Yeah. And now you're gonna die, wearing that stupid little hat. How does it feel?
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| Afghanistan | |
| The world's most dangerous golf tournament | |
| 2007-10-27 | |
| As course hazards go, the threat of a suicide bomb attack places the Kabul Golf Course in a class of its own. Four suicide attacks in the Afghan capital in three weeks, the last of which killed 12 people on the road to the clubhouse, ensured that the latest Kabul Desert Classic could safely claim to be the most dangerous golf tournament on earth. The open competition on Afghanistan's only course, was begun in 2005 by aid workers. Funds raised went to an Afghan charity set up by the veteran ITN journalist Sandy Gall. Some of those present suggested that the 3rd Desert Classic might be the last. "It all depends on our foreign friends," said the clubÂ’s leathery pro Mohammad Afzal Abdul, 50, a scratch player who has worked the course since the 1970s. "If they stay things could improve. If they leave it to the Afghans, everything will collapse again." Mr Abdul was arrested for two months and beaten with cables after the Taliban found his collection of golf trophies and accused him of working with foreigners.
The event went ahead on Friday with a security cordon provided by a local warlord; a figure described by one Kabul diplomat as "a hard-drinking human rights abuser who should be in The Hague, not on a golf course." Most of the 30 competitors were drawn from the aid worker community. The winners were two Afghan eighteen-year-olds with less than a yearÂ’s golfing experience each. Hashmatullah and Ali, both of whom have only one name, are among the first Afghans to take an interest in the sport and receive daily lessons from the course pro in exchange for a spot of gardening. "I started six months ago and have played every day since," said Hashmatullah, beaming with pride after an impressive 4-under-par round. He hopes to compete for Afghanistan in the Asian Games in Nepal next year if the Afghan government is able to fund a team. | |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #5 While not the most dangerous, perhaps the most challenging golf course ever was made in the 1940s in southern Arizona. It started when a tourist, heading to California, stopped at a very isolated gas station to fill up his sports car. To fill up, he had to remove his golf bag, which he left behind when he took off, never to return. After holding on to his bag for a while, the guys who worked at the station decided to make themselves a golf course, something they had never seen in real life. Fortunately, one of them found a crude diagram for a golf course, with its dimensions marked out, but not scaled. So they set up one, out in the rocky and hilly desert, but in yards, rather than feet. It took them quite a while, but they set up flags on poles about where they thought they should be, with a map and compass. The first golf game was quite an expedition. Each of the golfers had a pack mule and one had a saddlebag full of golf balls, having obtained a bucket of them at a driving range a few hundred miles away on a trip, along with a local Mexican "caddy", whose primary job was to cook, watch for snakes and keep the rifle handy. One of the golfers got drunk and angry and kicked a rock, breaking a toe for his efforts, so he went back early, but the other two finished, and averaging their scores they figured that it was about a par 1300 or so. It took 3 days. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-10-27 11:21 |
| #4 For those less faint of heart, you can always try your hand at the Elfego Baca Golf Shoot held in honor of Mr. Baca memorialized in the Disney series "The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca". Just watch that first step off the tee. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-10-27 10:01 |
| #3 What's par for the course? |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2007-10-27 09:09 |
| #2 Yeah. And now you're gonna die, wearing that stupid little hat. How does it feel? |
| Posted by: Raj 2007-10-27 08:28 |
| #1 Kabul Desert Classic could safely claim to be the most dangerous golf tournament on earth, |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2007-10-27 03:17 |