[Cory Lewis]

Playing in the Parrish Cup, Ryder Cup style event Old Town plays against Forsyth.  I come to the 18th tee at Old Town and I'm one up in my singles match.  Everybody was gathering behind the 18th tee after their matches ended and the scoreboard was also behind 18 so there were probably 30+ people watching me. 


I hit my driver fat and the ball went about 30 yards, barely clearing the creek in front of the tee.  All of the best players from both clubs watched me do it!  I still managed to halve the hole and win the match.  By far the most embarrassed I've ever been on the golf course.

[Cal Seifert]

I once hit a huge snap hook that landed a few yards away from the parking lot on 18 at NGLA. I felt a little better when I was told Garreth Bale was recently in the same spot.


Bethpage Black #6 last summer I chunked it off the teebox and advanced it maybe 10 yards into the fescue.

[Kyle Harris]

Playing in the Parrish Cup, Ryder Cup style event Old Town plays against Forsyth.  I come to the 18th tee at Old Town and I'm one up in my singles match.  Everybody was gathering behind the 18th tee after their matches ended and the scoreboard was also behind 18 so there were probably 30+ people watching me. 


I hit my driver fat and the ball went about 30 yards, barely clearing the creek in front of the tee.  All of the best players from both clubs watched me do it!  I still managed to halve the hole and win the match.  By far the most embarrassed I've ever been on the golf course.

Only slightly less embarrassed than your opponent, I imagine.

[Scott Warren]

I still think about that shot, and wonder what the fuck that caddie was thinking, at least three or four times a year.

He could have been a relative newbie, knew you had a great round going, and was trying to warn you to play conservatively there.


Or, more likely, he was betting against you with the other caddies.

 


It was just me and Tom Dunne out there with the caddie carrying double, so he had no one to bet with -- which raises the chance that a) he was just trying to help and got it wrong, or b) he was a dick* or thought I was a dick.


There's also strong possibility of c) I shanked the crap out of it because I'm ropey enough to do it all by myself I was way too tense about a milestone round that would mean nothing to anyone other than me.


I actually find it funny in hindsight how much it used to matter to me that I shot in the 70s at great courses. I shot 79 at Pine Valley once and that still feels like an achievement, but other than that it now feels like a fairly unimportant, arbitrary thing to waste your attention on as you circuit a great golf course.


*The way he treated Tom the whole way round actually increases the feeling in my mind that this is the correct answer, but that's a story for another thread.

[Matthew Mollica]

Soooo many bad shots at good courses.


Topped three wood off the first tee at Pebble


One hundred bad shots at Olympic (Lake).


First tee of Royal Melbourne West and a 90m hook into the middle of the 18th East fairway.


I’m sure there’s several more that I’ve blocked from conscious thought.

[Mark Chaplin]

Scott remember the difference between an Aussie and an Englishman? We were playing at Royal St George’s and I was playing well, on the 16th you asked me how many over par I was, I hadn’t a clue and had to go through the holes and add it up, I think I was 4 over at the time.


In a summer of caddying at St Andrews never once saw or heard of any caddie betting.


The standard foursome at St Andrews was often dad, two sons in their 30s and a son in law or best buddy. I’d usually be caddying for a son and they’d often get down and grumpy if they weren’t playing well. Cue the “Chappers Chat” where I explained their father probably wouldn’t be around in 30 years time, they’d look back fondly at their week in Scotland golfing, eating, drinking Scotch and creating memories. They wouldn’t remember the 7 on 7 or the last topped tee shot, so chin up open their eyes, hoover up the experience and enjoy the day.


Ps. However no one forgets hitting it OB onto the road on 18!

[Michael Latham]

Together with a good friend we have been playing the Bideford Bay Foursomes, (supposedly the biggest foursomes competition in the world) for years without success. We always seemed to get the Saunton, RND draw and in the years when we played well at Saunton we always came up well short at RND.This particular year we started with a 69 at Saunton, and had a little celebration in the evening. Sunday morning was cold, windswept and raining at RND and I felt a little fragile so despite my pal calling me out to practice I stayed in the warm with another coffee and a little hair of the dog. We were match 42 and match 41 were on the tee before I wandered down to the net. just a little unsteady, no more.I threw a ball down before the net and feeling less than my best took a poor swipe, thinned it, missed the net and sent the ball knee high perfectly down the footbridge off the 1st tee where match 41 was happily marching. My pal shouted fore but whether it was the speed of the ball or that you just dont expect a ball coming from behind when you are walking that bridge, they were slow to react. It was very very embarrassing but no lasting damage they told me.We did not excel at RND, again.

