I worked some more on the scoreboard program for the golf club and wrote some instructions for it. About 10 I headed to the super market for some breakfast supplies and other bits and pieces before heading out for my golf game. This was in the Sugarland and took me 50 minutes. It is less than 1/2 mile to the freeway and I stayed on freeways except for the last 4 miles at the other end. The club house here is huge with a number of dining areas as well as the bar, pro shop, etc. I wasn't sure of the name of the member we were playing with but eventually got through to Ebi so I knew I was in the right place. I went to the driving range and hit just 3 -5 balls with each of 5 clubs. I didn't want to risk straining my arm again like I have done before when I overdo the practice. I was going to practice putting and noticed Craig was already there. Ebi and Tunde turned up about then. I had only time for about 4 putts before we headed off to the tee. This time I shared a cart with Ebi. All 3 of them are from Nigeria. Tunde was initially introduced as Chief and he owns an independent oil company there.
The course is very, very nice. We played at 12-20 so there was no discount and it cost over US$90. The fairways and greens were very good and it is extremely pretty. The lakes are neatly sandbagged at their edges and there is quite a lot of water about. Like many of these courses, it winds its way between houses but in this case Mansions would be a better description. I started with a Par then a disastrous 9 on the par 5 second but after that played fairly well to have an 89. Ebi was on the card after 8 but then fell in a bit of a hole and finished with 82. I actually beat him by one stroke on the back 9. There was a fair amount of luck involved today. I hooked a long approach shot on one hole that hit a bridge across a creek and finished on the bank on the other side and on another a lob shot from a fairway bunker hit a tree some 10 or 15 metres to the side of the green and was deflected to within 5 m of the hole. I was disappointed to miss my par putt by a few inches after that. I seem to be quite consistent with my putting and again had 32 for the round. It seems to be my chipping that needs the most improvement, since I was again driving well.
After the game we went to the upstairs bar for a few drinks. It has a lovely view over the putting green and driving range. We only stayed in the bar for a short time and Tunde invited us to his house for dinner. He gave me the address but I had trouble putting it in the GPS so I just followed him. He was in a Mercedes S550 and I was never very far from that 3 pointed star on the back. We actually travelled quite a long way from the course, back on the freeway towards town for some distance before exiting. I had mistakenly thought the house was fairly close to the course. I noticed we crossed San Felipe Road and headed through Tanglewood, where I went after the meeting with Schlumberger on Thursday. On the way, I had my first call from Australia, a client wanting some help with DIPS.
Tunde's house is also pretty impressive, even more so when you realise that he is only in Texas about 4 times a year. Obviously owning your own oil company is not a bad thing. It has 7 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, a nice pool at the back and even a chipping and putting area with artificial turf. His wife Seyi was out when we arrived but returned after a while and cooked dinner. She is a general manager for one of the divisions of Exxon Mobile in Nigeria and was a reservoir engineer before that so she a fairly talented and successful woman in her own right. Craig turned up in time for dinner but had run some errands in the meantime. The food was traditional Nigerian fare and I tried a bit of everything. I liked the fish and the rice was also OK even though it was a bit spicy and there was some fried banana that wasn't too bad although quite sweet. I think some of the other dishes are an acquired taste. Craig's American wife arrived about 10, just as Ebi was leaving. I stayed another 30 minutes or so and it was well after 11 by the time I got home. It was a very pleasant day both on the course and afterwards.
I had a look at the email about the DIPS problem once I got home and hopefully my reply will sort him out. I then called Mum for Mother's day. She was on the road to see my brother and his family. It's after Midnight now so I'll finish here. Ebi has booked us in for 1pm tomorrow at the Gary Player course in the Woodlans, so at least the travel time will be quite short.
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