Tell Us Your Best Golf Story

[Peejer]

Several years ago, some friends and I are playing the Eisenhower Golf Club on the Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

It's the Sunday before Thanksgiving, we come to hole #11, it's a Par-5 with a pond in front of the green to protect it from most folks getting there in 2.  My friend Bob is in the fairway, ready to hit his second shot and we see a group of turkeys in the fairway, just short of the pond.  I tell him, just lay up around those turkeys....

He hits his shot and it strikes a turkey in the head on the fly.  The poor thing flops around for a bit, but eventually passes.  "Holy cow, I can't believe you just killed that turkey".  Bob felt bad, and being a member of the club, I called the pro shop and said - Hey, this is PJ.  A buddy of mine just hit a turkey and killed it on #11.  The pro shop said, what'd he do? hit it with a golf cart???  I replied, 'no, I believe it was a Titleist and a 5-iron.  They said they'd contact the entomology folks and they'd come out and collect it.  Bob actually hit the green and had a good look at birdie, which he missed.  We all joked that he'd already gotten a birdie on this hole with his 2nd shot!!  Several holes later, a guy comes rolling up in a golf cart and asks - are you the one's who killed that turkey?  I was thinking, uh-oh - apparently this is going to be a problem.  I said yes, it was us.  He asked 'well, where is it?'.  I said right in front of the pond on #11.  He said, we'll - it isn't there any more.  So I said - well, maybe a coyote dragged it off and we went back to playing golf.

Come to find out, a guy 2 groups behind us picked up the bird and threw it in his cart to take home!

Here's the best part - on Tuesday, I'm at the Rudy's BBQ joint and I run into Bob's brother-in-law.  I said - hey, did Bob tell you about him killing a turkey on the golf course?  He said no, what happened.  So I retold the whole story.  He said that's awesome, I'm having Thanksgiving dinner with him on Thursday, can't wait to hear all about it from him.  Hahaha....I have an idea.  I told him him to take a golf ball with him to the dinner, don't say a word.  Wait until the Turkey hits the table and when Bob's not looking,put the golf ball on the tray!!!

That's exactly what he did and the whole family, most of whom had already heard the story, erupted in laughter!!

You just can't make stuff like this up!!

-- Peejer

[Dweed]

On 1/30/2023 at 10:28 AM, ltc.dan said:

I was a lieutenant at Fort Sill. The colonel gets up, brushes himself off, then looks at me and says, "I did two tours in Vietnam and I was never as close to death as I am playing golf with you!"

What?? He didn't yell "Incoming"?

[GolfSpy SAM]

1 hour ago, Dweed said:

What?? He didn't yell "Incoming"?

In my video reenactment, he absolutely does

[ezloan1]

So I'm playing a dog-leg right, short par 4 that, if done correctly?, you could cut the corner over the trees and the trap put right in the landing zone.  Hit my drive, we "believed" the ball hit on the downslope, cut across the fairway in front of the green, ran through the greenside bunker...ending up about 2 feet from the wood fence lining the OB.  At the time, 2 down on a press AND pressing the front,   Yikes!!  Couldn't putt or chip too short a swing and the trap's in the way.  SO, a SW into the uneven wood fence, over the trap, hit the pin doing around 90mph...stopping 2 inches away.  A gimmie birdie, our opponents devastated.  That was 45 years ago, seems like only yesterday, it's still THAT CLEAR.   

Doing THIS, reminds me of my friends 2 sons, 7 &10 coming off a hole...the 10 yr old telling what happened on the hole they just finished~~the 7 yr old was keeping score, showed the card to his brother and said, "only room for the number, NOT THE STORY" it STILL makes me laugh.

Edited March 25, 2023 by ezloan1
A Mis-spelled word changed the meaning

[Triple_Putt]

The story that comes to mind is also kind of sad for me as this is the last time I played with this group of guys who I played high school golf with.  Guess you never know when the last time you’ll play with some people 

Anyways, it was during a scramble tournament for the local high school hockey team to raise some money. This tournament sells out every year and is the one I look forward to every single year.  5 years ago unfortunately about half way through it started torrentially raining and many of the teams retired early to the tent for food and cold beverages rather than get soaked. We decided to play one last hole which was just a short 145 yard par 3 that went down slope with a pretty small green. As the worst player in the group I decided to go first with my 6 iron and to my surprise actually got great contact with the rain pouring down. We all lost the ball in the rain and heard a loud “Thwap!”, I looked down at the green and my ball had landed 6 inches short of the cup and dug itself into the absolutely soaked green! I ran off the tee box screaming towards the green and my friend followed with his shirt in the air. I don’t think any of us ever laughed or had that much excitement on the course. That is still my best shot ever and the closest to an Ace I’ll likely ever see. Since many other teams never even finished the round my ball ended up winning closest to the pin and was able to take home my odyssey versa putter that I still use today. What a great day of golf. 

