Shot you remember years later?

[fillwelix]

What shots stay in your mind years later? I don't mean a hole in one or the final putt for the tournament win, I mean some random innocuous shot that sticks in your memory long after the ball was eventually lost, the club retired, and the scorecard lost.

 

I'll start, was playing skyview in north jersey and the 8th hole is a monster, long par 4 with an elevated green, my second shot was a 5w and is the only time I've ever held the green (false front and sloped front to back) in many rounds on the course.

 

What random shots, good or bad, stay with you?

[arbitrage]

The Club Championship two years ago, I was out of the running, but I had 3 birdies through 17. I hit my approach to the fringe on 18. As I standing over my putt, my partner asked "How many birds do you have?" I said " I have 3....so far." The group started cracking up. He said: "So far? Who's this guy?" I proceeded to hit a 20 foot slider for my 4th birdie of the round. I said "Now I have 4".

 

Moral of the story: If you're going to be cocky/trying to be funny, better hit the damn putt.

[warfelg]

Oakmont, hole 6, I knocked one off the flag stick.

[Roadking_6]

#14 at Fowler's Mill close to Cleveland. Par 5. Dog leg right off the tee then dog leg left back into the green.

 

First time playing the course so I don't really have any idea on blind tee shots. Aim down left center (or what I think to be) and cut it back. Perfectly executed drive. When I get up to the ball, Im right in the tree line on the right side probably 15 feet off the fairway. Ball is directly below a tree.

 

I have 275 out. I pull 3 wood, aim about 40 yards left of the green (my only chance) and try my best Bubba cut from under a tree, nothing but trees in front of me with a huge sweeping slice. Stuffed it about 6'.

[the bishop]

2008. Scotland Run, Williamstown, NJ. Need par on 18 to shoot 78 and break 80 first time there. Drive finds LH fairway bunker. Got greedy on second shot and hit lip. Now 220 left uphill with an old rock quarry right and (I think) OB left. I was mad and red a**ed a 3i to about 3 yds short of the green. I had so much adrenaline going from the 3rd shot I half chunked the chip but still made the 20 footer for par. Best 3i I've ever hit (when I still had one in the bag!) and easily one of the best shots I've ever hit under (self induced) pressure.

[SilverBullets]

I have a few. These came immediately to mind when I read the question:

 

#7 at Pebble - Stuck a 3/4 sand wedge to about 6 inches after my caddy told me I was making a mistake by playing the wrong type of shot

 

#11 at Muirfield Village a couple years ago - My drive was sitting in the right corner of the fairway. I wasn't playing overly well and wanted to get something going. I had 235 to the pin but a ton of trees in front of me down the right side. My caddy asked if I could hit a cut 'Nope'. So he hands me a 7 iron. I opt for the 5w instead. Hit an absolutely perfect 5w, completely flush, and take it all the way over the trees with a nice draw. It landed a few feet in front of the hole and rolled out to 15 or so feet. Easy 2 putt for birdie

 

The 3rd one that came to mind happened at a small, no name course in Michigan. I cut the corner on my drive on a par 5 and was left with 195 yards uphill to the pin. I hit a 5 iron and it was tracking right at the hole. It landed 2 feet directly in front of the pin and stopped 1 foot behind the pin. I still have no idea how it didn't either go in or hit the pin. Either way, a nice, easy Eagle.

[2putttom]

#15 Bandon Dunes. 130 yd. par 3, I hit a 5 iron. The shot ballooned and started to draw. The ball came down after a few quick hail Mary's. I walked up the hill to see what's what, low and behold six inches from the cup and stationary.

[gvogel]

3 wood second on a par 5 for double eagle.

 

3/4 9-iron on #7 at Pebble to 2 feet.

 

curling 15' downhill birdie putt on 15 at Pine Valley that either goes in the hole, or off the green.

 

Those are a few of my favorite things....

[golfgirlrobin]

I was a non golfer at my brother's house for a BBQ. He lived on a golf course and dropped a golf ball in the backyard, handed me a 6-iron and told me to hit it. I absolutely flushed it. Bought my first set of clubs the next day and spent god knows how much time and money trying to recreate that feeling.

 

I met my husband on the golf course so I would have had a completely different life if I'd chunked that six iron into my brother's fence.

 

On the downside, I topped my tee shot off the first tee at Pebble and will never forget it.

