So from what I have read here a golfer was shot. Shot right in the back on the golf course. Not point blank, but close enough. And I am outraged.
I have never been shot on the golf course. I have never been shot period for that matter. (I actually just had a talk with Suzanne last week about what it might feel like to be shot.) But I have been hit with a golf ball. I remember this like it was yesterday.
I was playing in a golf match. It was against Terre Haute North, to be exact. (Do not ask me how I remember this, please.)I was standing on the 5th tee at Forest Park Golf Course in Brazil, Indiana. It was a par 3, maybe 165 yards tops. I had a 5 iron in my hand if I recall correctly. I am standing there, playing maybe the third spot on the team, with a couple groups in front of me. I have no idea what order I was teeing off in and as I placed my tee in the ground I will never forget the next thirty seconds.
You see, when I play golf, I have a routine. I place my tee in the ground. I stand back, look at my line, and picture where the ball will travel. I then take two swings, similar to what I want to put on the ball, and then walk up to the ball. I then waggle, two, maybe three times, and stare at my target one last time. This is something that I do every single time I hit a golf ball from tee to green.
So I am standing on the tee of hole 5 at Forest Park. There is a group of players (mind you better than me according to the rankings set by our coaches) in front of me. I step up. I waggles. I go to swing, and in mid back swing I hear a sound that I have never heard before. And when I hear this sound I stop in my tracks. I stop and I wonder, what could this sound be. The next thing I know I wake up on my knees on the 5th tee box.
I had been hit. I had been hit by a golf ball traveling at a an incredible rate. When? Where? How? I was so confused. Had I hit my ball? Was the tournament over? Had we won? I was just simply confused on all levels. And when I finally realized what was going on it was too late to worry about it.
I arose from my slumber and realized that I had been hit not only in the head but in between the eyes with an extremely fast traveling golf ball. This strike had knocked me out. Cold. I was on the ground in my fancy pants and my golf shirt and I was more embarrassed than anything.
Long story short I do not feel as bad as the 17 year old that yesterday was struck by a bullet. Same situation where he was struck without cause and or concern and was not aware of this until it was over. He felt a warm sensation which is more than I had and woke up covered in blood and a bullet hole. I was able to finish my round (shooting a 36 if I remember correctly).
The point of this story was to tell you that whether hit by a ball or a bullet, you keep playing. Golf is a care free and never give up sport. Shot, who cares? Keep playing pansy!