[Cavemann17]

Back in the 80's, the 4 of us take a weekend trip from Dallas to a course near Lake Sam Rayburn in southeast Texas.  Al, Dan, and I are all just hackers but Larry is a 3 or 4 handicap and works as a club pro today.  We are playing 2 to 3 rounds a day and drinking half the night.  First day there, we're standing on the 9th tee.  Dog leg right with a group of houses being built all the way up the right side of the fairway.  While not that close to the fairway, three of us are bad enough that these houses are definitely in play.  As Al gets ready to tee off, Larry turns to us and says "Now don't any of you bums embarrass me by hitting one of these houses with your tee shot."  Thanks Larry, no pressure on us now. 

Al, Dan, and I all somehow tee off safely and are in the fairway.  Larry tees it up and lets fly with his driver.  And sprays it as far right as I've ever seen him hit it.  It hits one of these half finished houses up near the attic with a resounding BOOM.  Sounded like shotgun had gone off.  We are rolling on the tee.  The 3 of us get up, put our hats over our faces, and walk away from Larry.  For the rest of the weekend, every time we'd get to the 9th tee, one of us would say, "Now don't any of you bums embarrass me by hitting one of these houses" and we'd all crack up."  Ah I do miss those carefree days. 

[GolfSpy SAM]

9 minutes ago, Cavemann17 said:

Back in the 80's, the 4 of us take a weekend trip from Dallas to a course near Lake Sam Rayburn in southeast Texas.  Al, Dan, and I are all just hackers but Larry is a 3 or 4 handicap and works as a club pro today.  We are playing 2 to 3 rounds a day and drinking half the night.  First day there, we're standing on the 9th tee.  Dog leg right with a group of houses being built all the way up the right side of the fairway.  While not that close to the fairway, three of us are bad enough that these houses are definitely in play.  As Al gets ready to tee off, Larry turns to us and says "Now don't any of you bums embarrass me by hitting one of these houses with your tee shot."  Thanks Larry, no pressure on us now. 

Al, Dan, and I all somehow tee off safely and are in the fairway.  Larry tees it up and lets fly with his driver.  And sprays it as far right as I've ever seen him hit it.  It hits one of these half finished houses up near the attic with a resounding BOOM.  Sounded like shotgun had gone off.  We are rolling on the tee.  The 3 of us get up, put our hats over our faces, and walk away from Larry.  For the rest of the weekend, every time we'd get to the 9th tee, one of us would say, "Now don't any of you bums embarrass me by hitting one of these houses" and we'd all crack up."  Ah I do miss those carefree days. 

Love it - it's always the one you never expect that makes this game so delightful  Thanks for sharing!

[GolfSpy SAM]

On 3/25/2023 at 3:54 AM, Triple_Putt said:

The story that comes to mind is also kind of sad for me as this is the last time I played with this group of guys who I played high school golf with.  Guess you never know when the last time you’ll play with some people 

Anyways, it was during a scramble tournament for the local high school hockey team to raise some money. This tournament sells out every year and is the one I look forward to every single year.  5 years ago unfortunately about half way through it started torrentially raining and many of the teams retired early to the tent for food and cold beverages rather than get soaked. We decided to play one last hole which was just a short 145 yard par 3 that went down slope with a pretty small green. As the worst player in the group I decided to go first with my 6 iron and to my surprise actually got great contact with the rain pouring down. We all lost the ball in the rain and heard a loud “Thwap!”, I looked down at the green and my ball had landed 6 inches short of the cup and dug itself into the absolutely soaked green! I ran off the tee box screaming towards the green and my friend followed with his shirt in the air. I don’t think any of us ever laughed or had that much excitement on the course. That is still my best shot ever and the closest to an Ace I’ll likely ever see. Since many other teams never even finished the round my ball ended up winning closest to the pin and was able to take home my odyssey versa putter that I still use today. What a great day of golf. 

Love it! I've played in the rain a few times, and it's never been this exciting - I'll be having a conversation with the Golf and Weather Gods shortly. 

Thanks for sharing!   (Also, as an aside, I grew up in CT! Monroe/Bethel - such a great place to get to grow up)

[chisag]

5 minutes ago, GolfSpy_SAM said:

I've played in the rain a few times, and it's never been this exciting - I'll be having a conversation with the Golf and Weather Gods shortly. 

... Here is an opposite of rain golf story. It was my first time playing in Dallas back in the late 90's and 3 different friends from NJ, CA and yours truly from Chicago met for a week of golf. Standing on the first tee and never having played baked out Texas fairways our host, paired up with the NJ guy, said "There is a canal that runs across the fairway about 260yds from the tee. I said I only hit my 19* hybrid about 220 max so that would land well short and he said "Good choice..." then after I hit it he said "... but you will be in the water". I asked why didn't he tell me it would roll 40 yds and he shrugged with "You're not my partner today". 

[cksurfdude]

On 3/25/2023 at 6:54 AM, Triple_Putt said:

... ended up winning closest to the pin and was able to take home my odyssey versa putter that I still use today. 

YOU'RE the guy that got the Odyssey Putter??!!!?? (..kind of an inside MGS joke... )

But great shot, great story! And sorry about your friend(s).......

