Every round, every week, year after year we're one shot from par, breaking 80, 90, 100, etc. We've been there, lived it, and walk away knowing we were one shot away.
The day begins with a goal to win the British Open, break a golf barrier, or maybe without a thought. Coffee, Advil, egg sandwich, two trips to the commode, and we're on our way. One day we arrive early to warm up on the range, chip, putt, and spare a few minutes for toe touches. The next we're running to the 1st tee with shoes in hand. The result is equal.
Each round is unique but all the same. Shot after shot we maneuver through the course. Fairway ... green ... two putt, par. Hook ... miraculous punch around one tree rising above the next, par. Lost ball bogey. 30 footer to save par, bogey, or double.
Melt down after a birdie. Recovery after a blow up. In the end that last putt falls and our score is final. 73 ... 80 ... 90. Once again we miss that elusive number. How? Why? We shot great but just missed. Nothing fell but a 79 lurked.
That one shot occurs on 18 when our friends inform us a triple bogey breaks 90. The snap hook setting off a two penalty stroke hole resulting in a quad. The duffed chip, missed two foot putt, or second sand shot. It's often that shot tracking to the pin with a beautiful draw landing a foot short plunging into the greenside bunker.
We remember the great drive, 5 iron to a foot, and that one shot which kept us from glory.
My one shot at Myrtle last year. I’m rolling through Tidewater with a solid round sitting 3 over par heading to the 18th tee. OB left, water right, & Moden squatting with camera in hand. I stood over my tee shot with Boswell doing the jig in my head. My shot came in the form of a power fade down the right side and into the water. One in Two out and on my way to a double bogey finishing at 81.
ReplyDeleteMy best "one shot" from greatness came about 3 years ago - playing a round at Pleasant Valley with Barszcz, Kim, and Doyle. For whatever reason, I was on fire - sinking long putts all day. After sinking a seriously long birdie putt on 15, Doyle looked up at the GPS / Electronic scorecard and says "dude, if you can just get a double bogey on the next 3 holes, you'll break 90." Needless to say, the next tee shot went into the water. 2 triples later I was standing at 18 needing a par to save the round. No one said a word, but we were all focused on the water to the right - and with the power slice I had developed over the last 3 holes, the odds were on me putting my tee shot into the water, followed shortly thereafter by the golf clubs and cart. I cleared my mind, took a deep breath, and fired a drive right down the gut of the fairway, about 280 yards. I then took out my sand wedge and knocked the ball about 40 yards over the green. Then I flubbed the next chip. I then 2-putted for a 6. Fail.
ReplyDeletemy one shot...totaled 9 when all was said and done. my one shot..totaled 8 two holes later. but before you hear that, let me tell you about prior 14 holes. though i wasn't playing stellar i was recovering like a pga pro. not driving well and hitting few greens in regulation i was chipping to 3 feet and sinking the birdie putts i had.
ReplyDeleteso up until the 15th hole, i was +4 for the round and feeling great. 15th hole (the 6th at south riding, a course i love) is a par 5. nothing difficult as long as you don't snap hook it or slice it into the woods. oh, did i mention there is an option 3...a top into the 2 feet grass. ok, no big deal, it happens; i'll hit a provisional but i think i can find that first one, hack out and take a bogey, MAYBE a par.
no no no no no...provisional, fail. another top into the tall grass. now, the pressure and the sweating. do i take out my 4 iron and try to get out there 220? shit, what if i top THAT? hitting 7 from the tee? result, 9.
next hole, drive down the pipe, center of the green, 2 putt, par. ok, +8, a bird on one of the next two holes and i'm at 79.
17th hole, top. but this top was in the tall grass, visible and sitting up nicely. (provisional is right down the middle, by the way) so, i punch out, it's a short par 4, i can get on in 3, maybe 1 put. no, no no. second even further into the grass; into a gulley...long story short, 8.
the story of my 2008...one/two holes away from greatness...