As Posted on Greenskeeper.org

Since November of 2002, I have been a member of an on-line golf community called Greenskeeper.org  It has one of the best websites on the Internet - - a place where the serious golfer can go to find near-real-time reviews and ratings for virtually every public golf course in Southern California.  Since I've been a member, JohnnyGK (the owner of Greenskeeper.org) has expanded to include courses in Northern California, Arizona and Nevada.  It's the ultimate tool for golfers...you can rate courses based on your experiences that day (I guess that now with virtually everyone carrying Blackberrys and iPhones - you could probably rate a course hole-by-hole if you were so inclined!).  Over the years, I have rated 30 different golf courses and posted 204 individual course reviews.

Why did I do this?  Well, on Greenskeeper.org, other golfers can read your reviews and make a decision on whether or not a particular course is in good shape, poor shape... or even worth playing at all.  Greenskeeper.org's motto is "Know Before You Go!"  This is important information if you don't have a lot of money to blow on wasted greens-fees.  Johnny also is meticulous about making sure that updates are posted for the aeration and sanding of greens for regular course maintenance.  Johnny also started Greenskeeper.org "outings" at some of the nicest courses around.  I played in several of tham...and will miss seeing the guys.  I was known as "Father Cheeseburger" on the site (don't ask!)...and I was always known for my reviews being detailed and complete (in addition to condition of the greens, we like to see what's up with the bunkers and sand, tee boxes, fairways, thickness of rough, etc.)  Like Joe Cortez the boxing referee, I always said that "I'm fair... but I'm firm!"

Anyway....this morning while I was watching the Lakers game, I posted a note to the Greenskeeper.org guys in their "Forums" section.  Here is that note:

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Greetings From Hyderabad, India

"Hey there, JohnnyGK, Rob, Kevin, Vic and all of you GKers! It's your old pal Father Cheeseburger, checking in from beautiful (but rainy today!) Hyderabad, (in the central Deccan Plain), State of Andrha Pradesh, India! We arrived safely from L.A. (via a nice stop in Frankfurt, Germany - no golf, my clubs are being air-shipped and have not even arrived here in India yet!! Supposed to get them on 15 June!) It's just now 7:00 A.M. here - and I am watching the Lakers game LIVE on ESPN - it's 37-26 Lakers in the 2nd quarter!


So, you see, life is not so hard here after all. It looks like I'll be playing most if not all of my local golf at Boulder Hills Country Club - it's not as green right now because of a brutally HOT summer...but - the monsoons are a little late (as I said...it's raining this morning!) It should green up nicely. I got the grand tour of the place day-before-yesterday - even my non-golfing wife said that it was beautiful! In case you'd like to join me for a round at Boulder Hills (we've got TWO guest bedrooms...just find your way to India!!), the the golf course itself is located is along the Rangareddy ISB Road, in the middle of the Madhava Reddy Colony, an area called Gachibowli, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. My wife and I could not remember the name "Gachibowli" - so we've been calling it "Bowl-a-Chili" - I'm going to have to break that habit!

I will probably get a chance to play the course after my clubs get here. I'm nursing a torn rotator-cuff and I don't want to push it. JohnnyGK - - remember at the Rustic Canyon GK outing, you told me you'd put Boulder Hills on the GK-site so I can continue to do my reviews!! Let me know and I'll Rate/Review it as soon as I've actually played a round or two!!

There's another course here as well...but I have heard they only have six holes. Two sets of tees and three different-colored flag positions for a total of 18-holes of golf. I'm sure that in the two years we'll be here, I will have hopefully had a chance to play all of them. The course (Hyderabad Country Club) actually plays on the grounds of the ancient Golconda Fort (Google it!!) That would be like putting six holes of golf around the Alamo in San Antonio.

Boulder Hills CC has an interesting topography. The boulders look sort of like The Boulders Course in Carefree, AZ - only the rocks are tan, not red. You can see the photos on the website. Think "Stony Point" in Chatsworth. There are a couple of elevated tees where you can see a long way when the air is clear. All the way from the Golconda Fort to Hi-Tech City, which is where my wife works.

If you are interested at all about following our two-year adventure, you can check my blog At Home in Hyderabad I am keeping a photo-journal of our stay in India...I'll try to keep it fresh and interesting.

That's all for now. I can always be reached at FatherKingsbury (at) yahoo.com and we are on Skype as well - scott.e.kingsbury

Namaste!"