[BKervin]

While I believe this is great story, others may not, sorry to those ahead of time.

This was hole 15 at River Club in the Myrtle Beach southern area.  First, hole 14 was challenging enough with it being an almost Island hole.  Made it to the green!  Ended with a bogey. 

On to hole 15, we have all had our errant shots. This was the case on this hole.  Off the tee I sliced the ball badly.  The ball decided it liked the trees better than the fairway!  So the ball strikes a tree - bounces into the cart path, not once but twice.  Then, it bounces on a Squirrel !  (No animals were injured).  The ball then decides that maybe the fairway is better than the trees and lands in the fairway! The squirrel then ran to my ball.  Chattered to his squirrel friends.

On the fairway now to get over water (again) and I'm in the green.  2 putt and the hole is in the rearview mirror at par!

As usual it's the getting to the green that makes them memorable!

 

[Blaine Dye]

I’ll start by saying I am by no means a great golfer but I was playing with some friends of mine for my birthday at briarbrooke country club in Missouri and hole 11 is a short up hill par 3 that you can’t see the green so I grabbed my 6 and let it rip me and my buddies looked for my ball for probably 5 min because the flight was right at the green so I assumed I got ahold of it and sent it far so I ate my pride so I could keep the pace up and took a drop we’ll come to find out after we all made it on the green ( Again not that good ) my ball was in the cup for my first ever hole in one and probably my last but let’s hope not but I learned that day always check the cup even though 99% of the time it’s not there 

[GolfSpy_APH]

I have a new one which will stay I hope for a while. 

Today I got up went to work and got all the MGS stuff done in time to head to the course for my 9:50 tee time. Schedule called for rain and I debated about 60 different times to cancel my booking or not. However I have new P790s in the bag and given I really wanted to see how they worked I said screw it I will play a few holes and if it rains like crazy I can call it a day and go home. 

Thankfully the weather seemed to clear as I got to the course and other than a light dusting of rain on the first hole the rest of the round was dry. 

I was paired up (surprisingly) with another lady who saw me on the range and as we were just about the only ones on the schedule she asked if I was with her and what time I was teeing off. 

She was bundled up in rain gear and everything else, but clearly excited to play. I remember seeing her handicap in the mid 20s on the tee sheet (yes that is posted for all teesheets here). 

So we hit our practice balls and made our way to the tee. First hole was good, made a bad chip and got away with bogey and she hit a few up and made a nice putt to finish off the hole. We talked a little in both german and english while figuring out what language we would use for the rest of the round and were quite happy we were golfing with someone else and not alone. 

Fast forward to the 4th hole. Par 3 about 165 yards (ish) with water hazard on the right which seems to be a magnet for my golf balls and big bunker on the left. The weather was cold and no wind so me wanting to see what these p790s are really about took one less club. Normally that number for me is a 7 iron and I took an 8 which flew to the middle of the green and rolled backish edge. 

As I walked back to reshoot the distance with my range finder the lady tee'd off from hers and rolled it up to about 10 foot. A great shot as the ground was wet from having rained all night and morning. 

As we get up to the green I tell her great shot and go to the back of the green to putt mine. I end up going long past the hole to within about a inch of her marker.  

When I walk up I ask her if it is okay if I continue and help show her the line with my putt. It looked pretty straight, but should go a bit left to right. She said okay, quick gladly and I went on to just miss left side. Didn't break as we both thought and went basically dead straight. 

I tap mine in for a silly bogey and stand back to watch her putt. 

She steps up and drains it for birdie... then falls to her knees and makes almost a screech of excitement.

A little confused I said great putt and great birdie and get the ball from the hole for her. As I give her the ball (now standing) she looks at me and says that is her first ever birdie. She has been playing on and off for nearly 20 years and on this day, a day both of us considered cancelling because of what weather could be on the furthest part of the course away from the club house she sank a great putt for her first ever birdie. 

She gave me a big hug when I gave her the ball and we continued to enjoy the rest of the round. The rest of the day didn't matter, she had done what she hadnt done in years and I will give her credit she continue to make a ton of bogeys (good for her length considering she was almost always 3 to get on the green) and didn't loose that same ball. 

When our round was done I asked if I could buy her a coffee to celebrate her first ever birdie and we shared a few more stories. Talked about Ivan and the dogs, what is was like moving to Switzerland and getting married here and a whole lot more. She shared stories about her work and that she has a son about my age, her partner doesn't like to golf so we arranged a round for next week and I can only hope it is as much fun as this one. 

Just what a cool thing to be a part of and something to experience. I have only ever seen 1 hole in 1 before and not going to lie this raw emotion she shared beat that 100 times over. 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

9 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

I have a new one which will stay I hope for a while. 

Today I got up went to work and got all the MGS stuff done in time to head to the course for my 9:50 tee time. Schedule called for rain and I debated about 60 different times to cancel my booking or not. However I have new P790s in the bag and given I really wanted to see how they worked I said screw it I will play a few holes and if it rains like crazy I can call it a day and go home. 

