Post by Richie3Jack on Jul 1, 2010 12:39:09 GMT -5
In high school I developed a rivalry between another golfer. This actually started back when we were ten years old as we grew up playing little league baseball together. Overall I was a pretty good athlete, but baseball is where I just had a natural talent for. And pretty much from the age of 9 to 16 years old, I was either by far the best or arguably best pitcher in area and we had a bunch of guys that played for D-1 schools and went to the minor leagues. By the time I was 14 I was fully focused on golf just because I loved playing the game and knew it would take a ton of work to get a golf scholarship, so the last 3 years I basically did almost no baseball practice and was still arguably the best pitch in the Babe Ruth leagues where I was competing against guys who were high school All-Stars and later on college and pro players.
Despite my ability, this rival of mine…starting at age 10, I think batted roughly something ridiculous like .900+ against me. He may have very well batted 1.000 against me for the most part as he did tell me that I got him out once, but I still don’t remember it. And it wasn’t singles. In fact, I still remember him crushing some shots which probably had to be the longest home runs in the league that season. Anyway, the last 2 times I faced him I did strike him out both times, which was satisfying…even if he still batted something like .833 against me lifetime.
In golf I pretty much owned him early on in our junior golf careers, but then he started to own me for a stretch, and then I owned him pretty much from my sophomore year in high school. Still, he was an extremely popular person in general which used to kind of drive me nuts because we could play in a tournament and I could beat him by a few strokes and the local sports writer just wanted to interview him.
There was also an incident that my dad loves to talk about to this day. We were playing in a stroke play tournament and he missed a 3-footer and got mad and took a swipe at the ball and knocked it off the green. I calmly waited for him and he looked at me and asked what I was doing. I told him “you’re still away.”
But, being as popular as he was, he complained after the round that I forced him to putt out and the tournament organizers were about to not count what he did before the head pro stepped in and told him that in stroke play tournaments at a course that he works at, everyone putts everything out. Still though, I took a TON of grief from people for wanting the rules to stick…but I guess that’s what happens when you’re popular.
Anyway, we were playing one local junior tournament and I had scouted the course pretty well. I noticed on the 18th hole that the 150 yard marker was clearly 1 club longer than it said. That helped me on the 18th as I had the right club and made par. As I come into clubhouse, I see that I was tied with my rival for medalist, so we were going into a playoff.
I can honestly say that about 200-300 people followed us for that playoff. And as a teenager, that seems like the biggest crowd in the world. What’s even crazier to me was all but 3 people in the crowd were rooting for him to win and many of them were not afraid to show for it. I know it sounds crazy for a po-dunk jr. tourney to be this way, but it really was and the only 3 people rooting for me were my 3 friends, and probably because I gave them a ride to the tournament
Anyway, they have the first playoff hole on 18. And I think I hit every fairway that day, so of course I pull my tee shot into the left woods on the playoff hole.
And of course, it winds up underneath a tree. Meanwhile, my rival crushes one right down the middle (he was a pretty long hitter).
As I was walking to my ball I could hear people mutter that this was pretty much over with, but I knew I had a great chance of tying the hole. Why? Because I had the feeling that he didn’t scout the course as well as I did and didn’t know that the 150 yard marker was 1 club off.
The only problem was being able to hit my ball under the tree and into the fairway and leaving myself with a shot. Eventually the only shot I had was to hit it left handed. I remember my friend Jon telling me that the 30 yard left handed chip was really one of the best shots he ever saw and couldn’t believe I got it out of there.
Sure enough, my premonition was correct. My rival never did see that the 150 yard marker was off and he hit his second shot okay, but was well short of the green. I then took one more club and hit my shot on the green, about 25 feet away. My rival then pitches to about 4 feet.
This was a tough putt, a downhiller that breaks probably 1-2 feet, but I got up there and drilled it. And what was crazy is only 3 people clapped. I guess they wanted a ride back home.
It was one of those moments that happens in sports when one team sort of does the unexpected and the other team is so shocked by it and the crowd goes silent and then everybody is thinking the same thing….’don’t choke.’