[Medic]

Walkabout in Mims, Florida.

 

2004 was a bad year for hurricanes here. I was working a lot and needed some golf. Hurricane Jeanne hovered around in the Atlantic and then did a full circle and targeted our area of the coast as a Cat 2. I knew I was going to be called in - had already been notified.

 

So, the day before the storm (had to report for work that night at 7) my buddy and I hit Walkabout. It was light rain now and then. And a LOT of wind. Like gusts up to around 40.

 

The 6th is a short par 4. Only plays about 310 but that day it was directly into the wind. I hit driver up to the edge of the water and then, directly into the wind from around 130 out, I hit a pure 6 iron. It lands on the green, bounces once, and into the cup. First eagle ever on a par 4 and one of only two. And gave me something to chat about with the others on duty with me as we worked for almost a week straight after the storm passed.

 

Funny epitaph to this story. I played Walkabout this past summer in a tourney - first time I had played there since 2004. They have changed the name now but the course is the same. I stepped up to the 6th and just had to smile a bit because it's exactly the same. And then I proceeded to block my drive to the right and into the woods and netted a double.

So, when you take both rounds into consideration, I am at least averaging a par on that hole....

[kevin2]

Shot over water on 18 at the Loon in Gaylord Mi. Set me up for my first round in the 70s, made the birdie for 78.

 

[GLF4EVR]

I am over half way to 59 right now. One shot I always remember is when I was14. So this is in the day of wood laminated heads & only steel shafts. The hole is 442 yards. An elevated tee to an elevated green. No dogleg, just a slight curve to the right. My normal tee shot I could cut across the rough & make the fairway & leave myself within 100 or less to the green. The uphill to the green starts about 40-50 out.

 

Hit the tee shot where I wanted, but did not see the ball come down. Get to where I think my ball is & can't find it. Tell the rest of the group to go ahead & I will keep looking. Hunt everywhere & can't find it. The others make it to the green & yell out "what are you playing?". Yep, I made the green. There was not any wind & it was around an 80 degree day. As you can tell, this is a shot I will not forget!

[Ferguson]

#18 Devil's Knob in Virginia. Ellis Maples design.

 

In the drizzle, on last day and last hole of a 3-day golf excursion. A 200 yard approach shot from a rather thick lie on the right side off the fairway to a right flag. Chunked out the edge of the hole for an eagle - scored a 77.

[golfandfishing]

5 iron from the living room of our college apartment to a duck in the lake behind us. Missed by maybe a foot. I can still feel the swing and contact, purina.

[hebsan]

Twin Lakes, Fairfax, VA 1984. I was about 160 out and I hit a 5 iron to about a foot (I know, short by WRX standards). The strange thing about the shot was the club head snapped off as soon as I hit the ball and it went about 20-30 yards.

[Springsteennut]

that is easy. The closest I have ever come to a hole in one. I came up just inches from the cup. It's been over twenty years and it still bothers me.

[MtlJeff]

Jeff's 3 greatest shots of all-time in terms of sheer shotmaking (not awarding extra points to shots that meant something due to circumstance) are as follows

 

1) 215yd shot out of a fairway bunker at "le diable" with an overhanging tree. I hit a perfect shot, a huge sweeping draw with a 4 iron to about 15 feet. My club didn't even touch the sand. It's the best full shot i've ever hit

 

2) 130yd shot that was right next to tree. I had my back up against the tree and had to backswing around it, i took a 6 iron and had to swing it so tight that i fell over after hitting it. It went to 10 feet and i made the putt!

 

3) 190yd shot to an uphill green from in the trees and with overhanging trees, and OB right of the green. I hit a punch 4 iron banana that started OB and worked back onto the green

[aERonAUtical96]

I remember a couple...

 

In college, we would play local muni for $5 after 4pm. We would play until dark, sometimes later if full moon. Coming into 18, pitch black. Had a set of hand me down blades from my brother. Since I couldn't see the flag, I just swung and hoped for the best. Hit one of the purest 7 irons I've ever hit but had no idea where it went. It was the "blade" feel shot :) Landed it about 10 feet from the hole. Missed the putt, but didn't care.

 

Playing a scramble, first hole we played... 150yd par 3 CTP hole. First shot of the group. Thought I blocked an 8 iron to the right, but it spun back left and ended up 6 inches from the hole. Won the closest to the pin on that shot. Kinda glad I didn't get an ace as it would have been an expensive bar tab.