Thankfully the weather seemed to clear as I got to the course and other than a light dusting of rain on the first hole the rest of the round was dry. 

I was paired up (surprisingly) with another lady who saw me on the range and as we were just about the only ones on the schedule she asked if I was with her and what time I was teeing off. 

She was bundled up in rain gear and everything else, but clearly excited to play. I remember seeing her handicap in the mid 20s on the tee sheet (yes that is posted for all teesheets here). 

So we hit our practice balls and made our way to the tee. First hole was good, made a bad chip and got away with bogey and she hit a few up and made a nice putt to finish off the hole. We talked a little in both german and english while figuring out what language we would use for the rest of the round and were quite happy we were golfing with someone else and not alone. 

Fast forward to the 4th hole. Par 3 about 165 yards (ish) with water hazard on the right which seems to be a magnet for my golf balls and big bunker on the left. The weather was cold and no wind so me wanting to see what these p790s are really about took one less club. Normally that number for me is a 7 iron and I took an 8 which flew to the middle of the green and rolled backish edge. 

As I walked back to reshoot the distance with my range finder the lady tee'd off from hers and rolled it up to about 10 foot. A great shot as the ground was wet from having rained all night and morning. 

As we get up to the green I tell her great shot and go to the back of the green to putt mine. I end up going long past the hole to within about a inch of her marker.  

When I walk up I ask her if it is okay if I continue and help show her the line with my putt. It looked pretty straight, but should go a bit left to right. She said okay, quick gladly and I went on to just miss left side. Didn't break as we both thought and went basically dead straight. 

I tap mine in for a silly bogey and stand back to watch her putt. 

She steps up and drains it for birdie... then falls to her knees and makes almost a screech of excitement.

A little confused I said great putt and great birdie and get the ball from the hole for her. As I give her the ball (now standing) she looks at me and says that is her first ever birdie. She has been playing on and off for nearly 20 years and on this day, a day both of us considered cancelling because of what weather could be on the furthest part of the course away from the club house she sank a great putt for her first ever birdie. 

She gave me a big hug when I gave her the ball and we continued to enjoy the rest of the round. The rest of the day didn't matter, she had done what she hadnt done in years and I will give her credit she continue to make a ton of bogeys (good for her length considering she was almost always 3 to get on the green) and didn't loose that same ball. 

When our round was done I asked if I could buy her a coffee to celebrate her first ever birdie and we shared a few more stories. Talked about Ivan and the dogs, what is was like moving to Switzerland and getting married here and a whole lot more. She shared stories about her work and that she has a son about my age, her partner doesn't like to golf so we arranged a round for next week and I can only hope it is as much fun as this one. 

Just what a cool thing to be a part of and something to experience. I have only ever seen 1 hole in 1 before and not going to lie this raw emotion she shared beat that 100 times over. 

Okay, this is absolutely awesome, Jamie! How cool of an experience to get to share that pure, genuine excitement with someone! Also I think it's really cool that you scheduled a round for next week. Amazing the connections that we can make on the golf course with a person who in 9 chances out of 10 we'd pass on the street and never think twice to have a conversation with.

[EasyPutter]

51 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

I have a new one which will stay I hope for a while. 

Today I got up went to work and got all the MGS stuff done in time to head to the course for my 9:50 tee time. Schedule called for rain and I debated about 60 different times to cancel my booking or not. However I have new P790s in the bag and given I really wanted to see how they worked I said screw it I will play a few holes and if it rains like crazy I can call it a day and go home. 

Thankfully the weather seemed to clear as I got to the course and other than a light dusting of rain on the first hole the rest of the round was dry. 

I was paired up (surprisingly) with another lady who saw me on the range and as we were just about the only ones on the schedule she asked if I was with her and what time I was teeing off. 

She was bundled up in rain gear and everything else, but clearly excited to play. I remember seeing her handicap in the mid 20s on the tee sheet (yes that is posted for all teesheets here). 

So we hit our practice balls and made our way to the tee. First hole was good, made a bad chip and got away with bogey and she hit a few up and made a nice putt to finish off the hole. We talked a little in both german and english while figuring out what language we would use for the rest of the round and were quite happy we were golfing with someone else and not alone. 

Fast forward to the 4th hole. Par 3 about 165 yards (ish) with water hazard on the right which seems to be a magnet for my golf balls and big bunker on the left. The weather was cold and no wind so me wanting to see what these p790s are really about took one less club. Normally that number for me is a 7 iron and I took an 8 which flew to the middle of the green and rolled backish edge. 

As I walked back to reshoot the distance with my range finder the lady tee'd off from hers and rolled it up to about 10 foot. A great shot as the ground was wet from having rained all night and morning. 

As we get up to the green I tell her great shot and go to the back of the green to putt mine. I end up going long past the hole to within about a inch of her marker.  

When I walk up I ask her if it is okay if I continue and help show her the line with my putt. It looked pretty straight, but should go a bit left to right. She said okay, quick gladly and I went on to just miss left side. Didn't break as we both thought and went basically dead straight. 