Well, he missed the 4-footer…and it wasn’t even close. And it was probably the quietest trophy ceremony in tourney history and I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many people get out of town.
But it goes to show you that a little faith in yourself, not giving up, and playing smart golf can lead to some great things, be it a career low round or winning a golf tournament.
3JACK
Despite my ability, this rival of mine…starting at age 10, I think batted roughly something ridiculous like .900+ against me. He may have very well batted 1.000 against me for the most part as he did tell me that I got him out once, but I still don’t remember it. And it wasn’t singles. In fact, I still remember him crushing some shots which probably had to be the longest home runs in the league that season. Anyway, the last 2 times I faced him I did strike him out both times, which was satisfying…even if he still batted something like .833 against me lifetime.
In golf I pretty much owned him early on in our junior golf careers, but then he started to own me for a stretch, and then I owned him pretty much from my sophomore year in high school. Still, he was an extremely popular person in general which used to kind of drive me nuts because we could play in a tournament and I could beat him by a few strokes and the local sports writer just wanted to interview him.
There was also an incident that my dad loves to talk about to this day. We were playing in a stroke play tournament and he missed a 3-footer and got mad and took a swipe at the ball and knocked it off the green. I calmly waited for him and he looked at me and asked what I was doing. I told him “you’re still away.”
But, being as popular as he was, he complained after the round that I forced him to putt out and the tournament organizers were about to not count what he did before the head pro stepped in and told him that in stroke play tournaments at a course that he works at, everyone putts everything out. Still though, I took a TON of grief from people for wanting the rules to stick…but I guess that’s what happens when you’re popular.
Anyway, we were playing one local junior tournament and I had scouted the course pretty well. I noticed on the 18th hole that the 150 yard marker was clearly 1 club longer than it said. That helped me on the 18th as I had the right club and made par. As I come into clubhouse, I see that I was tied with my rival for medalist, so we were going into a playoff.
I can honestly say that about 200-300 people followed us for that playoff. And as a teenager, that seems like the biggest crowd in the world. What’s even crazier to me was all but 3 people in the crowd were rooting for him to win and many of them were not afraid to show for it. I know it sounds crazy for a po-dunk jr. tourney to be this way, but it really was and the only 3 people rooting for me were my 3 friends, and probably because I gave them a ride to the tournament
Anyway, they have the first playoff hole on 18. And I think I hit every fairway that day, so of course I pull my tee shot into the left woods on the playoff hole.
And of course, it winds up underneath a tree. Meanwhile, my rival crushes one right down the middle (he was a pretty long hitter).
As I was walking to my ball I could hear people mutter that this was pretty much over with, but I knew I had a great chance of tying the hole. Why? Because I had the feeling that he didn’t scout the course as well as I did and didn’t know that the 150 yard marker was 1 club off.
The only problem was being able to hit my ball under the tree and into the fairway and leaving myself with a shot. Eventually the only shot I had was to hit it left handed. I remember my friend Jon telling me that the 30 yard left handed chip was really one of the best shots he ever saw and couldn’t believe I got it out of there.
Sure enough, my premonition was correct. My rival never did see that the 150 yard marker was off and he hit his second shot okay, but was well short of the green. I then took one more club and hit my shot on the green, about 25 feet away. My rival then pitches to about 4 feet.
This was a tough putt, a downhiller that breaks probably 1-2 feet, but I got up there and drilled it. And what was crazy is only 3 people clapped. I guess they wanted a ride back home.
It was one of those moments that happens in sports when one team sort of does the unexpected and the other team is so shocked by it and the crowd goes silent and then everybody is thinking the same thing….’don’t choke.’
Well, he missed the 4-footer…and it wasn’t even close. And it was probably the quietest trophy ceremony in tourney history and I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many people get out of town.
But it goes to show you that a little faith in yourself, not giving up, and playing smart golf can lead to some great things, be it a career low round or winning a golf tournament.
3JACK
