The best shot you have ever hit?

[Bad9]

A 4w from 240yds, draw around a tree 50yds short of the green and ended up about 6 inched from the hole. Obviously I didn't count on hitting it that close but everything else about it is exactly how I pictured it my head prior to making the swing.

[DavePelz4]

Playing Whistling Straits. 4 person Wolf and these were in the days when we played $25/point. Multiple hole carry over.  I sliced my drive so badly it was down on the shore of Lake Michigan. Could see the ball and the waves were washing over the ball with regularity.

 

The caddie wouldn't go down the 100 feet to the beach with me so I guestimated it to be about 175.  Took a 6 iron and hiked down the cliff. Had the cadie give me a line.  Waited until the waves swept away and the lie was absolutely perfect. Hit the 6i to 4 feet, made the birdie putt and beat the guy who had gone on a 16-1 Wolf. 

[tacklingdummy]

A few years ago, a friend of mine who was playing the Symetra Tour at the time invited me to a local skins game at a muni. Interesting enough, Jerry Rice (yes, the NFL receiver) was her good friend and she invited him as well. So, I was in a group with her, Jerry Rice, and another one of her friends. There was about 16-20 people in the skins game. From what she told me, there was there was a ton of ringers in the skins game. One guy had a few local course records, so I knew there were a lot of great sticks. I played with a few of the other players in the past and they were plus indexes.

 

I was not playing well, but we reached number #16 par 3 148 yards. Wind was blowing about 20mph into. I hit a knockdown 6 iron over the flag to about 8 feet then drained the putt for birdie. Won that hole for the skin. Knew it was going to be really tough to win any skins with so many great players in the field, but managed to squeak out one. Not sure if it is my best shot, but a memorable one. 

[Boney]

Just yesterday, I hit a shot which in some ways may be my best ever.

 

My drive sliced into the trees, and I hit a provisional down the left side of the fairway. I looked in the trees a bit, didn't see my ball, and decided to check the other side of the thin line of trees. There it was! In the rough with a decent enough lie -- but apparently nowhere to hit it. To the right of the trees (in another fairway), I'd be blocked out by the line of trees which continued all the way past the green. Maybe I could hit it over there and back far enough to get a sand wedge over the trees? It seemed doubtful. The other option was backwards, but the trees blocked going back to the fairway. I'd have to hit at least 100 yards straight away from the pin, and hope I was far enough back to hit a slice around the trees to the green (or hit another layup to give myself a line to the green). Maybe just hit an iron through the limbs and hope for a miracle? No, way too risky, maybe even dangerous. It was useless. And it was too late to walk up to my provisional.

 

But I took one more look at the trees, and saw a small opening...I'd have to go backwards and to the right, over a branch quite close to me, and under a few more further away, with almost no room to the left or right, and I'd still probably hit a few leaves and twigs. But, why not? I saw about how far I'd have to hit it on that line to get a clear shot at the green (almost 40 yards). I opened up my 64° wedge a bit, lined up, took an aggressive 3/4 swing, and hoped. It went RIGHT through the hole, hardly grazing a leaf. Incredible. When I got to the ball, I had a clear line to the pin with a few yards to spare. I hit a very good 9-iron, and had 7 feet for par. Oh. My.

 

Of course, this is real life, and the putt broke a lot more than I thought it would, and I tapped in for bogey. Still -- I've never had such a difficult shot that required so much imagination, and pulled it off so perfectly. I was shaking my head and smiling the rest of the round!

 

Here's how my shot tracker logged the hole. And I took a picture of the divot and the angle I had to hit it after taking the shot. It was just that crazy.
 

Edited June 4, 2021 by Boney
Added picture

[TurnDog69]

Haven't hit it yet. I think that means my best days are still ahead of me?

[HackDaddy360]

The shot I remember pulling off that stuck with me was in the state jr. match play, 16 years old, and playing the final match all square through 16 and playing a slightly dogleg left par 4 that was maybe 370 yards or so for the 17th.  Two holes to go to win the championship.  
 

I hit 2 iron off the tee pulled it to the left a smidge and my competition was perfect in the fairway.  He hit first and slung it up to about 15 feet.   
 