I tap mine in for a silly bogey and stand back to watch her putt. 

She steps up and drains it for birdie... then falls to her knees and makes almost a screech of excitement.

A little confused I said great putt and great birdie and get the ball from the hole for her. As I give her the ball (now standing) she looks at me and says that is her first ever birdie. She has been playing on and off for nearly 20 years and on this day, a day both of us considered cancelling because of what weather could be on the furthest part of the course away from the club house she sank a great putt for her first ever birdie. 

She gave me a big hug when I gave her the ball and we continued to enjoy the rest of the round. The rest of the day didn't matter, she had done what she hadnt done in years and I will give her credit she continue to make a ton of bogeys (good for her length considering she was almost always 3 to get on the green) and didn't loose that same ball. 

When our round was done I asked if I could buy her a coffee to celebrate her first ever birdie and we shared a few more stories. Talked about Ivan and the dogs, what is was like moving to Switzerland and getting married here and a whole lot more. She shared stories about her work and that she has a son about my age, her partner doesn't like to golf so we arranged a round for next week and I can only hope it is as much fun as this one. 

Just what a cool thing to be a part of and something to experience. I have only ever seen 1 hole in 1 before and not going to lie this raw emotion she shared beat that 100 times over. 

My newest favorite I think will be hard to beat as the best golf story I have ever heard, thank you for writing it well enough to be there in the moment to celebrate her accomplishment.  And hope you have a new golf partner that makes heading to the first tee that much easier to do when you know what follows is always going to lift the spirits more than golf always does (for me anyway) 

40 minutes ago, Jnoble89 said:

Okay, this is absolutely awesome, Jamie! How cool of an experience to get to share that pure, genuine excitement with someone! Also I think it's really cool that you scheduled a round for next week. Amazing the connections that we can make on the golf course with a person who in 9 chances out of 10 we'd pass on the street and never think twice to have a conversation with.

Totally agreed - for some reason it is on the course that people let go of their status and mask society would have us maintain and wear, and usually the person playing is much more pleasant than the reputation that precedes them to the course.  I played with a local politician who after playing the round is someone I would play golf with any day even if I might never vote for him/her (pronoun obscured as I never know who is reading these posts) 

[Tsecor]

My first experience with a woman was on a golf green.   Maybe thats why i love this game so much

[Mjgala01]

My best story is the only hole in one on my record. Cherokee GC in Louisville… muni dump but what we played all the time when in college and poor.  Hole 8, 180+ 4iron.  Pin was hidden beyond a ridge so, while I knew I hit a good shot, didn’t know it went in until I saw the guys on 9 tee box jumping up and down.

Obviously, this is only the “best story” to me but I’m going with it… until I get my next hole in one.

[Fred Mitchell]

On 1/26/2023 at 1:30 PM, GolfSpy_APH said:

Not the funniest, but we found it funny at the time.

First time playing with this guy and my friend.. Didn't really know what to expect other than my fried said he was decent. 

We get to 17 and it's been raining and the wind is starting to really come down. We are literally the only ones on the course at this time. 

So we tee off on 17 and it's a severely sloped left to right. The hole is essentially on the side of a big hill. He pulls his drive massively and having never played there we ask if it's okay and he says no way. Plays a provisional and goes the other way. Ends up on 13th fairway or something and has to go up about 130 foot slope to get to the green. He makes a 7 or something and is twisted. So we go to 18  a par 3 and it's beside the range. Where we see a couple balls around the green from the tee. 

We all hit and as we walk up there is one very close to the pin. Tap in range but none of us were that close. Figuring it's just a range ball we walk up to kick it away and turns out it was his first tee shot on 17. It had gone about 425. Over the freaking mountain, over the 10th green, somehow missed a little creek and some trees and ended up there. 

We got a good laugh at it and we're amazed at how far it had gone

 

When I was young and had swing speed I crushed a driver off the 1st tee but it was low, about 50 yards out on the right edge of the fairway was a big brass plaque and you guessed it. It was beautiful out and theres a porch right by the 1st tee full of people enjoying a beer and this plaque sounds like a gong when you it that hard. They all turn to look and here it comes back at a pretty decent rate of speed but veering off to my right, I check and the only thing down the hill that way is the 18th green which is down hill about 50 feet and behind the 1st tee box a little ways. Its like one of those slow motion things on TV watching the ball roll down the hill picking up speed heading towards the empty green and it rolled between 2 bunkers onto the green and to the cheers of dozens of inebriated golfers I now hold the course record there at 1 

[Syks7]

2 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

I have a new one which will stay I hope for a while. 

Today I got up went to work and got all the MGS stuff done in time to head to the course for my 9:50 tee time. Schedule called for rain and I debated about 60 different times to cancel my booking or not. However I have new P790s in the bag and given I really wanted to see how they worked I said screw it I will play a few holes and if it rains like crazy I can call it a day and go home. 

Thankfully the weather seemed to clear as I got to the course and other than a light dusting of rain on the first hole the rest of the round was dry. 

