Member ProfileBanyak jalan menuju ke Roma. Begitu kiasan yang pas diberikan kepada Phang Cheow Hock, Chairman of Board of Advisors (BOA) The Taman Dayu Club. Gara-gara “dibohongi” Putra Sampoerna, Phang Cheow Hock menemukan “jalan ke Roma” mencintai olahraga golf.
“Ayo ikut Saya,..” kata Putra Sampoerna, seperti ditirukan Phang Cheow Hock. “Kemana?” tanya Phang. Putra Sampoerna yang juga bos PT. HM. Sampoerna Tbk itu tidak menjawab pasti. “Jalan-jalan,..” kata Putra. Phang pun tidak membantah. Dalam benak laki-laki asli Malaysia itu, kalau Putra Sampoerna itu mengajak dirinya, pasti ada yang penting yang akan dilakukan. Dengan mengendarai mobil, keduanya menembus hiruk pikuk Kota Surabaya.
Beberapa menit kemudian, mobil pun berhenti di sebuah toko peralatan golf. Putra Sampoerna mempersilahkan Phang untuk memilih peralatan golf yang ada di tempat itu. Tanpa pikir panjang, Phang pun melakukannya. Selesai memilih perjalanan dilanjutkan kembali menuju ke Surabaya Barat. Perasaan heran bercampur bingung menyergap, saat mobil memasuki sebuah golf course. “Saya tidak bisa bermain golf lho,..” kata Phang. Putra Sampoerna hanya tertawa.
Singkat kata Phang “dipaksa” untuk bermain golf. Apa mau dikata, semua peralatan golf pun sudah tersedia. “Tidak terbayangkan, hari itu, untuk pertama kalinya saya bermain golf,..hasilnya pun “tidak mengecewakan”. Pada teeing shoot pertama, bola yang saya pukul dengan stick golf baru itu tidak bergerak, alias tidak kena,..hahaha,” kenang Phang Cheow Hock.
Peristiwa yang terjadi di awal tahun 2002 itu memang tidak terlupakan. Saat itulah pertama kali Phang Cheow Hock mengenal olahraga golf. Olah raga yang sama sekali tidak pernah disentuhnya, meski laki-laki yang pada 1 September mendatang itu berusia 76 tahun ini mengaku gemar berolahraga. “Waktu muda, saya bermain sepakbola, rugby dan hoky, tapi tidak untuk golf,” kata Phang. Namun semuanya berubah.
Tiga kali mengayun golf (dan tidak kena bola) untuk pertama kali itu memunculkan rasa penasaran. Mulai saat itulah, bapak satu anak ini pun aktif bermain golf. Seminggu, bisa 2-3 kali laki-laki kelahiran Metajeng, Malaysia ini menginjakkan kaki di lapangan golf. Hebatnya, tidak perduli di mana pun negara yang dikununginya, Phang selalu menjajal lapangan golf di daerah itu. “Sudah banyak lapangan golf yang saya kunjungi, dengan berbagai bentuk pula,” katanya pada The Birdie.
The Taman Dayu Club, kata Phang, adalah salah satu lapangan golf yang terbaik. Dengan desain lapangan golf oleh Jack Nicklaus, The Taman Dayu Club memiliki keunikan pada lapangannya. “The Taman Dayu Club memang salah satu lapangan golf yang bagus, mungkin karena didesain oleh Jack Nicklaus, karena itu, selalu ada rasa penasaran bila bermain golf di sini,” kata mantan anggota intelejen kepolisian Singapura ini.
Karena itu juga, Phang mengaku sangat optimis The Taman Dayu Club akan terus bertahan meskipun Lumpur Lapindo di Porong menjadi problem. Selain itu, Johny Budiono, Manager The Taman Dayu Club juga dinilai Phang cukup piawai membuat terobosan-terobosan yang membuat member atau non member The Taman Dayu Club betah bermain golf.
Di China, tepatnya di kota Kunming Provinsi Yunan, Phang terkesan dengan salah satu lapangan golf 36 hole yang pernah dikunjunginya. Lapangan golf itu dikelola dengan sangat baik. Mulai penataan lapangan hingga maintenance rumputnya. Pada 18 hole pertama, kata Pahang, lapangan golfnya menghadap ke danau. Bentuk terasiring pada lapangan golfnya, membuat golfer bisa melihat danau setiap akan memukul bola. “Sebaliknya, pada 18 hole berikutnya, bisa melihat gunung, bagus sekali,” katanya.
Kecintaan pada golf, kata Phang, salah satu sebab mengapa dirinya tetap sehat hingga usia senja. Rahasianya ada pada aktivitas berjalan kaki saat bermain golf. “Golf itu harus jalan kaki, karena saat itulah kita berolahraga,” katanya. Setiap pagi, kata Phang, dirinya melakukan jalan kaki paling tidak selama satu jam. Setelah itu, mengakhirinya dengan minum air hangat.