[Sean_A]

As someone who tends to scramble there way round a golf course, a round without a seriously shite shot is a rarity. The walk of shame is therefore something that I'm somewhat inured to. Nonetheless, one that comes to mind is standing on the 16th at NB and skulling my teeshot and seeing it rebound off the wall to end up on the Redan green just as the group behind was approaching.

As you can imagine, I got plenty of sympathy from my fellow gca'ers who I was playing with (yes, you know who you are, shame on you !).

Niall

Niall

You probably received as much sympathy as you deserved!

I don't recall ever hitting a really screaming horrible shit at a great course...except for Carnoustie, but I choose to hide this one in the bowels of my memory.  I did however hit a classicly embarassing shot on Woking's 14th.  A hoicked 5 iron miles left of the green, clattered the house roof...with folks on the patio... the ball bounced around and fell near the wall...from where there was no free relief.  With an audience of members now curious, and being a cheeky so and so, I was obliged to hit a bank shot off the house. The shot came off well, but I still had to walk past the patio.  Thankfully the folks in my group didn't suggest we stop for a drink 

Ciao

[David Jones]

While is may not be the greatest of venues, my first shot at Old Head was quite something.


My most toppy of 3 woods went into the very low wall in front, shot back over our heads at a great height pace and went 50 yards into the sheds behind. The starter on the first tee declared that he had some some things on that tee over the years but this was a new low.


Wonderful memories................!

[Mark Chaplin]

Shame Ian Baker-Finch isn’t a contributor.

[JMEvensky]

Shame Ian Baker-Finch isn’t a contributor.

 

[Scott Sander]

Mine was a shot not taken.

Cherry Hills, 2000.
It was my first round at any private course, much less the one where Arnie charged.

The custom of the day was (and possibly still is?) to maintain the teebox on #1 from which Arnold Palmer launched his history-shaping, final round, first shot - driving the green. 
It's not the standard members' tee, but visitors were (are?) invited to begin their round from that teeing ground.

I demurred.  I was so terrified of stabbing my Firesole deeply into the turf an inch behind the ball, desecrating that hallowed patch, that I sheepishly said, "Oh, no, I couldn't!" and quickly stabbed it into the members' tee instead.

I wish I had that moment back.

What a stupid I am.

[Rick Lane]

Cold topped my tee shot on the first hole of the first time I ever played NGLA.  Maybe went 40 yards......slunk like a dog and took the walk of shame while the next group waited on the tee.....

[Matthew Petersen]

A couple options ...


At Pebble Beach I played a pretty solid front nine, including a birdie on 8 and a very solid up and down par on 9. Needing to quickly run to the facilities, I rushed my tee shot on 10 and blew it on to the beach (but that's not the bad one, by any means). After a drop, I was able to blast a 3 wood up into the left greenside bunker and I got greedy, thinking I might be able to save a bogey. Nope. Bladed my bunker shot and sent another ball onto the beach. Sorry beachgoers! And made triple. So much for that solid front nine.


Pasatiempo gives a lot of people fits around the greens, but for some reason I struggled from the center of the fairway. I dead shanked short irons on 4, 6, and 13. All from reasonably flat lies in the fairway. Mortifying.

[Philippe Binette]

Easy for me:


1st tee shot in my first round at the Old Course. We were the first group off on the first saturday not playing on mats..




Scared of a potential 40 yards block right with the driver... I opted for my 3-wood.


I was nervous... quick backswing, the 3 wood touched the groud 6 inches behind the ball bounced and topped the ball.... the ball hit the ground, bounce 5 feet in the air, carried about 80 yards and roll 60 yards along the right OB... finished about 12 feet from the stakes..


Woww...

[David_Tepper]

In September, 1985, on my first golf trip to England, I played Wentworth West. After the starter said something like "Welcome to the Burma Road, play away," I proceeded to hit low and very left off the heel of my driver. My tee shot almost hit someone on the practice putting green. The starter was so stunned he didn't say a word. 

[Daryl David]

Shame Ian Baker-Finch isn’t a contributor.