I was paired up (surprisingly) with another lady who saw me on the range and as we were just about the only ones on the schedule she asked if I was with her and what time I was teeing off. 

She was bundled up in rain gear and everything else, but clearly excited to play. I remember seeing her handicap in the mid 20s on the tee sheet (yes that is posted for all teesheets here). 

So we hit our practice balls and made our way to the tee. First hole was good, made a bad chip and got away with bogey and she hit a few up and made a nice putt to finish off the hole. We talked a little in both german and english while figuring out what language we would use for the rest of the round and were quite happy we were golfing with someone else and not alone. 

Fast forward to the 4th hole. Par 3 about 165 yards (ish) with water hazard on the right which seems to be a magnet for my golf balls and big bunker on the left. The weather was cold and no wind so me wanting to see what these p790s are really about took one less club. Normally that number for me is a 7 iron and I took an 8 which flew to the middle of the green and rolled backish edge. 

As I walked back to reshoot the distance with my range finder the lady tee'd off from hers and rolled it up to about 10 foot. A great shot as the ground was wet from having rained all night and morning. 

As we get up to the green I tell her great shot and go to the back of the green to putt mine. I end up going long past the hole to within about a inch of her marker.  

When I walk up I ask her if it is okay if I continue and help show her the line with my putt. It looked pretty straight, but should go a bit left to right. She said okay, quick gladly and I went on to just miss left side. Didn't break as we both thought and went basically dead straight. 

I tap mine in for a silly bogey and stand back to watch her putt. 

She steps up and drains it for birdie... then falls to her knees and makes almost a screech of excitement.

A little confused I said great putt and great birdie and get the ball from the hole for her. As I give her the ball (now standing) she looks at me and says that is her first ever birdie. She has been playing on and off for nearly 20 years and on this day, a day both of us considered cancelling because of what weather could be on the furthest part of the course away from the club house she sank a great putt for her first ever birdie. 

She gave me a big hug when I gave her the ball and we continued to enjoy the rest of the round. The rest of the day didn't matter, she had done what she hadnt done in years and I will give her credit she continue to make a ton of bogeys (good for her length considering she was almost always 3 to get on the green) and didn't loose that same ball. 

When our round was done I asked if I could buy her a coffee to celebrate her first ever birdie and we shared a few more stories. Talked about Ivan and the dogs, what is was like moving to Switzerland and getting married here and a whole lot more. She shared stories about her work and that she has a son about my age, her partner doesn't like to golf so we arranged a round for next week and I can only hope it is as much fun as this one. 

Just what a cool thing to be a part of and something to experience. I have only ever seen 1 hole in 1 before and not going to lie this raw emotion she shared beat that 100 times over. 

Personal milestones are what makes this game so amazing.  

Spoiler

but also occasionally infuriating as you chase them.  

Nothing can make your day quite like a well struck shot or a holed long putt.  I have a single eagle & hole-out over 100 yards to my name and I remember both in detail.

Edited April 20, 2023 by Syks7

[chisag]

3 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

She steps up and drains it for birdie... then falls to her knees and makes almost a screech of excitement.

A little confused I said great putt and great birdie and get the ball from the hole for her. As I give her the ball (now standing) she looks at me and says that is her first ever birdie. She has been playing on and off for nearly 20 years and on this day, a day both of us considered cancelling because of what weather could be on the furthest part of the course away from the club house she sank a great putt for her first ever birdie. 

 

... Such great story and experience. My son has a profound saying "Don't buy things, buy experiences" and my goodness did the cost of your rounds pay for a once in a lifetime experience! The game can be special for all players at all levels. I played Ambiente at Camelback, one of my favorite courses here in Phoenix that is a faux British course and goes out for 18 and then back for 18. It was 110* that day and I was joined by a high index player. Long story short I tied my record low score with a birdie on 18 and Paul in his mid 60's actually jumped up and down. He was very excited and a little bit of a surprise to see someone so excited about another players score. It turned out it was a record round for him too. 

... He said he was inspired by my good play since I was so relaxed and encouraging to him and his regular partners are always complaining about their poor play, never noticing anyone else. I was thinking he had to have shot over 100 and indeed he did but ... it was his first round ever using the same ball for 18 holes! He was going to buy a plaque and mount it in his golf room. I always knew there were different reasons to love this game but this was a new one. It reminded me that everyone always has a chance to do "something special" on any day, at any time on any course. 




 

[GolfSpy TCB]

3 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

I have a new one which will stay I hope for a while. 

Today I got up went to work and got all the MGS stuff done in time to head to the course for my 9:50 tee time. Schedule called for rain and I debated about 60 different times to cancel my booking or not. However I have new P790s in the bag and given I really wanted to see how they worked I said screw it I will play a few holes and if it rains like crazy I can call it a day and go home. 

Thankfully the weather seemed to clear as I got to the course and other than a light dusting of rain on the first hole the rest of the round was dry. 

I was paired up (surprisingly) with another lady who saw me on the range and as we were just about the only ones on the schedule she asked if I was with her and what time I was teeing off. 