Meski tampak sederhana, kata Phang, golf bisa menjadi sarana untuk melihat pribadi jujur seseorang. Semua kepribadian itu akan tampak saat golfer mulai memukul bola. “Kalau orang itu tidak sabaran, maka bukan tidak mungkin stick golf akan dilempar ketika pukulannya meleset,..haha,” kata kakek dua cucu ini. Hal itu juga yang dilakukan Phang untuk mengetahui karakter menantunya.
Sayangnya, Phang mengaku “menyesal” tidak memperkenalkan golf pada istrinya. Selain tidak bisa menemani dirinya bermain golf, istri Phang yang kini tinggal di Singapura itu pun sering memilih tinggal di rumah saat dirinya asyik memukul mengayunkan stick golf. “Istri saya sih tidak pernah keberatan, malam mensupport olah raga saya, tapi rasanya kasihan juga, karena itu, saran saya pada golfer muda, jangan segan-segan mengajak istri bermain golf,” katanya.
Phang Cheow Hock, Loves Golf After Being Lied from Putra Sampoerna
Many ways to Rome. Such a metaphor seems to be fits in Phang Cheow Hock, a Chairman of Board of Advisors (BOA) The Taman Dayu Club. Being a “victim” of Putra Sampoerna's “invisible lie”, Phang Cheow Hock has finally found a fixed heart of his “Rome's way” on Golf.
“Come on with me,...” said Putra Sampoerna, PhangCheow Hock spoke while flashing back to the past memory. “Where'd we go?”, asked Phang Cheow Hock. Putra Sampoerna, the famous name as a Chief of PT. HM. Sampoerna, responded in absurd way. “Just take a walk...”, he answered. Without arguing, Phang followed the flow. Inside that Malaysian man's mind, thought that there would be an important thing to do when Putra asked him, and the two were riding a car breaking through the noise of Surabaya city.
Few minutes later, they stopped by at a golf house shop. Putra Sampoerna let Phang to select golf stuff. Shortly after, Phang did as Putra requested and the journey headed for West Surabaya. Mixed feeling ambushed in Phang's mind when their car was entering a golf course. “I can't play golf...”, Phang said. Putra Sampoerna only laughed.
In a short word, Phang was “forced” to golf. What could be said, all golf equipments were already set up. “Unbelievable, it was a first day for me to get involved in playing golf and it was not disappointed”, Phang explained. “On teeing first shot, the ball did not move at all because it was not hit. Hahaha... ,” Phang Cheow Hock remembered.
It was happened in early 2002 and unforgettable, indeed. That was an ultimate experience for Phang Cheow hock engaged with golf-the untouchable sport- despite the fact that, the man who is going to turn 76 years old, Phang says himself as a sport lover. “When I was young, I loved playing soccer, rugby and hockey but, not for golf,” Phang said.
Three swings and missed the ball surely produced curiosity. Since then, father of one has been actively golfing. Twice to third times a week, a man who was born Metajeng, Malaysia steps inside on golf course. Amazingly, wherever he goes to many countries, Phang has never been absent to give a try on golf course. “I've been in many golf courses with their various shapes”, Phang said to The Birdie.
Phang thinks that The Taman Dayu Club is the best golf course. Designed by Jack Nicklaus, The Taman Dayu Club has the unique for its golf course. “The Taman Dayu Club is one of the best golf course because of Jack Nicklaus' design touch; therefore, it is always curious to play here”, said ex Singapore Police intelligent agent.
On the basis of the impression, Phang is optimist The Taman Dayu Club will keep the way to hold up in the middle of challenge from Lapindo's mud flow. In addition, Phang thinks that Johny Budiono, Manager The Taman Dayu Club is succeed to make effective breakthroughs in order to maintain the member or non member's choice to always stay playing golf in The Taman Dayu Club.
In China, specifically Kunming city in Yuan Province, Phang is impressed with 36-hole-golf course he ever visited. The golf course is well managed from the course order to grass maintenance. On the first 18 holes, the course overlooks a lake because of its ladder shape. As the result, the golfer can enjoy the lake view every time they hit the ball. “On contrast, on the next 18 holes, we can see a mountain, it's beautiful,” he said.
The love for golf is the reason his body remains fit in his old age. The secret is walking activity on golf playing. “Golf demands for walking and that's the time when we are having truly exercise”, he explained. Phang takes a walk for an hour at least every morning and drinks warm water.
Although looks simple, Phang says that golf could be the medium to analyze person's character. It all appears when the golfer is swinging the golf stick to hit the ball. “If someone is impatient, it is not possible for the stick golf blowing away in the air when the swing missed.. hahaha,” said grandfather of the two grandchildren. Also through this way, Phang wanted to know personality of his son-in-law.
Unfortunately, Phang admits himself regret not to share his golf loving toward his wife. She cannot only accompany Phang playing golf, but also Phang's wife, who is living in Singapore, prefers staying at home. “My wife never complains. She keeps giving her support instead. However, I feel sorry to know my wife is not with me. So, i suggest to young golfer to take their wife while playing golf”, he said. ***