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I was told that
one of the `must see’ walks in Thimpu is to the
zoo, to see the national animal, the Takin. It
was a beautiful, sunny Sunday, and according to
my map, not an overly long hike. I packed some
water, my camera, and set off.
It wasn’t long before I met up with Thinley,
going in the same direction; he immediately took
on the role as tour guide. He was a very
cheerful, inquisitive young man, going into
grade 9. Thinley wanted to know about Canada,
especially the size. He asked about my family,
did I have a car, do I like David Beckham, U-2,
and back to how big Canada is.
We kept coming to forks in the road, and at
every one he would say `Takin up, Sir’. So we
went up, and up, and up. It wasn’t long before
my sea-level lungs were out of breath, so we sat
down on a concrete block, and shared an orange.
When I felt rested, he decided I needed the
shortcut. `Takin up, sir’, and he pointed at a
stairway that left the road, and cut through a
little village. In the dictionary, next to the
word up, this stairway should be displayed. And
the steps in Thimpu are made for extremely long
legged people, which is odd because nobody here
has long legs.
At the end of the vertical stairway, that seemed
to go up to heaven, we came to another road, and
it was level, Also at the top was his school, a
traditional building beautifully decorated with
knots-of-eternity, the three jewels, and other
colorful iconography. It was here my guide had
to leave, and he pointed down the road and said
`Takin down, Sir’. `Kaden Che’, I thanked
him and went in search of Takin. It was a
beautiful road, that passed by the estates of
two cabinet ministers, and a residence of the
King. I saw families washing clothes in a
pristine mountain stream, clothes hanging from
the trees, the children running around playing.
I got to a fork in the road that was not marked,
so I asked two young women strolling by which
way to the Takin. `Takin up, Sir’. I hiked for
another half hour, on a road that could be in
the mountains in Colorado. I stopped to rest,
and a car passed by, on the way to the zoo. I
followed the car with my eyes, winding back and
forth, essentially straight up the mountain, for
a very long way. A taxi with an open seat came
by next, and I flagged him down. The ride to the
top cost $500 ngultrim, or about a dollar.
The Takin zoo is managed by the World Wildlife
Foundation, a very nice spot. I hiked (up)
around the perimeter of the fence that contained
them, until I saw the oddest looking creatures
whose heads and bodies didn’t seem to match.
According to legend, when the great saint Lama
Drukpa Kunley, "the divine madman", visited
Bhutan in the 15th century, a large congregation
of devotees gathered to witness his magical
powers. The people urged the lama to perform a
miracle.However, the saint, in his
usual
 unorthodox
and outrageous way, demanded that he first be served a whole
cow and a goat for lunch. He devoured these with relish and
left only bones. After letting out a large and satisfied
burp, he took the goat's head and stuck it onto the bones of
the cow. And then with a snap of his fingers, he commanded
the strange beast to rise up and graze on the mountainside.
This guy is so different, that it is the only animal
classified in his particular species. The `Golden Fleece’
from Greek mythology, is from the Takin.
Otherwise, things are slow here. Even water is slow, because
of the altitude it takes forever to make a cup of tea. You
know you’re not in Kansas anymore, when the computer signal
very low connection is a good thing. Extremely low or
dangerously low, and you can still get by. I think the monks
do a special Puja to get it up and running again.
First lesson, the Club and how to hold it
After settling in for a week, and assessing the proficiency
level of the juniors, and the challenges I might have to
face, I began the instruction. I don’t think there is a
golfer alive who doesn’t need to review the fundamentals
occasionally. For new golfers, this is the place to start.
Most problems for the recreational golfer, can be attributed
to a faulty grip. Please keep in mind, different swings and
body types, might benefit from slight adjustments from the
model. A golfer who prefers a fade, or a draw, might place
his hands slightly more to the right or left of the handle.
But having said that, the baseline is what I would term a
neutral grip.
I had the juniors divided into 6 groups of 4. Each group had
a captain, the more advanced and older juniors. A pleasant
surprise I had early on was their great cooperation and
empathy. The older kids took pride in helping the younger,
and seemed to have apprentices that they took under their
wing.
We began by looking at the equipment. They all knew which
end hit the ball, so I started with a pop-quiz; `everybody
point to the head of the club’. They were all correct,
though a few had to look at their captain. `Now, point to
the handle’. They all got it. `What is another name for the
handle?’ Geevan hollered out `the grip’, and was correct.
`Now everybody look down at your right shoe, except for
Mikey (our only lefty, nicknamed Mikey for our great
Canadian player Mike Weir), who will look at the left. Just
like your shoe, your golf club has a heel and a toe, and a
sole’.
`Now, hold the club straight out. Where is the sharpest part
of the club? What is it called?’ Nobody got it. `That is
called the leading edge, and it is important in aiming. Keep
holding the club out, and make the leading edge point
straight up. Now, point at the top of the club’. This is
about as technical as I will ever get with most of them, but
we needed to establish some understanding of the tool we
will be using, and some of the terms I would be using..
`Point at the face of the club, the part that hits the ball.
What do you call the perfect spot on the face?’ Tashi and
Rinchen simultaneously: `the Sweet Spot!’
I began by talking about their national bird, the Raven. I
had them hold their hands up, and pinch their thumbs into
the rest of the hand, so a bird-like V, or wing appeared.
The pinch is only at the bottom; toward the end of the thumb
and fingers there is a separation, with the index finger
bending back. This forms the all important `trigger finger’.
I didn’t tell them why we were doing that, as it would come
up later.
I then went around checking the captain’s grips first. I had
them hold the club in their normal way, then I stuck a tee
in the V, where the thumb should pinch the rest of the hand.
If there was no pinch, they could not hold the tee. I
reminded them of the Raven and had them make that wing
again.
Once I got them to hold the tees, stressing that the pinch
is only at the bottom, we then looked to see if the tees
lined up on top of the club. If they do, you should see 2 or
three knuckles on the back of your left hand, and not see
your left thumb, as it will be covered.
Once the captains understood the drill, they checked each of
their younger teammates grips. There are always exceptions;
one young man played cross handed, or left hand low. My
first coach, Bill Strausbaugh, said to me once that perhaps
more people should start that way, then change later. Pick
up a club and try it; there is a wonderful feeling of the
club whipping through, from the right side of your body to
the left.
There have been some PGA Tour players who did it that way,
Charlie Owens, and most recently, Chris Couch, on shots from
80 yards and in. Even the great experimenter Ben Hogan tried
cross handed for a while.
So I left Vijay (yes, that is his name), alone.
Jeevan piped up; `Coach, what about the interlock. Which
grip should I use, Sir?’ Regarding the placement of your
pinky, it’s not that important. The definitive study was
done by Cochrane and Hobbs, in The Search for the Perfect
Swing. They found that it didn’t make much difference, and
you could get used to any of the three options (interlock,
over lap, 10 fingers). Jim Furyk uses a double-overlap, or 2
fingers on top. `Jeevan, do what feels right, It doesn’t
matter much’.
Summary:
• Pinch; the Raven
• Tees in V’s, on top
Cover the thumb, 2 or 3 knuckles visible on left hand.
From the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan,
Ed Hanczaryk |
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