I had maybe 120 yards and a tree in my way I couldn’t go straight over at the stick from where I was located in the rough - big oak tree.   Bunkers right and long to an slightly elevated green complex with a very fast, slopey green.  I knew it was time to pull off a shot or probably go 1 down into 18.  
 

i fade the ball traditionally but dialed up a serious on-demand-under-pressure low percentage shot.  Hit a high hook with a sand wedge out of the rough that probably hooked 20 yards in the process.  My opponent probably thought I was screwed (and I kind of was) but I knocked it to about 20 feet and made the putt.  He missed and I birdied 18 to win 2 up. 
 

putt was a down hill, side hill slider, too. It was those two shots that showed me at an early age you absolutely can will the ball in the hole - pure focus and commitment - those shots were going to get executed on come hell or high water.  I just had a playing partner at a tournament recently say “remember that shot you hit with that wedge?  I still have no idea how you pulled that off and it’s still one of the greatest shots I’ve ever seen in person.” - and that was 20 years ago!

 

Now I scrape it around though 😎

[Teekman]

Best Shot I hit was probably in a Ryder Cup Style Event I played where it came down to my match. At this point in my short golf career I wasn't really comfortable hitting Driver at all, and our match came down to the 18th Hole which was a 600 Yard Par 5 with water all down the left. I had just won the last hole to tie the match so the Tee Box was all mine. Having played professional/collegiate tennis, I realized that Golf had a different form of adrenaline and probably should of hit an Iron out there but said f*** it and pulled out the big stick. With all the marbles on the line I smoked a 360 Yard Drive straight down the middle much to the surprise of everyone. People were joking you could build a Walmart between me and my opponent's drives. Ended up hitting it greenside for an easy birdie to win the match.

[Pepperturbo]

I can't say it's the best, but for some reason it's always stayed in my memory.  Years back with buddies, we're playing a rural difficult mini tour track, that's since went to seed and RE. 

 

I forgot the # of the hole, but it was on the front, 440yd Par 4, into a squirrelly breeze that was moving around, right to left.  We were laughing at something which lead to me smothering my drive left about 220 out.  Turned out my ball was on the side wall of a 3' deep gutter that ran most of the way down the left side of the fairway.  The ball was below my feet forcing me to lean forward, uncomfortably, to reach it, well below my feet in lite rough.  I was afraid of a wicked slice and falling in the gutter.

 

Anyway, using then 716 T-MB 2 iron, I took a hard whack at the ball and got hold of it nicely.  I nearly fell forward but caught myself and quickly looked up.  The ball flew straight down the left side over the gutter till near the green when it faded to in-front of the green and bounce on and rolled to about 3' from the cup.  Luck, no doubt. 😆I smiled and made the birdie putt.  Lost $$$ that day to the Sr Club Champion but had a helluva fun day.

Edited June 8, 2021 by Pepperturbo

[nosedive32]

Had a 7 wood in the bag for a bit earlier this year. Hit a terrible tee shot short right on this hole. Stock 7 wood goes about 200. I'm 184 out to a back left pin. Water left and long of the green. Ball above my feet. Fairly thick rough. Have trees forcing me to aim way out over the water and play about a 30 yard slice out over the water Hit a funky high slice 7 wood to 25 feet right of the hole pin high.

 

That one's hard to top. There's literally no miss that isn't wet taking that shot on.

[MrTrue]

Tough one! I have two coming to my mind since I've actually gotten into golf.

 

• Hit a bad drive into some tall rough, got extremely lucky with the lie. Had about 250 out still, decided to take my 2I off the deck which I rarely do. Landed maybe 3 feet from the hole, it was on the 18th hole so they had to bring me back in after a rough round.

 

• 265 yard par 4 (very narrow, but still 265 yard par 4), believe I hit my 3-gapr, everything just felt right with it. I see it hit the front of the green, HITS the flag stick, then bounced just off the green. Got up & down for birdie still however. The almost hole-in-one/albatross still haunts me. 

