A few days after the autumn festival, I got another call from the softball guys:
Them: We're having a golf tournament in the three day weekend in November. You're going to play this year, aren't you?
Me: Uh, gee, I'd like to play, but...
Them: Ok! Don't worry about a thing. We'll find clubs for you!!
Me: Wow, thanks...but, uh, just so you know, I've never actually played golf before.
Them: Oh, no problem. If you can play softball, of course you'll be able to play golf....
A week later, Shinohara-san called to say that he was bringing a putter to my apartment and wanted to take me shopping for golf shoes. I thanked him and asked if we also might make a side trip to the driving range, but he didn't appear to think that was necessary.
Another week passed, and my big golf debut was getting dangerously close. Feeling a bit anxious about the fact that I had never actually touched a golf club before, I finally called Shimada-san, another one of the softball guys, and asked if he would give me a golf lesson. Fortunately, he agreed to take me out to the driving range.
When we arrived at our tees, Shimada-san thrust a driver in front of me and asked me to show him my swing. I quickly obliged, and turned back to see Shimada-san scratching his head. "I think we have a little work to do," he said.
I went back to the driving range two more times with Shimada-san and once more with my Japanese teacher. By the day of the tournament, I had progressed to the point where I could make fairly reliable contact with the ball. Unfortunately, once I hit the ball, I had almost no idea where it would go, but that couldn't really be helped.
The golf course was on the side of one of the mountains near my apartment, and the view was really amazing. Looking out from the first tee, it felt like I could have flown off the mountain and soared out over my town....and a few times, my golf balls certainly did. (Or at least, they probably would have if they hadn't gotten stuck in the trees somewhere on the side of the course.)
I was unprepared for how hilly the course was going to be, and the first time I stepped up to hit the ball, I had this nightmarish vision of me hitting the ball, watching it fly halfway up the hill toward the pin, and then roll back down to where I had started. However, I quickly realized how silly I had been to worry about this, when I finally teed off and watched my ball land in the long grass in the rough. (What a marvelous thing friction is!)
The other three guys in my group were all very good golfers, (and very patient! I think I hit the ball approximately five times for every one of their swings.... (>_<);; ) so I was able to benefit from lots of excellent advice and learn plenty of Japanese golf lingo. At the end of the back nine, I heard my first "ナイスオン！" (Nice on!) , which I believe translates to, "Way to go! We can't believe you made it onto the green in less than six shots." Anyway, they were very nice to me, and even insisted that I come back to play with them again in May. 頑張ろう、わたし！
The softball men really are the greatest. In Japan, there are a lot of things that I can't do quite as well as I'd like -- with the language barrier, even little things like talking on the phone are difficult, and sometimes I feel like such an idiot. But it's so much easier to keep trying to do better when I know that I can count on people like the softball men to bear with me. I'm very lucky to have found them. :D