Believe me, he doesn’t want to be reminded. I brought it up once with him during a friendly round and it didn’t go well. He prefers to reminisce about Birkdale and who can blame him.

[Brad Tufts]

1.  My first (and only so far!) trip to Bandon started with much anticipation, planning, etc.  We visited in April so this Bostonian scratch player had hit most of his balls off turf indoors.  So I get up to the first tee of the original, and hit a 175y chunk slice, WITH A DRIVER that hits up near the stained glass puffin and trundles down the tin back in-bounds to the low dunes along the boundary wall.  Silver-lining though, I hit a 5w to the front of the green and nailed a 40-footer for birdie 


2.  Most of my shit rounds at great venues are a slow war of attrition without a terrible-shot low-light.  I was fortunate enough to play Calusa Pines this past Spring, and although I was off-season, I was excited to play having shot a silly-season 75 the day before at Tiburon.  I tried every shot, and I didn't break 90, equitably-stroked down to an 87!  CP is a beautiful and fun golf course, just apparently very tough for early-season me!


3.  The round of my life scorewise happened in 2015 at Cabot Links.  We had a great trip through PEI and NS, and my dad had even made a hole-in-one at #17 at CL earlier in the week.  The last round of the trip at CL, it was finally a benign wind day, so the course laid down quite a bit.  On the 17th tee, I was 6-under, and hit a gap wedge to 4 feet.  Couldn't make it drop.  Hit the fairway on #18, 9-iron in hand from 139...wiped it into the front right bunker, blast-putt-putt.  Still a 5-under 65, a great round...but you can always be better...was 4' and a dumped 9-iron from 63.   

[Kalen Braley]

All these horror stories that happened on TOC.  i'm so glad you guys brought this up, I'm taking it off my bucket list! 

[Niall C]

Sean

Your story has just reminded me of the time my second shot at the first at Turnberry landed on the roof of one of the houses across the road on the left. Undeterred I hit a "provisional" to 3 feet.

Niall

[Ed Brzezowski]

Merion, first time there , opening tee shot.  Landed just off the 14th tee. Caught it a bit off the toe. Wanted to crawl under a bush. Started with a smooth snowman.

[Bruce Katona]

1. BK's only play to date at Pine Valley - yep a bit nervous.  I goth through the 1st three holes pretty well and am in the fairway on #4. Hit the clubhouse behind the green.....the caddy & I decided to leave the ball and take a drop.


2. Lake Nona - there's a par 5 where Ernie Els and his family used to reside.  The Bay Hill was the week we were there, staying next door to the Els', who were home.  2 days running hit the 3 wood wood 2nd shot from the fairway into his back yard, 1 st time off the patio furniture..........slinked away sheepishly.

[Peter Pallotta]

Thanks Tim, gents -- lots of laughs: very good stories, all very well told.
I think I'll get myself a 6 hybrid, and if I'm ever on a famous 1st tee will swing it like a great-grandmother with bad knees and a bum shoulder. I don't care if it only goes 60 yards: I just want to get it in the air!

[Criss Titschinger]

I'm pretty sure my whiff on the 16th tee (first hole of the day) at the 2014 Midwest Mashie at Canterbury is a highlight, though the top afterwards was pretty stellar as well. Nothing like starting off a 590 yard hole, and having 570 yards for your third shot.

Not like the day before was much better.

Really that whole weekend was a disaster of play for me, although it did result in one of my favorite GCA moments. After almost hitting a car with the OB left off the tee on number 9, I would later cold shank one that almost took out Ken Fry and our caddy, "Big Money". I got a Vodka and Sprite at the turn, hoping that would loosen me up and keep me warm on that frigid day. After two cold shanks off the tee at 11, I was feeling pretty down. It was on 12 tee that our other caddy, "Big John", handed me another Vodka and Sprite and said, "Sir, you need this." I didn't ask for the drink, and I never was charged for that drink. Best caddies yet.

[Gary_Nelson]

#6 at Pebble Beach is my offering on this topic. 


Distracted by the beauty of the ocean, birds, sea life... I think I completely forgot about playing golf and proceeded to shank my 2nd shot directly into Stillwater Cove.  I don't remember being all that upset with the shank (the only one that day) because I was able to take a lifetime worth of memories from my one (and only) round at Pebble Beach. 

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()