Cooper's Kazakh capers Pt.4

By Matt Cooper Last updated: 26th September 2009

Horses for courses

On Saturday night I was a little tired of restaurant food so headed to the local supermarket for something to eat and the first surprise was the look of the place - it was extraordinary, almost resembling a spaceship parked in the middle of a city boulevard (almost all of the roads in Almaty are tree-lined).

Inside it was rather less futuristic and the food was traditionally Kazakhstani, owing much to the nomadic heritage of the land.

I eventually settled on a shasklyk (similar to a kebab) which seemed to include something called "hamsta". I will admit I did select it because of the name, but not in the actual hope that it had any hamster in it (and in truth there was almost nothing in it let alone bite size pieces of a cute and cuddly pet). I also had a piece of meat that I strongly suspect was horse (quite tasty if I am honest) and a very nice plov (rice and vegetables).

Up into the mountains

On Sunday morning Ruben, Nic and I were taken up the Malaya Almatinka valley (part of the vast Tien Shen mountain range) to experience a different side of life in Kazakhstan.

The climb was smooth and we were soon drawing up alongside the huge Medeu ice rink which will host the 2011 Asian Winter Games - with large stands and enormous floodlights it should make a dramatic night-time location with the city of Almaty below it.

We then travelled higher up the valley to the ski resort of Chi Bulak where we took the chair-lift to the top of the slopes, albeit trekking was the order of the season rather than skiing.

In winter Almaty itself can be under snow for weeks at a time - indeed the golf courses are routinely shut for the three winter months - and Chi Bulak is recognised as the top ski resort in all of Central Asia.

Sunday grinders

As Edoardo Molinari cruised to victory on the final day, sub-plots emerged further down the leaderboard as, with the end of year in sight, players either rose to the challenge of making a big cheque or folded under the pressure.

I felt a little sorry for Peter Gustafsson whose aims and motives changed with every hole he played on the back nine, possibly to the detriment of his final position in the field.

He started the day alone in second place, but three shots behind Molinari and I suspect that maintaining second place was as much, if not more, important than catching and passing Molinari.

But three birdies at the start of the back nine saw him emerge as a rival to the leader and he seemed a little thrown by the change in perspective, double bogeying the 15th.

With the win out of the equation, his need for a big cheque was now the most important factor, but that only added a different pressure and he bogied the 16th.

On the penultimate hole fellow Swede Joel Sjoholm joined the crowd to offer support and Gustafsson, with attack now a necessity, knocked his tee shot stiff for a guaranteed birdie (Sjoholm roared his approval and pressed his fist to his heart).

But having found the fringe of the final green in two, Gustafsson was then faced with a tricky up and down to claim third place on his own - and a cheque that would put him in a very strong position in the rankings.

Once more nerves betrayed him as he hit a clumsy shot with his 5-wood and then left his 8-foot par putt short of the hole.

Final day crowd

The final group of Molinari and Gustafsson were followed by the biggest gallery of the week, including the various dignitaries of Kazakhstan golf and Konstantine Lifanov, our host at Nurtau GC on Saturday, was there casting his experienced eye over proceedings.

I suspect he, like everyone in the gallery, was impressed with the display of the Italian winner - he is undoubtedly the highest class winner of the tournament so far and, as a one-time US Amateur champion, he stands a good chance of going on to become one of Europe's finest players.

My good deed for the day

Part of our prize for winning the Pro-am was a $100 voucher for Air Astana and since I found it hard to imagine myself ever needing a flight around Kazakhstan in the next 12 months I decided I had three options: 1. I could use it to pay the excess baggage fee for the extremely heavy trophy; 2. I could try to use it in duty free; or 3. I could leave it in my wallet for 12 months.

Except there was one alternative: I could give it to my caddie.

My one concern was that I had no idea about her background and was worried that to give her a voucher she had little or no chance of ever redeeming might be more insulting than not giving it to her at all, but a quick word with the caddie master revealed that one way or another the offer would go down well.

So on the final day I waited for Dana to complete her final round with Clodomiro Carranza and then handed it over.

I am the King of Awkward Social Etiquette so there followed an elaborately embarrassing charade of thanks.

Neither Dana nor I quite seemed to know whether to shake hands, nod politely at one another, exchange a few cheek kisses in the manner of lady golfers and their male caddies or even have a hug.

In the end we somehow managed all of them and none of them, all at the same time.

Stockport County 1 Kazakhstan 3

In my report of the Pro-am I mentioned the curious experience of having my photograph taken by a local journalist who was the spitting image of Jesus Christ sporting a Stockport County replica shirt (an image few have ever conjured, I suspect).

At Edoardo Molinari's press conference I bumped into him again and used the excellent services of Alex the interpreter to ask him where the shirt came from. For a short while he was very confused and then the penny dropped, at which point he became almost deliriously happy that I had noticed it.

It turns out that his brother used to play football for Kazakhstan and four years ago they played Stockport County in a pre-season tournament in China. Kazakhstan won 3-1, but claiming a genuine (rather than replica) English football club shirt, rather than victory, was the real prize.

Kazakhstan and golf

As I flew back to the UK on Monday I reflected on a truly enjoyable week in Kazakhstan.

It was a week that provided an insight into life on Tour for the players and administrators, but also a week in which I got a glimpse of a country that so few of us know anything about.

On arrival in the UK the customs official asked me where I had spent the last week and what I had been doing. "I've been in Kazakhstan," I said, to which he raised an eyebrow. When I added "watching golf" he burst out laughing.

Of course I didn't find it difficult to appreciate the absurdity of that idea, but a little part of me also bristled because I thought about so many people in Almaty who, I now understand, have worked so hard to get golf some sort of foothold in the country.

I thought of Konstantine Lifanov who has worked as hard as anybody to nurture the game there and whose ability to deal with any problems the players encounter is little short of astonishing.

I thought of the promoters, Parallel Media Group, whose small team at the event (Jamie, Alan and Andrew) never once displayed impatience when faced with questions or problems; instead they smiled, coped and created a solution.

I thought of the staff at Zhailjau who had listened to any query I had and usually provided an answer before I'd even finished the question.

I thought of the army of caddies who had pulled trolleys all week with a calmness and serenity that was almost weird.

And I thought of the volunteers, many of whom were oblivious to the nuances of the game, but who were enthusiastic and eager to help. (Indeed the volunteer scorers had enjoyed their week so much that European Tour scoreboard operator Michael Sharples left the course on Sunday night with a bag full of thank you gifts.)

Most of all I thought about Daulet - a ten year old boy in love with the game of golf, whose passion and enthusiasm was infectious.

He might do something in the game of golf, then again he might not.

But that he has a chance is down to the efforts of all of the above, plus the Challenge Tour who were as good as their name in accepting the challenge of taking the Tour to a land with no golfing pedigree.

Almaty means "rich of apples". It is unlikely to ever be "rich of golfers" but if it bears a little fruit then the efforts will have been worthwhile

Matt Cooper