She was bundled up in rain gear and everything else, but clearly excited to play. I remember seeing her handicap in the mid 20s on the tee sheet (yes that is posted for all teesheets here). 

So we hit our practice balls and made our way to the tee. First hole was good, made a bad chip and got away with bogey and she hit a few up and made a nice putt to finish off the hole. We talked a little in both german and english while figuring out what language we would use for the rest of the round and were quite happy we were golfing with someone else and not alone. 

Fast forward to the 4th hole. Par 3 about 165 yards (ish) with water hazard on the right which seems to be a magnet for my golf balls and big bunker on the left. The weather was cold and no wind so me wanting to see what these p790s are really about took one less club. Normally that number for me is a 7 iron and I took an 8 which flew to the middle of the green and rolled backish edge. 

As I walked back to reshoot the distance with my range finder the lady tee'd off from hers and rolled it up to about 10 foot. A great shot as the ground was wet from having rained all night and morning. 

As we get up to the green I tell her great shot and go to the back of the green to putt mine. I end up going long past the hole to within about a inch of her marker.  

When I walk up I ask her if it is okay if I continue and help show her the line with my putt. It looked pretty straight, but should go a bit left to right. She said okay, quick gladly and I went on to just miss left side. Didn't break as we both thought and went basically dead straight. 

I tap mine in for a silly bogey and stand back to watch her putt. 

She steps up and drains it for birdie... then falls to her knees and makes almost a screech of excitement.

A little confused I said great putt and great birdie and get the ball from the hole for her. As I give her the ball (now standing) she looks at me and says that is her first ever birdie. She has been playing on and off for nearly 20 years and on this day, a day both of us considered cancelling because of what weather could be on the furthest part of the course away from the club house she sank a great putt for her first ever birdie. 

She gave me a big hug when I gave her the ball and we continued to enjoy the rest of the round. The rest of the day didn't matter, she had done what she hadnt done in years and I will give her credit she continue to make a ton of bogeys (good for her length considering she was almost always 3 to get on the green) and didn't loose that same ball. 

When our round was done I asked if I could buy her a coffee to celebrate her first ever birdie and we shared a few more stories. Talked about Ivan and the dogs, what is was like moving to Switzerland and getting married here and a whole lot more. She shared stories about her work and that she has a son about my age, her partner doesn't like to golf so we arranged a round for next week and I can only hope it is as much fun as this one. 

Just what a cool thing to be a part of and something to experience. I have only ever seen 1 hole in 1 before and not going to lie this raw emotion she shared beat that 100 times over. 

Thank you so much for sharing that Jamie.  Awesome story.  

How many of us can remember our first birdie?  Not only will she remember her first, but you will always remember it too!  

That right there is why this game is the most amazing in the world. 

[GolfSpy SAM]

3 minutes ago, Golfspy_TCB said:

Thank you so much for sharing that Jamie.  Awesome story.  

How many of us can remember our first birdie?  Not only will she remember her first, but you will always remember it too!  

That right there is why this game is the most amazing in the world. 

I'm waiting for my first eagle - have had a few chances this past year, and ... dropping to my knees and freaking out sounds about right   I'll probably weep, too, just to make it VERY uncomfortable for the people I'm playing with.  I might stop and thank everyone who ever helped me along the way...standard acceptance speech stuff, really. 

I'm very excited about this happening this year. I can feel it. 

[CFreddie]

Such a cool story Jamie - thanks so much for sharing!  Golf truly is an incredible game to be shared with all!

[IndyBonzo]

This is not a great story in the sense that it has no beginning, middle, end, tension, etc.  But it was amazing to see.

Last summer I was playing near Charleston, SC with family.  My cousin, who is an excellent golfer, was having a tough time of it because of eye trouble.  (He has since had cataract surgery and is playing tons better.)   Long story short, he topped a 7 iron on a par 3.  It was headed for the water - and a HUGE gator.  The ball struck the gator on the head, made a shockingly dull <thump> sound, and ricocheted to the right about 20 yards off the green.  The gator never moved.

My cousin got up and down with a two-putt for bogey.

[CFreddie]

3 minutes ago, IndyBonzo said:

This is not a great story in the sense that it has no beginning, middle, end, tension, etc.  But it was amazing to see.

Last summer I was playing near Charleston, SC with family.  My cousin, who is an excellent golfer, was having a tough time of it because of eye trouble.  (He has since had cataract surgery and is playing tons better.)   Long story short, he topped a 7 iron on a par 3.  It was headed for the water - and a HUGE gator.  The ball struck the gator on the head, made a shockingly dull <thump> sound, and ricocheted to the right about 20 yards off the green.  The gator never moved.

My cousin got up and down with a two-putt for bogey.

No....this is a GREAT story! 

[GolfSpy SAM]

2 minutes ago, IndyBonzo said:

This is not a great story in the sense that it has no beginning, middle, end, tension, etc

5 minutes ago, IndyBonzo said:

Last summer I was playing near Charleston, SC with family.  My cousin, who is an excellent golfer, was having a tough time of it because of eye trouble.  (He has since had cataract surgery and is playing tons better.)   Long story short, he topped a 7 iron on a par 3.  It was headed for the water - and a HUGE gator.  The ball struck the gator on the head, made a shockingly dull <thump> sound, and ricocheted to the right about 20 yards off the green.  The gator never moved.

