So i was invited to play a very well touted country club in northern california, called brookside in preparation of a tournament jim had previously invited me to. Jim, the old man, and i met at a wedding a few days before this and started talking about golf. he asked how far i could drive the ball, and i answered "in what direction?" jim and i got a long pretty well considering he is 67 and i am 28. we finally got on the course and Wednesday afternoon. i got on the first tee and hooked my first swing straight into the houses on the left and waited in anticipation of glass shattering. so i took a "breakfast ball" and patiently waited for another crash of glass after another pull hook, again with the third swing. Jim sat in the cart shaking his head, saying "i thought you were a 3 young man?!?!?" i started to sweat pretty heavily and he threw me one of his balls and said "i will sit here all day until you make an adjustment." i finally made a good swing and put myself in good position, 56yds from the a front pin on a 390yd par 4. i proceeded to have an average round after the first hole, making the turn at 39 (with 3 breakfast balls on the first tee, lol)we get to the turn and meet a guy we are going to play a scramble with on monday, dr, nahl. Dr. nahl told jim to go find a horse to us some distance in this scramble coming up, and i was that horse. i started the back 9 with a 15ft. birdie putt falling center cup from a downhill right to left breaker.
On hole 11 i missed the green left and had a short pitch shot from some thick rough on the left of the green, with a front left pin. i made it. -2 through 2 holes. i started to get nervous, feeling as if i was playing to a point where these guys would expect to see a better player than i actually am in the monday scramble. we get to hole #12 and jim comes up to me and says "-2 through 2 holes huh? not bad, but i aced this hole one week ago today." "thats awesome" i responded. i was cleaning my club from the previous hole when both players hit. both players found the green pin high, to the left of a center, back pin. i grab my laser range finder and get the pin at 157 from the back tees. i grab a seven iron, trying to picture hitting a knock down cut into this back pin and try to get away with a par and stay -2 through 3 holes. i get up to the ball and cant figure out why i was going to try to hit a shot that i suck at. so i went back to the bag and took out an 8 iron. my full 8 iron is about 160. i felt like it was a better decision because i could take a full, more trusted swing.
i approach my ball, and jim says " yep, one week agao to this day! bt the pin was way up front... this is a tough pin back in the small deep pinch of the green." i take a smooth swing and see a 10 inch long, 3 inch deep divot in front of the ball and immediately think, GO BALL! the ball travels much further than i anticipated and dives into the back edge of the green and takes a bounce on the fringe before ripping back towards the hole and dissapearing.Jims hand flew up into the air, my club went flying and i took off running. "its in! its in!" jim screamed... Gary immediately ordered a black label on the rocks and said "well, now i need a birdie to get 3 points" (part of our 9pt game). needless to say, these old guys wanted to head straight to the bar and get these free drinks on me. i started worrying about whether or not i could cover the number of drinks i was going to have to buy after the round.So with that on my mind and my nerves going wild, i took my next swing (which was blocked and i lost the ball). that ace got me to -4 through 3 holes. i finished with 40 on the back. i hope my next hole in one is on the 18th hole of whatever course it may be. because withought that hole in one, i think i was on pace to play the best round of my life.
Im still shaking.