Through the now 27 years I have been teaching, I have accumulated a sizeable collection of training devices; which can be very helpful in getting my point across. One of the high-tech tools I use is split-screen video, where I can put the student’s video on one side, and a model with similar body characteristics on the other.

 

Another tool I use is a balance machine. This is the same equipment used by physiotherapists to re-train people to walk after a stroke. I use it as an MRI of the swing, showing what could previously not be seen; balance.

I had become quite dependent on these and other tools in my daily work. Even mirrors can be great tools in the teaching/learning process.

Dried out Sods and Lines in the Dirt

Here in Bhutan I have none of my training devices with me, largely because of travel weight restrictions. Add to that the language obstacles, and I am having to learn new ways to get my point across. Even though everybody speaks English, there are many terms and intonations that are totally different. Even the simplest gesture like shaking ones head up and down is different. Here, yes was more of a side-to-side movement that reminded me of a Bollywood Indian dance. Many times I took a yes to be a no, a pretty big mistake in communication!

To get my point across, I find myself using shadows on the ground a lot, in some ways better than a mirror because you don’t have to look up. This was a trick I had learned from Norrie Wright years before, but I dropped it because of the inconsistency of sunshine in Nova Scotia. I began to use this shadow tool for showing body motion, especially swaying of one end of the spine or the other; luckily its been sunny nearly every day I have been here.

To fix problems with the golfer’s swing path, I use a large, dried out sod that happens to be lying on the range. It is just the right size to show the same thing that the expensive 'inside approach’ can do. I can picture the ad on the Bhutanese Golf Channel: 'for 3 payments of $19.95 (900  ngultrim), we will send you the training sod, and act now to receive a free shadow’.

I also find myself drawing lines in the dirt to show target line, swing path, bottom of the arc, and much more.

Blending Golf with Archery

The Professionals with the Bhutan Youth Golf Association are assigned for 3 to 4 month periods. They are pretty well known in town, word travels quickly here; we are in some ways understood as the next incarnate golf llama.

On my first day of teaching, Karma Lam, my Bhutanese counterpart with the program, picked me up, and we arrived at the course at 9:30. 24 juniors from age 9 to 16 were there, chipping around and waiting. Very few have their own clubs, but enough clubs and balls are provided by the program where they each have at least one each to use. A lot of sharing takes place.

As Lam assembled the group, I couldn’t believe the beauty surrounding me. Mountains all around this little valley, I felt like I was looking almost straight up, straining my neck to see the top. Everywhere were Dzongs, or monasteries dotting the mountains, mostly at the very top. It turns out many of these Dzongs are centuries old, including one that is situated right on the course, and is actually an obstacle. Imagine a Spiritual Monument being a penalty stroke. Only in golf.

The class began with three children coming out one at a time to sing songs. Their voices were beautiful, and as they sang we all clapped in time. Two of the songs were in the local language, which is song- like even in normal conversation. The second song was in English, about 'life in the army’!

Lam then had them line up, and jog for 15 minutes, after which time one of the older students led the group in stretching and calisthenics.

Karma Lam is trained to European Level 2 coaching in 2 sports, and spent 5 months in Budapest on a training program. I know I have as much to learn from him as he does from me.

We then went down to the practice area, where the kids were paired up for chipping practice. They would hit 2 balls each, changing places and hitting to each other. Lam left for a while (he is a busy guy, with the national Olympic committee, and a consultant for national programs).

A New Sport is Born

Although they are very respectful and well behaved, they soon tired of the game. I had an idea that came from watching an archery contest of the day before. Archery is the national sport, and very familiar to the Bhutanese; in the contest I watched, the targets were quite far away, at least 100 yards. The participants were in two groups, taking turns shooting. As one team shot, the other team did wild dances and yelling, to distract the opponent. They were doing this very close to the target, it’s a wonder they don’t get shot. Apparently they do occasionally, as these contests include a great deal of drinking. The target is a small rectangle of wood, about 2x3 feet; I later found the target is called a Buh’.

I had some boxes of 'red hot’ candies I had brought from Nova Scotia, as prizes. I brought them because I thought the kids would enjoy the hot candy, as hot chilies are part of every meal. I placed these 5 or 6 boxes on the ground, about 30 feet away. As before, they chipped to each other, but this time there was both a target and a prize. If the ball knocks down the box, the golfer gets to eat one red hot.

Boy did their focus change! It took a while to get the range, but I saw some chipping that would hold up against even experienced golfers. One young fellow, the only lefty, hit it 9 times! The box is smaller than your fist, not bad from 10 yards!

Afterwards, I asked one of the girls, Tashi, if she enjoyed the candy. She replied that it tasted like medicine!

That night, I went around to some shops, collecting cardboard that I would make into Buh’s. I must have been a strange site, a Caucasian walking around Thimpu, amongst 70, 000 Bhutanese, rummaging through the recycle trash heaps, with large pieces of cardboard under his arm. I went to one shop to ask for some, and the lady proprietor thought I was selling it, and kindly said no, we have enough cardboard!

I went back to my apartment and, with the remaining duct tape I had thankfully brought with me, made up some Buh-targets, complete with the circle.

The next teaching session, at the end, I brought these out, and set them up about 50 yards apart, propped up with a club at the back. Each member of each team got one shot, then they switched sides, and shot back the other way. A team got one point for a hit, two if the target was knocked down.

In my life of competitive sports, I have never seen a closer or more exciting contest! The two teams were called the Tigers and the Snow Lions; after the first round, there was only one point. An 18 inch by 3 foot target from 50 yards off of bare dirt is not exactly a 'gimmie’.

In round two, after switching sides, they seemed to find the range. Points added up, and the score was 5 to 4. Tashi, the girl I mentioned earlier, took dead aim and knocked the home made Buh over, for a two pointer, putting her team into the lead, 6 to 5. Last up was Rinchen, the best player of the group, a young man who lives in a small hut next to the course.

You could see his eyes narrow, like the look of the national bird, the Raven. His archery background was emerging, and the target almost seemed to get bigger. He hit a low stinger, banging the Buh straight on. It teetered, and then fell, for a last minute victory. Doug Flutie’s famous Hail Mary pass in college football was no more exciting.