# A Golf Story Too Cool Not To Share **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 8, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-golf-story-too-cool-not-to-share/499125 "2009-06-08T18:42:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-golf-story-too-cool-not-to-share/499125/1 "2009-06-08T18:42:09Z")
My dad is an avid golfer. He took up the sport as a relatively young man in his mid to late 20’s and he’s been playing ever since – a good 40 years. He’s not too bad. Not quite scratch, but a very low handicap. He’s now retired and, as you might guess, he spends a great deal of time with his sport. He’s a member of the greens committee at his local club and everything. So last week he’s playing in his club’s tournament. It isn’t super-duper huge, but there’s some money and prizes to be won. His team came in third and got to split $250 dollars. He had also won an iPod Nano for something … closest to hole, I think. Inculded in the tournament were separate chipping and putting contests. In the chipping contest he did pretty well and managed to snag and iPod Touch. The man was on a roll. Then there was the putting contest. First he needed to qualify by being one of the few closest to the cup on a 30-foot putt. He qualified. Then there was the big enchilada … a 60 foot putt. He was the last to go, and all the others in front of him missed. He told me he was very nervous … there were at least 100 people gathered around watching. He went through his regular routine of lining it up, three practice swings to gage weight and scratching his left nut four times while chanting “nam myoho renge kyo”, or whatever it is he does. He said he struck it as solidly and truly as he’d ever struck a putt. 60 feet, 50 feet. It snakes toward the hole and hits a pebble, or a bad blade of grass and leaps a bit, but stays true to its line. 40 feet, 30 feet, it hits another pit and takes another little leap but keeps on its march toward the hole. The crowd already starts to mumble. 20 feet, 10 feet, the crowd grows louder. 5 feet, my dad’s eyes are like saucers and his arms are already raising in the air. 3 feet, the crowd begins a steady build up. 2 feet, louder. 1 foot, louder still. Now there’s no doubt … … the ball drops in the cup and it’s pandemonium! Like it was the final hole of the Masters! 100 people or so going bonkers, not the least of which was my dad. They’ve run this contest for 20 year and this is the first time this putt has been sunk. Ladies and germs … the man won Ten Thousand Dollars on one putt! There is an old saying: “Drive for show, putt for dough.” I give you … my dad. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-golf-story-too-cool-not-to-share/499125/2 "2009-06-08T18:48:08Z")
Nice story. Retired life can be fun, after all. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-golf-story-too-cool-not-to-share/499125/3 "2009-06-08T18:59:46Z")
Congrats to your dad! ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-golf-story-too-cool-not-to-share/499125/4 "2009-06-08T19:02:19Z")
Wow! That’s great! Made me chuckle loud enough my cube neighbor asked me what I was laughing about. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-golf-story-too-cool-not-to-share/499125/5 "2009-06-08T19:40:23Z")
Can I have a loan? ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-golf-story-too-cool-not-to-share/499125/6 "2009-06-08T19:40:42Z")
Awesome! ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-golf-story-too-cool-not-to-share/499125/7 "2009-06-08T19:43:43Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Can I have a loan? That was my first question as well. Unfortunately, it’s pretty much aleady spent. You know retirees and their constant whining about eating and paying their bills when there are 52-inch 1080P Plasma TVs out there just \*not \*taking up space in my living room. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-golf-story-too-cool-not-to-share/499125/8 "2009-06-08T19:44:48Z")
Awesome. And now he’ll spend the rest of his retirement trying to chase that feeling. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-golf-story-too-cool-not-to-share/499125/9 "2009-06-08T19:47:43Z")
Nut scratching is highly underrated… or at least it _used_ to be. Perhaps as more people hear this story and employ the secret charm even MLB players will turn to each other and say “Man, those golfers sure scratch their nuts a lot.” ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Joe_Meager)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-golf-story-too-cool-not-to-share/499125/10 "2009-06-08T20:24:18Z")
\ ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-golf-story-too-cool-not-to-share/499125/11 "2009-06-08T20:33:38Z")
Great story. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-golf-story-too-cool-not-to-share/499125/12 "2009-06-08T20:33:52Z")
Of course, the sad part of the story is that his golf career is all downhill from here. How’s he going to top that? 😃 Seriously, congrats to your dad! ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-golf-story-too-cool-not-to-share/499125/13 "2009-06-08T20:42:14Z")
He still doesn’t have a hole-in-one to his credit. There’s always that. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-golf-story-too-cool-not-to-share/499125/14 "2009-10-28T17:36:02Z")
I just ran across this thread I started this summer. My dad got his first hole in one last month. Now, it’s all down hill. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-golf-story-too-cool-not-to-share/499125/15 "2009-10-28T19:02:05Z")
No, now he has to try to get a hole-in-one on two different holes in the same game. Come on, think harder! ---
**Author:** ![gommsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@gommsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gommsn)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2009, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-golf-story-too-cool-not-to-share/499125/16 "2009-10-28T22:09:59Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I just ran across this thread I started this summer. > > My dad got his first hole in one last month. > > Now, it’s all down hill. Tell him to hang in there,Jack. I got my first in 1980 and my second in 1996. Missed my third by 3 inches in 2005. Give him my best and remind him there are still hills to climb.