Chapter 228 - Do You Dare to Bet?
Translator: Lav
Editor: Seliniaki Ilikia
Shi Lei waved his hand said, “Hey! What’s wrong with you? It’s my first time here and you want to bet with me? Do you think I have that much money to burn?”
Young Master Yu was blank for a second. He also felt that it was unfair, which was why he fell silent.
“Why don’t we instead play the game with the gla.s.s b.a.l.l.s? The one in which you win by getting it through three holes? I’m not boasting, but I’ve never lost playing that!”
Young Master Yu was about faint. I am a young master and you’re asking me to lie on the ground to play that game with you? You’re the one who has something wrong with you!
Of course, Shi Lei knew that Young Master Yu wasn’t going bet with him. He smiled and said, “See, you don’t have the guts to bet with me, do you? But in all seriousness, are you that crazy for money? If you are that skilled, go bet with Tiger Woods or something. Oh, he wouldn’t play with you. His appearance fee is probably higher than the bet you made.” With that, Shi Lei left. Meng Xiaodie was waiting for him outside. Seeing that Shi Lei had a set of golf clubs on his back and was wearing the cap, she couldn’t help but nod in approval at his appearance.
“Mr. Shi, would you like me to take you to the golf course first or the practice grounds first?”
Shi Lei shrugged. “Why are you teasing me like that guy was? I haven’t even learned how to hold a golf club properly. What am I going to do at the golf course? Bask in the sun? That’s not very nice, Manager Meng.”
Meng Xiaodie was slightly embarra.s.sed. “My apologies. Because Miss Wei is going to arrive soon, I thought…”
Shi Lei laughed. “Haha, I’m just joking with you. It’s fine. Please take me to the practice grounds first. Oh, actually, just find someone else to take me there. Otherwise, Wei Xingyue won’t know where I am when she arrives.”
Meng Xiaodie quickly arranged for a girl to lead Shi Lei to the practice grounds.
It was on the second floor of a building not far from the main one. There was an extremely large platform outstretched from the building. Behind it was a resting area with seats and lounges. At the front were rows of fairways. Below it was an exceptionally s.p.a.cious lawn which stretched out about three to four hundred meters.
The girl asked Shi Lei what drink he would like, to which he responded with a request for a bottle of water. She then left after she brought the water over.
Shi Lei examined his golf clubs one by one as he stood on the teeing ground. Although he had never played before, he knew that every club had a different use and one of them was made especially for teeing off.
However, he did not know which club that was. Shi Lei scanned the area around him, thinking to ask someone when a professionally dressed woman in her thirties walked over.
“h.e.l.lo, are you Mr. Shi Lei?”
Shi Lei nodded. “I am. You are…?”
“I am the coach here. Manager Meng gave me a call saying that it is probably your first time playing golf, so she asked me to come and offer my services to teach you the basic things you need to know to play golf.”
Shi Lei was overjoyed. “Aiya, that’s great!” he exclaimed. “I was just worrying about that. I’ll say it now, I don’t even know which club to use!”
The lady chucked. “You are very humorous, Mr. Shi.”
Shi Lei waved his hand. “I’m not trying to be funny. I really don’t understand.”
The lady studied Shi Lei, then glanced at his set of equipment and smiled. “You have such good quality equipment, I thought you would at least know the basics.”
“So which one do I use?”
She smiled as she picked out a club from the set. “You cannot bring more than fourteen golf clubs to play on the course. Usually, your set should consist of three woods, nine irons, and one putter. Then there’s a hybrid or a wedge. Your set of equipment consists of a 1-wood, 3-wood, 5-wood, a 3-9 iron set, and one wedge, making it eleven altogether. Woods are referred to the clubs that used to be made of wood, but the majority of woods now are made of metal. It is still called a ‘wood’ because we are accustomed to calling it that. Woods are usually used to hit long distance shots. The longer the distance you need, the smaller the number you should pick. Irons are usually used on the fairway for medium distance or for the first hit on a 3-hole game. A putter is as the name suggests. You use it to putt the ball. It is used in the last stage of golf and is usually on the green, where you putt the ball into the hole. The wedge is used when the ball is stuck in sand pits or plants, or in special situations. In the practice grounds, we usually use a 1-wood. The one I’m holding right now is a 1-wood.”
Shi Lei only half-understood what she said. “So I will use a 1-wood when I learn how to tee off?”
The lady smiled and shook her head. “People usually practice using a 1-wood last. Most beginners start learning from 6, 7, or 8-irons. For irons, we usually use a 2-9, a P (pitching) wedge, or a S (sand) wedge. The brand you picked actually has numbers 10 and 11 too, but we rarely use those. Hence, instead of picking the P and S wedges for you, she chose the A (approach) wedge, whose angle is between the two. This wedge will fit you better, considering your current level. Numbers 3, 4, and 5 are long. 6, 7, and 8 are medium. Meanwhile, 9 and A wedges are short clubs. Number 7 is in between, so we advise beginners to start with this club.”
Shi Lei watched the lady pick out a club from the bag and hand it to him. He took it.
“When you play golf, you need to stand with your legs apart.” The lady patiently taught him the basics. From the standing posture, to holding the club, to swinging, et cetera, she taught him everything patiently.
Although Shi Lei didn’t understand anything, he was very focused in learning. It wasn’t like other sports, where he could easily learn the rules and basics. Golf required effort and he had to learn all the postures one by one.
As he was practicing, somebody sneered next to him. “So you really don’t know anything! How does someone like you have the face to come and embarra.s.s yourself here?”
Shi Lei had his head lowered as he held onto the club with both hands and focused on aiming for the small white ball on the ground, but he still spoke in return. “Did you know how to play it when you were in your mother’s womb? Did they have to custom-make a set of equipment for you at that height?” As he spoke, Shi Lei swung the club, but missed the ball. The golf club hit his shoulder when he swung and he grimaced in pain.
Young Master Yu sn.i.g.g.e.red again, finally finding some face. He didn’t even bother to go play himself as he watched Shi Lei clumsily learn how to swing the club.
However, Shi Lei wasn’t discouraged. After practicing swinging the club again and again under the coach’s guidance, he could eventually hit the ball decently enough. Except the distance was still horribly short and the directions the ball went in were all wrong, since he couldn’t control it at all.
Young Master Yu stood on the side and constantly scorned Shi Lei. Shi Lei had answered his words sarcastically in the beginning, but soon realized that it was a waste of time to talk to people like that and decided to ignore him. However, the coach frowned a few times. That man was really getting on her nerves.
It didn’t take Shi Lei very long—only around twenty minutes—to grasp the basics of teeing off. At least he could hit the ball every single time, regardless of distance and direction. He couldn’t be too hurried in those two areas, as he could only improve through consistent practice.
Shi Lei swung the club again. The small white ball flew in the air with a defined arc and landed on the s.p.a.cious lawn. Shi Lei looked over and saw that the direction of the ball was rather good this time. It was also the furthest distance he had hit as of yet, which was about seventy or eighty meters.
“Mr. Shi, you are learning very quickly. You can now practice by yourself and find me if you need anything else.” Shi Lei thanked the coach and she left.
“Do you want to have that bet with me after you learn how to play?” Young Master Yu’s voice spoke again.