 

205 yards out 3 iron. One of the only times I have been able to elevate a 3 iron off of the carpet. Hit this nice baby draw. Hole was cut about 4 paces from the right side of the green. Stuck it with no roll between the flag and the fringe. Rolled it in for a bird.

[playa]

My most memorable didn't involve any great result or score or hole in one, it was just memorable for the quality of the strike and the ball flight. I was hitting my second on a long par 5 (missed drive and too far out to go for green) and pulled out my mizuno MS1 3 iron with X100. These were very precise clubs and a little too much for me, but on that shot the stars lined up and I saw and felt the best shot of my life. Impact was so pure I barely felt the ball on the club face, then I saw and heard the ball explode and fizz through the air on a low trajectory for about a hundred yards then climb almost vertically and plateau for what seemed an eternity before landing softly about 230-240 yards down the fairway. Without exaggerating it was almost Greg Normanesque from his days in the 80s. I have never hit a long iron like it since. I wasn't good enough to keep the MS1s, but that shot made me realise how good those irons were.

[ryanmonceaux]

Qualifying for golf team in high school - my freshman year (fall 1993). Played 9 holes every Tuesday and Thursday. First 9 was on a Tues and my nerves kicked in and shot 45. Second nine I came out hot and birdied 1, 3, and 5 then bogeyed 6 and stood 2 under on par 3 7th. Guys I'm playing with are giving me crap while we wait for members to play through. I'm last to hit due to bogey, pure a 7 iron and it hits the flag 2-3 inches above the ground and stops an inch to the right. Tap that in and end up with 33.

 

45-33 in my first week pretty much describes my entire HS golf career.

[Schrockodile]

My father and I took a trip to Pebble Beach a few years back. To be honest I will remember every shot I hit during all 4 rounds we played (Bayonet, Spanish Bay, Spyglass, Pebble) but the most memorable one from the trip was my second on Spyglass's 16th. The 16th is a dogleg right, lined by trees on each side that are essentially a death sentence to your par on the hole. From the tees I was playing, you have about 280-285 yards of room to hit your drive before you'll hit it through the fairway because of the dogleg. I tried to hit a high cut to squeeze around the corner off the tee but, of course, I launch the ball pinhead straight and through the fairway. Jail. I had 227 left to the pin, a 6 foot wide window to go through if I wanted any chance of putting the shot on the green, bunkers on both sides of the green if I can hit the window I'm aiming at, oh and I had to keep the ball under a 10-15ft high ceiling of tree limbs for the first 35 yards of the shot. Grabbed my 4 iron, said a prayer, and put it on the green to 7 ft from the pin. Made the putt after too but I could've 6 putted my way to satisfaction after that 2nd shot. Saved my 37 on the back.

[Loomis13]

I have two that really stick out.

 

The first was when I was probably 8 and my dad has taken me to the local par 3. There was a pond about 20 yards in front of you can you had to carry the ball maybe 40 yards. The person checking everybodys receipt said "You might want to have him hit around the pond" to my dad about me. I stepped up and knocked it right over the pond with my little driver. My dad then proceeded to top it into the pond. lol

 

The second was 3 years ago playing TPC Scottsdale. First hole and the people in my group (I didn't know any of them) are all hitting irons or 3 wood off the tee. So I grab my 3 wood and proceed to top it right into the desert...So embarrassing.

[Roody]

My birdie on Pebble #7. I remember how nervous I was standing over the tee shot, how relieved I was as soon as I knew I made solid contact, and how excited I was as I watched it approach the green because I knew it was at least going to be on. Then hitting the 12-footer for bird, about an inch or two left-to-right putt. The caddie said "it won't break that much towards the ocean, like you'd probably think".

 

Also remember my par on 17 at Sawgrass. 9i from 137 (blues), landed safely on the front left. Pin was tucked in the Sunday position over to the narrow area on the right of the green. About an 80-foot putt, hit it to about 5-6 feet, and then hitting a firm putt to drain the par.

