About three months ago, having recently turned 40, I accepted an invitation to try golf. It took about 30 seconds to realize I was (i) likely to remain bad for the foreseeable future and (ii) completely hooked on the sport.
This morning, all alone as the sun was coming up, I teed up on the 95m first hole of a local 9-hole pay and play, hit a six iron, and watched it land near the hole, then roll up and disappear into immortality.
Even as a beginner, with an often erratic swing and a general lack of great distance (to be kind), there is always that outside chance to hit a spectacular shot (with a nice 95% slice of luck).
I played the hole again 1.5 hours later and scored a 5. Still, I imagine today’s feeling will be hard to top.
Lex said:
I mean this with all due respect but get fucked. 17 years and nothing.
The totally unexpected luck of this is not lost on me. But it was still a crazy moment to enjoy. That said, I was straight back to 3-putting. I’ll be dining out on it for at least 17 years though…
Lex said:
I mean this with all due respect but get fucked. 17 years and nothing.
Yeah I’m at 20 years and no HIO. In my defense, I’m a decent golfer who hits the ball pretty high. All of the HIOs I’ve seen are pure luck. I saw a guy thin it, landed 30 yards short, took a sweet bounce, and rolled in. The other one ricocheted off a tree, landed on the green with crazy sidespin, and went into the hole.
I once saw a guy slam dunk it from 205 on a par 3…but maintenance forgot the plastic insert that morning. The cup exploded at impact and the ball came out of the hole. No HIO. That was the biggest robbery I’ve witnessed.
At least the top half of the entire back of the hole was completely ripped away. It took us about 10 minutes to try to put the pieces back to reform the back of the hole. So the ball had so much force when it hit directly into the back of the hole, it blasted away that chunk and the ball came out of the debris and came to rest 8-12 inches from the hole. If the plastic insert were in place, this wouldn’t have been possible (the ball still could’ve bounced out, though).
Lex said:
I mean this with all due respect but get fucked. 17 years and nothing.
Closest I got was watching that sucker land on the green and absolutely full speed rolling at the pin. The flag made a nice clinging sound, and we watched my ball proceed to roll 15 feet away from the hole.
@Beckett
Mine landed 2 inches from the hole on a blind shot, and my buddy rushed up to the green and put it in the hole and told me it had gone in. I no longer play with that person.
As a fellow lucky golfer, I feel you. First one was with grandad, dad, and uncle at 11 y/o. Have had another at 25 with my BiL and wife. Fully addicted for life.
