Mickey Wright recalls that during a tournament in Texas, with a 40-mile-per-hour wind, very hard ground, and perfect timing, she went over the green of a 385-yard hole on her drive.
During the 1979 English Classic at Belfry Golf Club, Seve Ballesteros hooked his drive on the final hole. It started toward a lagoon, where it bounced off an overturned dinghy on the water's edge and back onto the fairway. From there, Seve made a birdie and won the title.
During an Italian Open a few years ago, an Italian player three putted a green. A fellow countryman rushed out of the crowd and punched the player on the nose.
At Wentworth Falls, Australia, in 1928, two players in a foursome hit their tee shots to opposite sides of the ninth green. They chipped at the same time; the two balls collided in flight and both dropped into the hole.
Immediately after the gun sounded to start a shotgun event at Highlands Golf Club in Cosmopolis, Washington, Bob LaCroix struck his tee shot on the par-three fifth hole. The ball ricocheted off a tree and into the hole ten seconds after the tournament started.
In the third round of the 1980 PGA Championship, Ben Crenshaw was so disgusted by his approach to the 18th hole at Inverness Club outside Toledo, Ohio, that he tossed his 9-iron into the air. The club came down and hit Crenshaw on the back of the head, leaving a gouge that later required three stitches.
Royalty has its privilege - especially at Royal Wimbledon, where Edward VIII, a 12 handicap, scored a hole-in-one during his year as Club Captain in 1928-1929. The ace came courtesy of five caddies who conspired to see his ball fall into the cup with help on a blind par three.
Nigel Denham saw his second shot to ihe 18th green at Moortown, Yorkshire, England, bounce up the steps and into the clubhouse. His ball rolled through an open door, ricocheted off a wall and came to rest in the men's bar. From there he played his shot through an open window to within 12 feet of the flag.
Pitching to the fifth green at Weston (Massachusetts) Golf Club, Malcolm Russell lodged his ball in a tree. Three days later, while playing the same hole, the ball dropped out at Russell's feet.
Arthur Powell sliced his drive on the 265-yard ninth hole at Muskerry, in Northern Ireland. The ball hit the roof of a cottage, bounced back onto the fairway, rolled onto the green, and into the hole.
As he was sizing up a 15-foot eagle putt on the 280-yard, par-four third hole at Elks Club Golf Club in Rapid City, South Dakota, Mike Wlliams noticed a ball flying toward him. Hit by Bob Malone, the ball bounced off the foot of Williams' caddie and disappeared in the cup for a hole-in-one. Wlliams missed the putt.
Ky Laffoon once found himself needing to two putt from three feet to win a tournament. He missed his first attempt by three inches. That made him so mad he slammed the putter down on the ball, which jumped two feet in the air and fell into the cup for victory.
During a round at the Waukewan Golf CIub in Meredith, New Hampshire, Bill Hayward's second shot on the 15th hole hit a tree and slammed into the water fountain, turning on the water. "By the time we got there," says partner Charles Beard, "the water was nice and cool."
Playing to the second green at St. Andrews, Horace Hutchinson's ball hounced off the shoulder of R. Kirk, secretary of the Royal & Ancient, and lodged in his breast pocket.
Mike Reid was in contention for the first time at the 1977 Citrus Open. On the final day, three of his shots struck people - a woman in the back, a child in the knee, and a man sitting in a chair - and each time the ball bounced back onto the green. He tied for ninth.
Bu Blair parked his golf cart on a hill next to the 11th tee at Valley View Golf Club in New Albany, Indiana. Before he and partner Harry Webb could tee off, they heard a loud bang and watched as the cart rolled down the hill and into a pond. A golfer on the tee behind them hit the accelerator pedal with his shot, releasing the brake. Scuba divers and a tractor recovered all but three of the pair's clubs.
E.D. Anthony. Jr., of West Palm Beach, Florida, hit a shot so high on the third hole at Ocean Reef in Key Largo that the ball struck a small plane about to land at a nearby airport. The plane landed safely; the ball dropped in the rough. Not knowing how to rule, his partners let Anthony hit again without penalty.
A golfer on a public course near San Francisco hit his ball into a grassy overhang on a bunker, where it teetered precariously. While taking a closer look, he sneezed and his dentures fell out, hitting the ball and knocking it into the bunker.
The first water hazards were streams (called burns) running across Scottish links on their way to the sea. The featherie ball, used by early golfers, floated so it was possible to play or retrieve them from these hazards.
At the 1973 Masters, J.C. Snead was battling Tommy Aaron. As Snead was about to hit his tee shot on the par-three 12th, Sam Snead, who was watching on a clubhouse television, predicted that his nephew would knock it into Rae's Creek because he had the wrong club. Snead put it into the water and lost to Aaron by a stroke.
No comments:
Post a Comment