[SMcGavin1]

1. Hit a perfect 3-wood to make a tap-in eagle at #10 on East Sussex National (great course btw)

 

2. Another one is taking my shoes off and hitting a half-submerged ball from a water hazard in a high school tournament in Perkins, Oklahoma (God bless you if you know where I am talking about). I can remember about 20 people watching and me looking around and seeing their faces like 'is he doing what I think he is doing???'. I ended up pulling it off somehow, (just hit like a bunker shot, only swing really hard ;) ) it got to 30 feet and I made it for par.

 

3. Hitting 4 (4!!!!) OB on a par 4 in a match in college, finally getting one in play, then hitting a 3 wood that hit the pin and stopped about two inches from the hole. That's right, got up and down from 210 to make an 11. (Back story: wind was literally blowing 30-40+ all day and we were out at Oaktree, which is a tough course with no wind. Just three teams, all ranked in top 5 of NAIA at the time. Lowest guy for 36 holes shot like 78-81 or something crazy. I believe I went 93-85 (with that 11 for an 85) and finished like 8th or 9th out of 15 dudes. There was scores in 100s, guys not breaking 90 in either round. Absolutely absurd, we weren't even sure we were going to play that morning and I can remember all of our coaches coming up to us and going 'time to build some character boys' :(

[MacgregorFan]

Funniest:

Playing in a tournament. Pace of play was really bad. It was a beautiful day and the course was dry and dusty, with a hot breeze. My playing partner and I were sort of complaining about the pace of play. I turned to him and said "It's just great to be out here and ...well - it's better than a poke in the eye with a stick".

 

Afew minutes later, I lined up my 7-iron approach, hit the ball and...... ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!!! A small twig, half the length of a toothpick flew up and hit me in the eye. When i closed my eyelid, the twig was trapped so it appeared a stick was poking out of my eye. No damage, no foul. I turned to my playing partner and he looked at me and we simultaneously broke out in hysterical laughter. I mean...what are the chances?!!

[Maddygirl]

I have 3 but by the same pro I caddied for growing up. The first was a 4 iron into a par 5 for Albatross and the other 2 were wedges from the exact same spot in 2 different rounds...played on the same day. In each of those rounds, it was a qualifier for something, he hit is driver virtually in the same exact spot, pulled the same exact wedge and it it stone dead to the same exact tucked flag. God if he could only putt.

[BForrester]

My first eagle was holed out from 196 yards with a 5i. Had to punch out of trouble on my 2nd. We searched for the ball off the back of the green for a good 5 minutes before someone checked the cup. Sure enough...

 

I really wish I had seen it go in; it was completely anti-climatic.

 

Missed my first ace last weekend by about 2". If I hadn't backed-up an 8i, it would have at least kicked off the flag.

[DivinDave]

I have 2, and both on the same day.

 

 

245 yd Par 3 way down hill with tons of sand all around the green. On the right side, a big hill going up, on the left, the other end of the big hill sloping severely and into a bunker.

The green slopes R-L severely also.

 

I tried to hit a smooth 3 wood but choked. Ball ended up a little short right in the gigantic deep sand bunker. I would have to hit it high just to get out and figured I have to spin it hard to even hold the green. I was about 30 yards from the pin.

Whack! Hard spinning hight SW as and slam dunked right into the hole like a tiddly wink.

 

4 holes later, Drive on Left side of fairway. the left 1/3 of the green protected by a big tree and pin tucked in behind it. I'm 170 ish out and draw a 6i around the tree, over a big bunker and end up 3 feet from the hole. Sergio would have been proud. Best iron shot I've ever hit in my life.

[DavePelz4]

We were playing Wolf on Whistling Straits. I hit my tee shot SOOOO far right that it ended up on the shore of Lake Michigan. The one guy in the fairway went Wolf and there were serious carryovers.

 

As we walked down the fairway I saw my ball on the beach and the waves were gently rolling over it and then back out. It was a perfect lie! I told my caddie we were going to play it and he said he wasn't going to hike down the precarious 75 foot drop from the fairway to the beach. It was 170ish from the center. Got down to the beach, waited until the waves cleared and then hit a 6 iron to 4 feet. Made the putt, won the hole and the guy who went Wolf lost a cr*p load of money.

 

It's still talked about these days in our group of guys...

[Janice_rossi]

I accidentally drove a par 4 ( on a fly ) with 4 NYPD officers on the green. They took my ball and wrote every 4 letter word on it with a sharpie. I apologized and thankfully the cart girl was there for me to buy them each a beer.