Golf in Djibouti is a new experience. The course is all dirt, sand, and a few trees. Oh, yes, did I mention that there are a few goats and camels wandering around. John and I went to watch our friend and colleague, Boris, the CFO of Salt Investment play in a tournament out in the country almost to the border of Somalia. The course is called Douda. The course is divided into two parts, crossing over at the club house and driving range.
To tee off, the golfer steps atop a concrete pad covered with astroturf and hits the ball down the fairway. Each time your ball lands on the fairway, your caddy pulls out a piece of astroturf which is placed under the ball so that you can hit it again.
Even though the whole place is dirt and sand, they have built additional sand traps on both sides of the greens. And, of course, the greens are a mix of dirt and sand. After you hit your ball up onto the green, your caddy carefully uses a small hand broom to create the smoothest path possible to the hole. But, alas, the ball invariably hits a small pebble and veers off landing to the left or right of the hole.
Here's a photoshow I created to give you the entire Djiboutian golf experience:
Go to http://www.photoshow.com/watch/re6Ve3kp
HI Ann:
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying you blogs! Looks like you are getting into the "swing of things" over there. We are doing fine and just came back from a trip to Montana. Steve is now excited about going back for a longer trip to Glacier National, Banff, and Lake Louise.
Say HI to John and will type more later
Shirley