Have you ever had a "Golf in the Kingdom" experience?

[Jeff Doerr]

Let me start by saying I am certainly no mystic or Michael Murphyite. And yet, I see golfers do and experience amzing things out on the course.

I was ropeside and watched Tom Kite shoot even par in crazy conditions during the '92 US Open.

I was there for Tiger's comeback in the '96 US Am. My daughter and I were sitting greenside for his eagle at 11 and air was electric as his putt went in.

I've played with someone who shot 67 and it seemed magically simple.

A sometime poster on this board shared with me that he posted 4 birdies on the back nine at The Old Course.

And then, a few weeks ago, I entered a zone or whatever you want to call it and a 9 handicap player (me) played the last 6 holes on a world class course in 1 under.
Hole #13 - Driver to left rough, perfect sand wedge to 5 feet. Birdie 3.
Hole #14 - Good Drive, approach just short. 3 putt from front fringe. Bogie 5.
Hole #15 - Perfect 7 iron into the wind to 20 feet. Par 3.
Hole #16 - Great Driver into the wind and on the green. Par 3.
Hole #17 - Drive to left fairway. 7 wood up over the trees to 20 feet. Birdie 3.
Hole #18 - 4 iron tee shot just into left rough. 6 iron just short. 2 putts. Par 4.
I was nervous for weeks in advance thinking about how I would play this course in my once in a lifetime opportunity. When the time came I was calm beyond what I expected and the calm grew as the round progessed. The course was playable. The course was fair. The course was beautiful. And I belonged there on that day.

I'm still not sure I can describe the feelings I had that day. The focus and engagement with the golf course and the elements were palpable. I truly did forget about my score and just played shots. I felt the genius of the routing, the greens, the hazards. I felt the history, but was consumed all day by the present moment.

My hope in starting this thread is that a number of you would share your experiences and help all of us understand the great ones we have had.

Thanks, Jeff

[Evan Fleisher]

Jeff,

I too had one of those GITK experiences this golfing year.  My game has never been that good (as many posters here have witnessed in person)...but with a little help this year (from a friend and co-worker, no less) I've made some very positive changes in my swing.

Anyways...this same friend takes me out one day after work to play a quick nine at anearby course...it is nothing special, or famous, or highly memorable...just a local course laid out on some land near the Huron River.  So I've never played there before, and Mike is "guiding" me around as we go, kind of like a caddy.

We really did not take any time to warm up, hit balls, putts, and the like...just a few practice swings on the first tee and away we go.  Well I end up striping my first tee shot and it instantly puts me at ease.  We are walking and chatting the whole way around, simply hitting golf shots as we go (we are playing the back-nine BTW).

* I make a nice par on the par-5 10th just missing a birdie putt.

* Scrambled to a double on the par-4 11th after a drive that barely stays in bounds.

*On 12 I hit my tee shot long (a par-3) and fail to get up and down for a so-so bogey.

* 13 is a shortish par-4 that I hit a perfect drive and approach and make the birdie putt.

* 14 follows the same pattern as 13, but on a par-5...miss the green with my second, chip on and make a putt for birdie.

* 15 was my only true "blow up"...took a disasterous 7 on a par-3 without any penalty strokes (don't ask).

* Back on track on the par-4 16th with a great drive and approach again narrowly missing my birdie putt.

* On the 17th tee Mike informs me that the hole is a "mere" 310 yards and that I'm hitting the ball so well I should go for the green.  I normally hit a good drive in the 240-250 range, but what the hell?  I line up along the tree line down the left and figure to draw it over this line up near the green...called my shot, and nailed it.  Down near the green I find my ball about one yard off the putting surface on the left of the green, and pin is somewhyat back right...I nearly drove the green!  A beautiful pitch and run later and a tap in birdie is mine.

* 18 is the #1 handicap hole on the course (which Mike remembers to tell me!) playing 485 yards and a par-4.  I once again hit a seemingly beautiful drive, but it fades a bit left.  When I get to my ball I realize that I hit another 300 yard drive and have about 185 to the green.  I hit a solid 5-iron to a spot similar to the previous hole (just short and left, pin is back and right).  From there I visulaized the chip on the previous hole and let 'er rip.  It comes off clean, rolls across the green like a putt, and drops in the hole from the high side for a final hole birdie.

I never looked at the scorecard till it was over and realized I had shot a 39 with 4 birdies!  I have never had more than 3 birdies in an 18-hole round of golf before that, and ended up with 4 in 9 holes!!!  What a feeling I had that day...like I could do no wrong and simply stepped up and hit golf shots where I wanted them.  I know it was a fleeting moment in time, but it is rounds and experiences like that which keep me coming back to this crazy game...

[Bill_McBride]

One of the great things about golf is that even the middle-aged, infirm, former player can have a hot streak and somehow hit golf shots that would make a scratch or plus player proud.

Cases in point - today I birdied the first two holes.  20' putt, 10' putt, ho hum, off to the third tee.  Of course I got back on my game and shot 84, but hey, that was fun for a while.  

