Fighting the Jet Lag with Golf Hole-in-One

Who hasn't experienced it? After a 16-hour flight, sleeping at odd times, extended fatigue, keeping awake and feeling hungry when others are sleeping! All these are the signs of jet lag. Flying across the time zones gives you jet lag. How to overcome? It takes its own time. May last up to one week. Any other way to fight the jet lag. If you are a golfer, you can overcome the jet lag from day-1! How? Read on.

Ghumakkad recently travelled from India to USA. After arrival in California in the forenoon, I avoided sleeping till dinner time. First night was comfortable. Next day around lunch when it was late night in India, the body wanted to sleep. We decided instead to go golfing in the afternoon. It yielded positive results. Overcame sleepiness till dinner again. The third day went well till noon when once again the body clock wanted sleep. Another round of golf and we overcame the jet lag. So, if you are a golfer just play two rounds of golf within the first two three days and you will overcome the jet lag. If not a golfer, go on a hike or a walk or a run to fight the jet lag.

Few months back we had travelled to New Zealand for the Ironman event. Again it was a long journey across the time zones. Swimming, hiking and golf together helped us to overcome the jet lag successfully. Compare the two pictures below.

Beer Cart

Las Positas Golf Club, a public course in Livermore, California surprised us during the golf round yesterday. A golf cart with beer and other drinks went from hole to hole. Beer while teeing off? Well, see the picture.

Hole-In-One!

Once you have overcome the jet lag, you continue golfing. On the 4th day after arriving in California, we went golfing again. This time at another public course named Pleasanton Golf Center. So well maintained. Lush green fairways. Tight nine-hole course located inside a race course. I hit a hole-in-one on 138-yard Hole No. 8 using a 5 hybrid. 

The green is located across a hungry pond just 30 yards ahead of the water hazard. The ball landed short of the green, bounced up and curled right into the cup. Sadly, there was no gallery to applaud except my paying partner Surendra Bhargava. It was my first ever hole-in-one in 36 years of my golfing life! Hiwever, the hole-in-one got reported in East Bay Times published by Mercury News. Sharing the newspaper clippings below:

Sharing below few more pictures of the picturesque  Pleasanton Golf course.

Look at the bunkers so well kept at a public course!

So that is the power of golfing. It can even beat the jet lag!

Our previous story titled 'Golfing With Grandson In California' can be accessed here.

Memories of Pleasanton Golf Centre and my hole-in-one will be etched forever.

Thanks for browsing.

  - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ Pleasanton/ 28th July 2025.

#golf #jetlag #holeinone #california #navyveteran #pleasantongolfcenter #laspositasgolfclub #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb 

Golfing in California

'Golfer from Secunderabad, India. Looking for golfing partner in Pleasanton, California.'

Like the matrimony ads, Ghumakkad did not have to place such an ad on golfing sites! Because his threesome was already made! Yes, it was such a delight to be golfing in California with Ankur our son-in-law and Nikhil, our grandson. 

We played at a public course, Las Positas Golf Club, Livermore. The greens were top class. Fairways were also used by FootGolf where two people play to hole the football on a different green with a 21-inch hole. Sharing few pictures. We had the company of Bar headed geese and a Deer on the course. Weather was clear with strong breeze. Although a nine-hole course having all par-three holes, it wasn't a cakewalk. I could make only three Pars.

Let the pictures tell their stories. 

Teenager Nikhil, who enters the University shortly, would not walk but run on the golf course. If reminded me of 1989, when I started golf at US Club in Bombay. Being a regular jogger, I used to run between the holes. Nikhil had the company of bar headed geese.  See the pictures below.

Ankur on the 2nd Green.

See the flag in the foreground of the picture below. The cup size is larger for the soccer ball to be holed. Golf green is in upper right of the picture. 

A close up of our surprise visitor.

Golfers are always a happy lot specially when they ride a Cyber Truck!

Thanks for browsing.

More from California coming up.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Ankur and Nikhil/ Pleasanton, California/26 July 2025

#golf #California #publicgolfcourse #pleasanton

#3GsGolfing #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #LasPositasGolfClub

Addiction At 85?

 Can you become an addict at 85 and lead a healthy life? Addicted to what?

A substance? Drugs? Alcohol? What else?

This is the story of a super senior citizen (and many others like him!) ‘suffering’ from addiction of a different kind. Addiction for good! Addiction for golf!