 

HOWEVER, my most memorable shot will always be my first or second time out ever. I was about 18 at the time and naturally sliced my drive into another fairway. Well a group of 4 retired guys pull up next to me as their ball (in the correct fairway) lands right near mine. I urgently tell them to play through as I could be here a while. They insist multiple times that they are in no rush and go ahead. So here I am, with my $99 John Daly golf clubs I had just bought, shaking in my boots from like 150 yards away from the green with a tree in my way. Two of my friends are already on the green and my cart buddy is laughing maniacally. So I grabbed one of my irons and just go for the hail mary over the trees. By some miracle, it hits the green and sticks about 8 feet from the pin! My buddies throw their arms up, the old guys tell me I am a natural and a great shot. I rush to the cart and go "that was such a fluke". Missed the putt, guarantee I was well into the hundreds that day, but that shot will stick with me forever.  

Edited June 23, 2021 by MrTrue

[Lobby]

I generally have one or two of these every round.   # 2 yesterday:  a flushed drive, an A wedge to 8 feet.  

Of course two holes later a triple dared creep into my score card.

🙂

[PhilsFanDrew]

Mine probably wasn't the best as far as skill as much as it was my luckiest shot perhaps.  It was the first year I started playing and it was a short par 4 (265 yards - middle tees) that is driveable for most better players.  I still wasn't confident in my driver so I used 3W off the tee and hit it dead straight but about 35 yards short of the front of green.  There was no bunker or obstacle protecting the green and it was a middle flag so normally I would hit a bump and run shot with a lower lofted iron and run as close as I could.  On this occasion I decided I wanted to try a flighted hop, hop, and check shot since I was using a ProV1 I found on the previous hole.  I over did it and it went hop, flagstick, in the cup.  I actually carded an Eagle on a Par 4 before ever recording a birdie.  

[weavej1]

Spoiler

I jumped in the trackman at the end of my shift last night, hit these 12 shots, it was an 8 iron not a 6 but i was happy with the patterns

 

[Hogan9]

My best was probably my only hole-in-one back in 1998. I was playing  a Ping Eye2 five iron over a lake on a 175 yard par three. Also,  I was playing a balata Titleist. So that tells you how long ago it was.  Last summer I holed a 135 yard eight iron for an eagle on a 500 yard par five. I played a Mizuno JPX forged club and used a Titleist ProV1. It was special because I was playing with my son.

[ChipNRun]

In spring 1998, I was playing one of my last rounds at Eagle Green Golf Club near University of North Texas in Denton. (I was about to graduate and getting ready to move to a new job).

 

No. 9 was a 500-yard par 5, uphill to a terraced green. About 60 yards in front of green were two large pot fairway bunkers.

 

I pushed my drive into the first cut of rough, so I layed up short of the bunkers with a 5W. The pin was cut about three feet in front of the terrace rise. I hit my PW a bit thin, and the ball landed just left of the pin and skittered up about 15 feet onto the terrace.

 

A big hitter in our group had knocked a 3W up onto the back fringe, about 35 feet above the terrace. He struck a smooth putt, which rolled over the terrace and kept going back down into the fairway.  

 

After an omigosh moment, I switched my putter for a 7i. Plan was to chip the ball to the edge of the terrace, slowing it down with check spin, and then let gravity - rather than force of swing - carry it over the edge. It worked as planned, smoothly toppling into center cup for a birdie. 🐦

 

Other Notes

1. For you golf architecture fans, the hole was similar to No. 9 at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.
2. RIP, Eagle Green! it got subdivided about a year after I left.

[NormanFan]

A few years back I had a second shot from about 150 yards away.  It was to an uphill green.  I was in some medium rough, so I took my 3 iron and bashed it.  Ball flew on a beautiful fade right at the flag stick.  It stopped about 6 feet from the cup for birdie.  Sadly, I left myself a treacherous downhill putt and I choked on it like Mickelson did at the Masters when he hit it out of the pine straw.  Still the best approach shot I've ever hit in my life.

[monkeyboy]

Just had one.

Kids and I were at Myrtle Beach playing Legends Mooreland course.  They have a well known hole called Hell's Half Acre.  Driveable par 4 but if you are at all offline, trouble looms.  I was actually thinking prior to playing there that I was going to try to drive the green vs playing smart and laying up. 

