Nine

The working title for this blog was “Back to Back”, but when I took a nine on the eleventh hole of the final round of The Villages 2019 Super Senior Golf Championship, that all changed.  I went into the final round with a two shot lead and I was anticipating another Super Senior victory.  (I won last year.)  That “nine” changed everything.

The last time I had such a disappointing “nine” was during my junior year of high school.  I tried to kiss a German foreign exchange student, Helga, who was attending Berkley High School and she said, “Nine!”  Today’s nine was even more disappointing.

How does  one amass such a terrible score?  I hit a perfect drive down the center of the eleventh fairway (first stroke) and pushed my second shot right (second stroke).   The errant ball caught the cart path, rolled an extra ten yards, and stopped near the edge of a large bush.   I didn’t have a backswing but I thought I could knock the ball to the top of a mound to my right.  Wrong. My ball came up short, hit the curb of the cart path, and bounded out-of-bounds (third shot).   I took a two shot penalty (strokes four and five).  I stubbed my next shot to the top of the mound (sixth shot).  I lobbed my next on the green twelve feet above the hole (seventh shot). I rimmed out my putt (eight shot) and tapped in for a nine (ninth shot).

To my credit I played the final seven holes at one over parr, but it was too little too late.  I carded an 83 and finished second, three stokes out of first and one stoke ahead of the guy who finished third.   Disappointing.

While preparing for my final round I had a flashback to a time when other prizes were won and lost.  I was invited to several golf outings when I was superintendent.   Most were held at great courses and I enjoyed the opportunity to play.  Many tournaments were four man scrambles.   Most of the time we had the opportunity to bring another member of the staff or guest.  I often took my son, David, as my guest.   I took him because he was a good player, so he was an asset to anyone we might be matched with, and it was a great chance for him to network with key leaders in education.  We both won from the experience.

One particular outing was for school superintendents.  No guests.   I was invited to the inaugural scramble which was held during one of my first years in Britton.  The course was in Lansing.  There was a prize for the winning team and two door prizes.   One door prize was a 40 inch color television and the other  was a “plastic replica of a Detroit Lions football helmet”.   The football helmet was intended to be a decoration.   It was something that you might find in a “Hobby Lobby”.  (Not that I’ve ever been in a Hobby Lobby.)

My team didn’t win that day, but my number was the first number chosen when the door prize tickets were drawn.  I thought I had won the 40 inch color television but instead was awarded the “plastic replica of a Detroit Lions football helmet”.  The first ticket chosen received the booby prize, and some guy from the west side of the state went home with my color television.

I took the “plastic replica of the Detroit Lions football helmet” home to show Ruth.   She loaded it into the trunk of our car for a trip to Goodwill.  It never touched ground in our house.

A few years later I played in the same tournament with two fellow superintendents, Rick and Gary.  We were a threesome.  The outing had grown in stature and had become “the outing” to attend.   The course was upgraded.  There were bigger prizes for finishing first, longest drive winners, closest to the pin winners, a chance to win $1,000,000 for a hole in one and dozens of door prizes.

One of the guys who helped organize the tournament, Paul, was assigned to be the fourth member of our team.  Paul was a terrible golfer but a great guy.   Paul rode with me and we talked about a multitude of things.   He wanted to quit after nine holes, but we wouldn’t let him.  We were having a good time and that’s all that was really important.

I told Paul the story of my participation in the inaugural outing that the company hosted several years prior.  My tale included a recounting of the “plastic replica of the Detroit Lions football helmet” that I won during the company’s first golf raffle.   We both spoke of how the outing had grown over the years and what a great event it had become.

After we finished our round, Paul had to get back to work to help wrap up the outing.  Rick, Gary and I sat together for lunch and the awarding of the prizes.  After the winning teams, longest drive, and closest to the pin awards were dispersed, the drawing for the door prizes was held.  Paul was a key member of the prize committee.  The fourth or fifth door prize was a travel size color television set.  My teammate, Gary, won the set.

I scanned the remaining prizes from my seat then turned to Rick and said, “You’re gonna win a TV and I’m gonna win a TV.”  Rick just looked at me quizzically.   “Trust me”, I said.  Sure enough, a few door prizes later, Rick won a TV.   Before the drawing was over I won one too.

As everyone was getting ready to head home,  I walked up to Paul and thanked him for everything.  Paul smiled and said,  “I had a great time.  Thanks for letting me play with you.  Turns out you three are pretty lucky.”

It’s funny how life twists and turns.  If Paul hadn’t teamed up with Rick, Gary and me, we wouldn’t have won those television sets.  And if I hadn’t gotten a nine on the eleventh hole of The Villages 2019 Super Senior Golf tournament today, I wouldn’t have remembered my time with Helga.