My cousin got up and down with a two-putt for bogey.

That's awesome! "Aim for the gator" should definitely be on a t-shirt somewhere  

[IndyBonzo]

22 minutes ago, GolfSpy_SAM said:

That's awesome! "Aim for the gator" should definitely be on a t-shirt somewhere  

I told him he could only wear Izod now.

[tdroma98]

4 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

I have a new one which will stay I hope for a while. 

Today I got up went to work and got all the MGS stuff done in time to head to the course for my 9:50 tee time. Schedule called for rain and I debated about 60 different times to cancel my booking or not. However I have new P790s in the bag and given I really wanted to see how they worked I said screw it I will play a few holes and if it rains like crazy I can call it a day and go home. 

Thankfully the weather seemed to clear as I got to the course and other than a light dusting of rain on the first hole the rest of the round was dry. 

I was paired up (surprisingly) with another lady who saw me on the range and as we were just about the only ones on the schedule she asked if I was with her and what time I was teeing off. 

She was bundled up in rain gear and everything else, but clearly excited to play. I remember seeing her handicap in the mid 20s on the tee sheet (yes that is posted for all teesheets here). 

So we hit our practice balls and made our way to the tee. First hole was good, made a bad chip and got away with bogey and she hit a few up and made a nice putt to finish off the hole. We talked a little in both german and english while figuring out what language we would use for the rest of the round and were quite happy we were golfing with someone else and not alone. 

Fast forward to the 4th hole. Par 3 about 165 yards (ish) with water hazard on the right which seems to be a magnet for my golf balls and big bunker on the left. The weather was cold and no wind so me wanting to see what these p790s are really about took one less club. Normally that number for me is a 7 iron and I took an 8 which flew to the middle of the green and rolled backish edge. 

As I walked back to reshoot the distance with my range finder the lady tee'd off from hers and rolled it up to about 10 foot. A great shot as the ground was wet from having rained all night and morning. 

As we get up to the green I tell her great shot and go to the back of the green to putt mine. I end up going long past the hole to within about a inch of her marker.  

When I walk up I ask her if it is okay if I continue and help show her the line with my putt. It looked pretty straight, but should go a bit left to right. She said okay, quick gladly and I went on to just miss left side. Didn't break as we both thought and went basically dead straight. 

I tap mine in for a silly bogey and stand back to watch her putt. 

She steps up and drains it for birdie... then falls to her knees and makes almost a screech of excitement.

A little confused I said great putt and great birdie and get the ball from the hole for her. As I give her the ball (now standing) she looks at me and says that is her first ever birdie. She has been playing on and off for nearly 20 years and on this day, a day both of us considered cancelling because of what weather could be on the furthest part of the course away from the club house she sank a great putt for her first ever birdie. 

She gave me a big hug when I gave her the ball and we continued to enjoy the rest of the round. The rest of the day didn't matter, she had done what she hadnt done in years and I will give her credit she continue to make a ton of bogeys (good for her length considering she was almost always 3 to get on the green) and didn't loose that same ball. 

When our round was done I asked if I could buy her a coffee to celebrate her first ever birdie and we shared a few more stories. Talked about Ivan and the dogs, what is was like moving to Switzerland and getting married here and a whole lot more. She shared stories about her work and that she has a son about my age, her partner doesn't like to golf so we arranged a round for next week and I can only hope it is as much fun as this one. 

Just what a cool thing to be a part of and something to experience. I have only ever seen 1 hole in 1 before and not going to lie this raw emotion she shared beat that 100 times over. 

That is a GREAT GOLF STORY @GolfSpy_APH!! You're quite the gentleman! Thanks for sharing! Play well next week!

[Randall Robbins]

These are good stories -here is mine - I was lucky enough to attend the Masters practice rounds a few years ago, and took one of my good friends.  After watching play and walking around, we were heading down a path when my friend tells me to turn around and look - so, I whip around, and my right elbow misses by a few inches the jaw of Tiger Woods, who was being driven back to the clubhouse!  Said a quick "sorry", then kind of skunk back into the crowd.  Boy did I hear about that - you almost clocked Tiger, but after a bit we laughed about the near-miss

[GolfSpy SAM]

18 minutes ago, Randall Robbins said:

These are good stories -here is mine - I was lucky enough to attend the Masters practice rounds a few years ago, and took one of my good friends.  After watching play and walking around, we were heading down a path when my friend tells me to turn around and look - so, I whip around, and my right elbow misses by a few inches the jaw of Tiger Woods, who was being driven back to the clubhouse!  Said a quick "sorry", then kind of skunk back into the crowd.  Boy did I hear about that - you almost clocked Tiger, but after a bit we laughed about the near-miss

Thanks for sharing, and thank you for not knocking out a national treasure