This super senior citizen, an armed forces veteran, is so deeply addicted to golf that he plays even in darkness. Don’t believe it? See the picture below shot in the darkness on a wintery morning at Secunderabad India. Can you spot a ball and the golfer?

 

As the day dawns, the darkness gives way to magical dawn and sometimes a misty morning with ground frost! Some more pictures below.

Golf is such an addiction that the golfers not only start the day with a round of golf but also dream, breathe and live golf! Ask any golfer! There is a society called ‘Golf Addicts’ with chapters around the world. Unlike ‘Alcoholic Anonymous’, the golf addicts celebrate being an addict.

Ghumakkad is also a golfer. Our earlier stories on golf have had wide readership. Links to some of the golf stories from our blog are listed below. Just click to browse the picture stories.

Golf and Yoga

Rolling Pin and Golf Club

RSI Golf Secunderabad - Hasn't happened again after 2016!

So, to remain happy in life, become an addict! Get addicted not to drugs or substance or alcohol, but to something positive in life like golf or painting, music, dance or gardening!  Follow your positive addiction with passion and you will live a healthy life! Just like Col GB Sethi featured in the story. Thanks Dr Sethi for your companionship, wit and humour on the golf course and beyond.

 

Thank you for browsing.

Incidentally, this is Ghumakkad’s 600^th story in our 12-year-old blog! It comes to you from a moving train! Thanks for your continued readership and support.

-        Harsh-the-Ghumakkad / Vande Bharat Train/ 23^rd Dec 23

#addiction #passion #golf #darkness #life #dawn #magicalmorning #mistymorning #golfaddicts #drugs #alacohol #substance #veterans #armedforces #bloggingfromrunningtrain #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb

A Catchy Caption Wins You KBG-51

Are you good at suggesting captions?

Do you remember some quotations?

Even if you answered no to both the questions, you can still try!

KBG-51 comes with a new format. Not as tough as it used to be.

It is simple. Look at the pictures and suggest a suitable caption. It could be a short quotation as well. If it is a quotation, please quote author's name. But only one caption per reader please.

Be your creative best and shoot your response. Best three captions will be the Winners of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad KBG-51!

For the first-timers on KBG, you can respond using any of the six channels below:

1. Leave a comment on this post
2. Send email to hbindia@gmail.com 
3. Respond on the FB post
4. Comment on Instagram @ghumakkadhb 
5. Comment on Twitter @HarshBh21184761
6. Send a WA message. If you want your WA number to be added to Ghumakkad's list, send an email.

The timing of the KBG Contest is chosen to suit the readers in most of the time zones across the world.

Hope we have helped you in overcoming the Covid boredom to some extent.

Those who missed KBG-50, the previous edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad, we had shown a dry thorny branch in one of our flower beds. Readers were to answer what was the purpose of the thorny branch? We received many correct answers. It was to protect the flower and the plant from rodents and other predators. The winner's announcement of KBG-50 is reproduced below. All four winners happened to be women. More power to the women of the world!

Thanks for participating and all the best for KBG-51!

Hope 2021 will not be as stressful! Stay connected, stay safe.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 19th Feb 2021.

#nature #fallentree #uprootedyetalive #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #KBG #kaunbanegaghumakkad #onlinecontest #powerofobservation #lockdownfunathome #beatthecorona #lockdown #stayhomestaysafe  #captions #learningfromnature #naturelovers #craetivecaptions #pqs #picturesquequotations #golfcourseviews #golfmusings

Gomphrena Serrata KBG-16 Winner

KBG-16 had shown a wild flower. We at Kaun Banega Ghumakkad had said:
"Scorching heat!
We humans look for shade.
But this wild flower sprouts from nowhere!
It sustains the heat.
Which is this flower?"

The correct answer is Gromphena Serrata. We are featuring the names of readers who gave first three correct answers. There are many readers who gave partially correct answer like Gomphrena Celosioides. It may be same family of flowers but not what was shown in the Contest. In Telugu, the flower is called Neeru Bogada.

The flower is very cottony and has hairy stem and leaves. We had also said that it grows singly or in bunches. See the pictures below.

More the heat, more numbers of Gomphrena Serrata sprout. See the drying fairway on the golf course where these pictures were taken.

