great idea for everyone to learn together – and who better than me to teach them!

I have been playing golf now for about 18 years. Although I love it, I rarely play these days. I never seem to have the time to devote to a whole round and somehow playing a short 9 holes with the girls just doesn’t seem to fulfill any golfing desires or get me in the swing for more.

I have to say my teacher was a stickler for etiquette. Growing up in the UK, I learnt that fast play makes fast friends. I was hardly up for teaching my beloved and his 3 children how to hold a club let alone how to play a round.

Miguel and the kids had planned to squeeze in a few lessons with our great friend Phil Ferrari, the Punta Mita golf pro. But either they didn’t have the patience to wait for Phil’s schedule to clear or Phil was afraid he might not have the patience for the Ricardo Santos (the top-ranking Portuguese player of the day) wannabes!

So, the first day out – clad in a rainbow array of surf trunks, polo shirts (I insisted on shirts with collars) tennis shoes, funky socks and even a floppy sun hat – the five of us hit Punta Mita Pacifico.

The most wonderful thing about our incredible courses here in Punta Mita is that they never, ever seem crowded. Maybe it’s because I purposely choose to go out just before sunset or maybe because the pro shop leaves plenty of times between groups, but I have rarely had to wait in all my years of playing here. This, I discovered, was a HUGE blessing on this monumental FIRST DAY.

You have heard the expression “herding cats”? Well, I felt as if I was living the illustrated version. There were balls flying in all directions, clubs following, whoops of joy, shouts of irritation, lost balls, swerving golf carts, furious expletives and a missing floppy hat.

I was determined that if they were going to play, then they would play fast and understand the rules of the game… but this was not met with much enthusiasm. It was so much more fun to tee the ball up high, pull out the oversized driver (we had borrowed an ill-assorted array of clubs from our kind friends) and smash the thing as hard as possible.

Watching club faces make contact with the small, white dot of the ball, seeing the sheer joy of the striker as he hears the sharp clink of ball on titanium and sees it launch into the air, and then witnessing the face turn to utter dismay as he realizes the ball is on a direct course for lake/jungle/bush or ocean.

These were the highlights of this first day out.

Also, watching as the club face makes impact with the ground directly behind the ball – which then falls off the tee and dribbles about three feet away from the striker.

All I can say is it’s a good job I cannot speak Portuguese, the expressions said enough!

I was accused of being too serious, of having no sense of humour and no patience. I have to say, I actually found the whole farce hilarious but didn’t want to laugh out loud as I could only too clearly remember my first days out. I thought I was remarkably long on patience.

I have always enjoyed the natural beauty of the Pacifico and Bahia courses, the open fairways, the palm trees, the pretty yellow birds flitting from here to there. Playing golf in Punta Mita has often been a great source of peace and tranquility to me.

These first few times out with Miguel and his kids had no bearing to any other round I had ever experienced here. But at the end of each session, the feeling of camaraderie, of caring, of support and empathy were huge. We bonded. The whole family was frustrated together, elated together, delighted with each others’ successes and crestfallen at the failures.

Not everybody wanted to play together every day but as we all improved, we started to plan golf as the sunset activity. The kids would go alone. We would all go. Miguel and I would go. We made the most of the long days and headed to the beach club afterwards for lemonades, margaritas and late sunsets.

I’m not sure I would recommend trying to teach your family to play golf, but I highly recommend you give Phil at the golf pro shop a visit, sign up for some clinics and get them to experience this incredible game in this fabulous location. A little bonding and some really good laughs in paradise will go a long way towards making happy family memories.

Pro shop number 329 291 5590

www.campodegolfpuntamita.com
9 holes $ 160
18 holes 245 plus taxes and service
Lessons with Phil the golf pro $120
Lessons with assistant pro 90
Golf clinics every Tuesday and Thursday $40 at 10am

 

Lisa Bruno is a long-term Punta Mita resident. She is a frustrated golfer, party princess and proud owner of Tank and Tonica,

Lisa lives in Punta Mita with her fiancé and business partner, Miguel. She has been a partner in Punta de Mita Rentals since 2015.

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Photography by Kemi Vernon. See more of her work at www.kemivernonphotography.com