Is there anybody who’s quite as naively optimistic and hopeful as a golfer? We all turn up to play with the thought that today could be our day. We take on ridiculous shots when the chances of executing them successfully are low because we genuinely believe we can achieve it, whatever cold logic might say.
Even high-handicappers dream of a moment or a day when everything goes right for them. Maybe just that one shot which even Tiger Woods in his pomp would have been proud of executing.
Hole-in-one
Just one stroke of brilliance is required here, allied perhaps to a bit of luck.
A friend of mine took his daughter golfing. She had never played golf before, they played nine holes together and she got a hole-in-one on one of them.
To the best of my knowledge, she has never played golf again. Whereas some people who have golfed regularly for decades have never had a hole in one.
Colin Montgomerie won 31 times on the European Tour and secured eight Order of Merit titles, yet reportedly never recorded a hole-in-one in professional tournament play throughout his career. Nor has Brooks Koepka, winner of five Majors.
Yet Andrew Magee made one on the 332-yard 17th hole at TPC Scottsdale in the 2001 Phoenix Open. This shot certainly needed some luck – the group ahead were still on the green and his ball hit the putter of Tom Byrum, who was crouching to line up his own putt and ricocheted into the cup eight feet away.
Roughly 1-2% of golfers get an ace annually and 60% of them are recorded by players aged 50 and older.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Eagle
The hole-in-one is two achievements in one – not only the ace, but also an eagle. Now, that is value for money.
An eagle on a par 4 takes a bit more skill in theory as it requires two shots. But par 4s can be as short as 240 yards; sometimes play even shorter due to the specifics of the course design, such as doglegs, or the set up of pin and tee placements.
So long as you get a halfway decent drive off, then it is a question of holing the second shot, which, on some of the shorter par 4s, will be of a much…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Latest from Golf Monthly…