 

We were doing a fun format where it is 2 vs 1 for 6 holes at a stretch.  The previous day, my kids beat the crap out of me in this format.  I wanted redemption.

 

I had a good stretch going as we came to the teebox.  Lots of waiting as it was backed up.  Was about a 225 yard shot, slightly uphill, pin up front but visually very intimidating.  I took a relatively new 5 wood (Ping 425 Max) that I have been loving.

I took a practice swing at address and bottomed out the clubhead before the ball - in my head I was like 'nice...don't do that for your swing'. 

Take my swing and it felt superb!  A medium trajectory, perfect strike - it started out on a perfect line and never deviated.  Was right at the heart of the small mouth opening to the green.  I knew it was great, just needed to be the right distance.  One of those shots you feel in your loins.

 

Got up there and found my ball on the green, about 15 feet from the pin.

Burned the edge for Eagle - took the easy birdie.

 

Kids had OK shots and ended up with bogey - wicked hole.

 

View looking back at tee box.

 

[smturner1203]

Maybe 10 or 11 years ago I was on a golf trip in NC with my family. I had only been playing for about a year at the time and was just starting to be able to hit the ball decent. Number 10 at King's Grant (Fayetteville, NC) was a downhill, drivable par 4 at the time playing 312 if I remember correctly. I am a natural drawer of the ball, but this shot set up for a high fade with the driver. I hit it EXACTLY how I envisioned it in my head and carried the ball onto the green. It ended up about 15 feet from the hole and I made the putt for eagle. 

[wkndhckr]

Par 3 way uphill protected by sand. 9 iron hits the left side of the green and rolls back to within 3 feet. Closest I've been to a HIO.

 

Leaving ball marks next to the cup when ball releases heavily or hitting the flagstick is over hyped and those were likely not going in anyway. 

[sekrah]

It was 4 years ago in the middle of my best round ever (82), I had one very memorable 15th hole.

 

I missed my tee-shot right of the fairway, and into some trees.  I had one little opening. and aimed for it with my 5-wood and I hit it very well through this little opening that was my only chance to really advance the ball, but it finished left of the green pin-high about 50 yards away.. The ball was on the downslope of the next tee box and I had a 25-30 foot high tree directly between me and the hole, and maybe 10-12 yards in front of me.. It was insane, but I decided I was going to go over this tree from an impossible downslope lie. I didn't carry a 60-degree wedge, just a 56.  I channeled my inner Phil, opened the face of my 56 (the best I could considering the lie) and took the lash of a lifetime underneath the ball, and it shot up in the air, barely ruffling a few leaves at the top of the tree and landing 12 feet from the hole.  Sunk it for a par.  Without a doubt the greatest shot I've ever played even without the circumstances of threatening to shoot my personal best, which made it all that more memorable.

 

Edited June 30, 2021 by sekrah

[BeaverPRO]

Playing in a golf tournament for work two(ish) years ago.  I won the long drive with a drive of 322 yards.  I was called out by someone who did not believe I could hit the ball that long. He kept saying that he was/is longer than i am and that there is no way that someone could outdrive him by 20 yards.  I figured he was quite lubed up at this point, as it was a 5 hour round with free beer on every 3rd hole, so I paid it no mind and went to collect my winnings; a $100 gift card to Dicks Sporting Goods...WooHoo

 

The guy just wouldn't let it go for about 30 minutes, we were eating after the round and he was about 2 tables away and would not let it go, finally a guy in my group said something to the guy and he lost it, he bet me $100 to do it again...on the same hole...he would even give me 3 shots.  So i took the bet!  Our two teams and about 4-5 other guys went out to the 17th hole (Par 5) and on the first ball I proceed to nuke my drive 330 as straight as I have ever hit the ball in my life. I look at the guy and ask if that is "good enough" and I have never seen anyone look so dejected in my entire life, the obnoxious guy couldn't get the $100 bill out of his wallet fast enough so he could get the hell out of there.