In July I played Crystal Downs.  I struggled on the front nine, didn't understand the angles, 3-putted a couple of times.   Made the turn, almost holed a bunker shot from the left bunker on #10, played the first six holes on the back nine in even fours.  Butchered the last three, but hey, again fun for a while.  

That's the difference between golf and say, football.  I can occasionally play like a good player, but I could never do that in any of the other sports.

[TEPaul]

Jeff:

Despite all the golf I've played I don't believe I've had an experience like you described.

The closest thing to that I can tell you is that at my own course I've shot a 67 and every number on up but never a 66 or 65. But one afternoon late I played the course with some U of Penn golf team player and I sure wasn't playing great, I thought pretty bad in fact but whenever I got near or on a green the ball just sort of wanted to go in even if I thought I missed it. It went on and on like that and I shot a 64, a shot off the course record and a shot off the lowest score my dad ever shot which actually had more meaning to me.

Again, the salient point is I thought i was playing like sh.. and in fact I was but that ball just seemed to have a thing of its own.

I guess that could be considered "Golf in the Kingdom" or some serious NuNuNu kind of stuff.

[TEPaul]

But Jeff, as I've said on here before things like that seemed to happen to me all the time. The fact is with most of the tournaments I played much of the time I scored a lot better than I thought I should have. Go figure that.

I got sort of well know around here for those times when the players in the tournaments would be in the lockerroom or the bar talking about their rounds.

Everybody would say stuff like they shot a 75 but it should've been a 70. When they'd ask me I'd say I shot a 71 but it should've been an 80.

[Pete_Pittock]

May 17-18, 1980.
Playing terribly, I mentioned that I would probably go up to Mt St Helens early the next morning to take pictures.
  -16 at Tualatin CC. Nearly hole out for double eagle and tap in for eagle.  17th Four iron approach to 5 feet, birdie. 18th -fairway wood to the back left. Sink a 50 foot putt with 10 feet of break for birdie.
   Decide to play more golf the next morning instead of taking pix. Three under for 5 holes, and about that time St Helens erupted and my game cam back to normal.

[wsmorrison]

Yes, twice.  Both times I was rudely brought back to my senses by Tom Paul saying something like, "You know Wayne, you're really playing great golf.  You're 1-under after 13 holes."  I think I may have nearly doubled bogeyed my way in to the clubhouse at Shinnecock Hills.  On the other occasion, I think I held on a bit longer (determined not to fold as at SHGC) before triple bogeying the 17th at Oakmont and limping in.

[JESII]

Wayne,

Don't give him the satisfaction of posting that in public...delete it right now! He'll never let you play a good round again if he knows he can kill it with one little sentence...

[Ed Tilley]

The strangest golf experience I've ever had is at Frilford Heath, near Oxford. The 9th hole is a short par 4 - under 300 yards but tight so very few people try and drive it. I laid up with an iron and holed my sand wedge for eagle.

As I was standing on the next tee which is beside the green, the 2 ball behind played up. To cut a long story short, both players holed sand wedges for eagles. They could not believe it but were even more astonished when I told them that I'd just done the same. 3 sand wedges in a row holed for eagle. I've played that hole 100's of times and I've never seen an eagle before or since.

[Gary Daughters]

I bumped into Old Tom Morris behind a stand of course in Scotland one time, but I'm not sure that counts.

[Jeff Doerr]

May 17-18, 1980.
Playing terribly, I mentioned that I would probably go up to Mt St Helens early the next morning to take pictures.
  -16 at Tualatin CC. Nearly hole out for double eagle and tap in for eagle.  17th Four iron approach to 5 feet, birdie. 18th -fairway wood to the back left. Sink a 50 foot putt with 10 feet of break for birdie.
   Decide to play more golf the next morning instead of taking pix. Three under for 5 holes, and about that time St Helens erupted and my game cam back to normal.

It sounds like you need to carry a vile of St. Helen's ash in your bag!

[wsmorrison]

Jim,

Too late.  He already knows that I have a fragile mental game, basically waiting for the wheels to fall off.  Once in a while on some of the finest courses, I can get into a zone.  Tommy boy knows how to push me off the razor's edge.  It doesn't take much in any case.

[Jeff Doerr]

Yes, twice.  Both times I was rudely brought back to my senses by Tom Paul saying something like, "You know Wayne, you're really playing great golf.  You're 1-under after 13 holes."  I think I may have nearly doubled bogeyed my way in to the clubhouse at Shinnecock Hills.  On the other occasion, I think I held on a bit longer (determined not to fold as at SHGC) before triple bogeying the 17th at Oakmont and limping in.

Wayne,

I was playing with my friend Charles a few years back. He had just chipped in for birdie on 14 and stood 3 under for the day. He had never broken 70 before. He found water on the next 4 holes going double, bogie, bogie, double for a smooth 75. In the last year he has made it to the magical 69 number at a course outside Atlanta.

In my recent round I started slowly and was 6 over through 9. I doubled 10, and bogied 11 and 12, so I was in no fear of shooting a career score on the day.