We thank more than 300 readers who participated. First answer came within five minutes which was partially correct. First three correct answers came within the next hour or so. Congratulations to the winners who come from different backgrounds as listed below:

1. Mohini Paroolkar, Home maker and doting grandma, Nature lover from Goa
2. Narendra Soni, Businessman from Delhi
3. BVN Harish, Management professional and on-line researcher from Telangana

We had also given a hint that the flower is native to Central America but has naturalised itself to India as well. So, folks in USA couldn't say that KBG Contest was India-focussed! However, readers from USA chose to be silent again.

The pictures for KBG-16 Contest were taken while I was playing golf with my foursome pictured below. I thank them for their patience while they had to frequently wait for me to shoot the pictures and rejoin them!

We end with a PQ- picturesque quote- on wild flowers which we had carried earlier.

Thanks for browsing. Stay connected.

-   Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 3rd May 2019

Special thanks to Dr Chitra Shanker for research support and Ramya Sriram www.thetap.in for KBG logo design.

#KBG #kaunbanegaghumakkad #Contest16 #wildflowers #nature #summer #funwithnature #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb #flowersofamerica #naturalised #gromphenaserrata #winners #PQ

Belgaum the Smart City

Belgaum renamed Belgavi- was founded in late 12th century AD. It has seen many dynasties. Located in north Karnataka it came under British rule in 1818. It played a key role in the liberation of Goa in 1961. Apart from military units, Belgaum has a fort, a lake, number of temples, churches, mosques, schools and colleges. 

It is famous for a unique sweet dish or 'mithai' मिठाई called 'kunda' कुंदा . Made of milk, it is a delicacy. It is semi-solid when sold. Once cooled, it gets solidified as in the picture.

Ghumakkad visited Belgaum in December. Here is a short picture story.

Located on the border of Maharashtra and Karnataka, it is a gateway to Goa for those travelling by road from Hyderabad. Although the road journey takes lesser time, but we took the train from Hyderabad. It was a comfortable journey where I met Varun Khanna, a former student of IBS who had hiked with me to the Gunrock in Secunderabad in December 2015. Varun and his friends from Deloitte gave us good company till Hospet where they alighted for going to Hampi. 
Belgaum's location on the border of two states had led to some unrest in the past. The government of Karnataka has constructed a new State Assembly in Belgaum in 2012. See the picture.


For those not familiar with the geography of the southern region of India, see the maps below.

Belgaum fort is 500 years old and is a living fort meaning people are actually living inside the fort. Like Jaisalmer, Chittorgarh and Bidar forts in India.

Despite the litter seen in earlier picture, Belgaum has been selected as one of the first 20 smart cities in India. As part of Smart Cities Mission, it has received a face lift. See the solar powered pedestrian lighting in the pictures below.

We stayed at the Maratha Light Infantry (MLI) Officers' Mess. It was a home away from home with well kept garden, walkways and sit out. Pictures:

While in our guest room we observed an excellent example of empowerment. Let picture do the talking.

The all round view from the gazebo was simply superb. A short video clip for you.

Shivaji Maharaj is held in high esteem. The Maratha Officers' Mess has a nice statue of Shivaji which is illuminated at night.

The MLI Regimental Museum called 'Hall of Valour' is a must-see place. Very inspiring and humbling experience for the visitors. 

The dome of the Hall of Valour has a panoramic painting. A 30-second video clip for you.

The  picture below shows some of the Commandants of the MLI Centre. At bottom left is then Brig CD Sawant Sena Medal, a close friend and an illustrious Maratha General.

What did the prisoners of war do in 1940s to keep their morale and maintain focus? Some of them took to writing and some others to painting/sketching. Here are pictures of original sketches made by a British Colonel of his Subedar Major.

Golf courses keep the environment clean and green. Is Golf similar to Yoga? Browse Ghumakkad's earlier story to find out. Ghumakkad managed to squeeze in a round of golf at Belgaum. Few pictures of a misty morning of golf.

Due to shortage of time, we could not visit Dandeli-- a place where you can do white water rafting. May be some other time.

Our stay at Belgaum was made so homely and comfortable courtesy Maj Gen Krishna N Mirji. He had to be away on an overseas visit. But he made sure everything was arranged meticulously. May God give friends like him to everybody.
Krish: Thanks a ton!

Here is saying Goodbye to Belgaum.
Thanks for browsing.

    -   Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 22nd Dec 2017