[danglingangler]

Hole in One at a Member/Member tournament. I had no idea how much my tab was going to be when my round was finished, as there were about 120 players in the field. Luckily there was free booze on the course.

[caeye0710]

Basically any shot I have with a 9-iron from the fairway. I don't know how or why, but if I've got about 150ish in, I can be aggressive with it and trust it. 

 

Hit one to a foot yesterday from 153, one to four feet from 147, and threw a few darts with it in my round last weekend inside of 10 feet. 

 

If you give me a comfortable 8iron or PW, it's probably going to result in a decently mediocre shot where I've got a long putt or a short chip. 

 

And before anyone says "just hit it to 9iron distance on every hole", please keep in mind I said "from the fairway" in my first sentence. 

 

I don't spend much time in the fairway, and god knows I don't know how to lay up to a spot on yardage. 

[Buzzkill]

Hit a bunch of 260 one irons in the good old days!

[ShowMe]

Many years ago I was playing Ballybunion (new course).  There was a 190 yard Par 3 with a large mound behind it (12th hole, I think).  The caddie said to hit my 200 yard club and the ball would fly into the middle of the mound and it would roll back onto the green close to the pin.  I remember being skeptical about that strategy, but I figured he had the course knowledge.  I had 7W back then, and hit it dead straight and into the middle of the mound.  The ball rolled back onto to the green to about a foot away for a kick-in birdie.  It may or may not have been the best shot I've ever hit, but it's the one I remember the most.

[hicksaj2]

I was playing a round at my home course, the first summer I had ever played golf (probably shooting in the 120's).  I didn't bring my driver because it was misbehaving.  Hole 7 par 4,dog leg left or 220 off the tee to clear water, then bunker, first cut, middle of green around 260.  I thought what the heck, let me aim my 3 wood at the green, it will slice somewhere safely to the right.  First one, directly into the drink.  Second shot, I hit what is still the greatest, straight as an arrow, shot, that I will ever hit in my life.  Just cranked it to 8 feet short.  Worst/best par of my life.

[chipa]

I've driven a handful of greens when I was younger, not more than 320 yards.

[Andygolderson]

For me, catching any club pure has to be one of the best feelings in golf. The longer the club, the better the feeling. Sinking a really long put is also a great feeling. In general, when you just know you've hit a good shot.

 

I played a round last saturday and I think 2 or 3 shots stood out, primarily because I finally got my driver on target and did not hit any slice.

 

Drove the green, PAR4, ~320 yards. It was the best shot of the day. It had a low/mid flight, as opposed to the more higher normal shot I produce, carrying a large pond and bunker ~70 yards in the front, landing pin high right side and rolling onto the back edge. Unfortunately, I 3 putt from about 60 feet to make PAR. 

The backstory to this is that where I usually play, you are forced to be with a caddy and as a courtesy, you are supposed to always follow their guidance around the course. It's very common here in Taiwan, due to high traffic and really slow play. The average golfer there are usually unable to carry more than ~220, so the caddy will always tell you to lay up short of the pond for a 150 lay up and a 150 into the green. (good course management to be fair)

Normally, the course would be crowded and everyone lays up while the group in front are chipping on or putting and want to keep the traffic flowing. We had tee'd off at 6am, so the road in front was clear. With confidence high from the previous 8 holes on my driving performance, I pulled out the driver and nailed it onto the green 🙂 It wasn't even a good clean hit if i'm honest, little bit out the toe.

It's also a fun hole, it looks kind of like an angry face 😆

 

[JJFWebster]

15th hole Waterton Lakes Golf Course when I took my shot at the cart girl and got her number. Group of us hung out later but that's as exciting as the story got, I'm afraid. My golf game peaked that day and I retired from cart girl advances, undefeated.

 

I also managed a hole-in-one a few years ago with an atrocious, bladed 9 iron cut. Gave the strokes back within 3 holes. 👍

[NoTalentLefty]

2 shot 6 iron on the opening hole at a goat track after a pop up driver . The second shot was an uphill 150 that was about playing like 170 . Landed on green and bounced in hole . Never saw it because of the severity of the uphill but the group leaving the green started whooping it up. Never done anything like it again from that distance.