[wsmorrison]

Ah, Jeff.  The the golfer's mind is a fickle ally on the golf course.  I also think it is a golf architect's best friend.  Architects that understand this best tend to design the best courses.

[Mark Pearce]

I don't know about GITK experience but there are times, rarely, when the game seems to be on automatic.  Most recently at Alwoodley on the Thursday afternoon at Alwoodley I birdied the first, then missed the green with my approach to the second, made a quip about chipping for birdie and promptly holed the chip for birdie.  A regulation two putt bidie at the third left me -3 (I'd never been more than one under, gross, at any stage in a round before.  The 460 yard par 4 4th (par 5 from just 15 yards further back) was playing into a three club wind.  Having hit driver, utility, pitching wedeg to the front of the green I KNEW, even before I hit it, that my 20 foot putt was going in.  Sadly, that's where the spirit left me and normal service was resumed.

[Jason Topp]

After reading the book the first time, I went out the next day and played great.  

I tried it again a year later and it did not work.

[Richard Boult]

I'm still not sure I can describe the feelings I had that day. The focus and engagement with the golf course and the elements were palpable. I truly did forget about my score and just played shots. I felt the genius of the routing, the greens, the hazards. I felt the history, but was consumed all day by the present moment.

You described so perfectly the state of mind that seems to bring on these experiences! In my short time playing golf, I've had a number of them, and every time, "I truly did forget about my score and just played shots."

Just a couple weeks ago, I played my worst round ever in my Tuesday night 9-hole league, shooting 51. I was ready to put the clubs away for a couple months and take a break from the game, but already had an 18-hole round scheduled the following day.

Following such a horrid round, I played Wednesday with no expectations and just decided to enjoy myself, my friends, and my surroundings.

I ended up shooting a career tying best round of 71 (Monarch Dunes - 70.7/135)!  I was 2-under after 16, when someone in the group pulled me out of my zone with a comment about my score. Like Wayne's experience, I double bogied the easy 16th to get back to even. I squeaked out pars on 17 and 18 though.

What I remember most is being entirely anxiety free over every shot. I trusted my ability to chip up close, to make a putt, to hit a fairway.  I was entirely detached about the results. I ended the round with only 24 putts!

I had a similar experience last week at The Prince Course in Kauai. I came in with a 76, loosing only 1 ball - when I took too little club on the par 3 11th and watched the wind blow the ball left of the green into the jungle.  I just played the course a shot at a time, enjoying the incredible views and setting between shots.

[Jay Flemma]

Yes...all the time at Bulls Bay, and also the one time I played Monterey Peninsula Country Club.

[Michael Dugger]

I try to have one everytime I go to Bandon, but at every turn one of those yellow jacketed marshalls pops up out of the tallgrass and ruins it.

[Bob_Huntley]

Yes, to having a round of a lifetime but also as a witness to the spookiest case of ESP ever.

Our usual cadre had just finished holing out at the 15th hole of the Dunes Course at MPCC. Bill Brandt (he of the Black Lab, Cinderella, in Bill Murray's book) turned to me and said something terrible has just happened to someone and I don't know who. We started to play the 16th and he became more agitated but finished the hole. Walking up to the the 17th tee he opined that he had to get off the course as he felt that a family member was in distress. At that moment, the Head Professional came toward us and told Bill that his son had been in a motor-cycle accident.

Later his son's leg was amputated but the grit and gravel in the wound was causing serious complications and only the prompt use of an oxygen compartment saved his life.

I seldom pooh-pooh claims of ESP anymore.

Bob  

[Dan Kelly]

After reading the book the first time, I went out the next day and played great.  

I tried it again a year later and it did not work.

After reading half the book, I might have gone out and played a great nine.

Can't remember.

Do remember that I never finished the book. Never felt the need.

[TEPaul]

Wayne:

Come on, I've never tried to get into your head and wreck a good round by saying I think you're playing well. If that kind of remark makes you nervous, my suggestion would be for you to double your aggression and try to go from -1 on the 13th to about -4 for the round. But just remember few people make birdie with their tee shot. They are generally the result of a putt.

[Tom_Doak]

Any time I've gone out to play golf with Grant Rogers is a Golf in the Kingdom moment.

[wsmorrison]

Tom,

Of course it isn't you that deliberately makes me mess up.  It is me.  I am my own worst enemy on the golf course.  I wish I knew how to control my swing better...I am the most inconsistent golfer I've ever seen.  When I do have it going, I talk myself into knowing it will fall apart.  Maybe I better read Golf In the Kingdom again.  I loved the book and could use some escapism.

Your point about making birdie at the green and not the tee is well taken.  I'm not sure I'll ever be able to snatch the pebble from your hand, but hang in there with me.  Someday.
-Grasshopper

[Doug Wright]

A couple of these (not enough in 44 years of playing this silly game...), most recently:

My father, with whom I played a ton of golf during my youth, passed away two years ago and I went back to NC to see my mother shortly thereafter. My mom and I went out for a round of golf and I pulled out my dad's very old persimmon clubs and rusty Wilson Staff irons in his honor. To make a long story short, the shots those clubs produced that day were magical and mystical. An unforgettable experience.