Before I started to learn golf, a Pro at a golf club told me that golf is the only sport in which people at different levels can enjoy playing togather. That is absolutely ture!

In July 2008, I was invited to join a GRC (Gordon Research Conference) in New London in USA. To organize a golf competition is a tradition of this conference. I contacted the organiser before the trip, and stated that I have a high handicap around 20. The chairman replied kindly and welcomed me to join the golf competition. He told me that they play based on a handicap system so everybody can have fun, and one can rent golf clubs there. So I just brought my golf shoes and some good balls with me, looking forward to playing with those famous professors in my field. 

According to the GRC rules, they play three rounds in the first three days, and calculate each player's handicap before the competitioin round. Usually the golf payers leave the morning section at 11 o'clock to drive to the golf court. When I joined them first time to the country club, I was surprised that most of them have their own golf clubs. We were about 13-14 persons, several of them have single handicap, and others have 14 or 15 or so. One professor drove 8 hours from Canada just to bring his own clubs, and another professor brought his own clubs from England. Obviously these professors were very serious about the golf competition. The first day I rent a club set (only old types available), but had no feeling at all in the beginning. Thanks to these gentlemen keeping encouraging me, after 11 holes I started to get some feeling back and got my first par. I did not even remember my score (the chairman was writting my score for the calculation). The second day I had to rent another golf set, and again I had no feeling in the beginning. Becouse of heavy rain, we had to stop after 9 holes. The third day I had my lecture so could not join the golf. I must had a very high handicap if they calculate based on my first two days results.

The 4th day was the competition round. Luckyly the reception kept the same club set I used in the second day for me. Those single handicap players started first, and I was in the last party. The first hole I got a par. The person in my chart joked to me "haha, you were hiding those days!". But the second hole I got +4, I told him "this is my true level". A big surprise came later, no 3 and no.4 holes I got two pars, and later I got +1, +2, +1 and +2 (I didn't care about the results so didn't remember exactly). After 8 holes the competition could

not continue because of pouring rain. The golf committee decided to stop and calculate the final ranking based on the results from the 8 holes. My score for the 8 holes was 42 and one english professor had 41, others had 43 or higher. The committee had some serious discussion for how to calculate. They told me that I won clearly if they used my handicap based on my first two rounds. I felt that is nonsense, and suggested to use my offical handicap (20) in Sweden for the calculation. After more serious discussion, the golf committee reached a conclusion: I won the GRC champion based on my handicap in Sweden. That was really a surprise!

In the closing ceremony on 5th day, the chairman of the golf committee made a formal announcement of the golf competition and delevered the cup (trofin) to me in front of about 100 conference participants from many countries. Although it was compeletely a luck surprise, I enjoyed very much the event, a chinese scholar win a golf competition! The chairman told me that they will put my name on the trofin and asked me to come back to defence the champhion in two years. I told him that in that case I will bring my own golf set with me.