Alex Kreitman - Stealing signs

I said I wasn’t going to tell too many vacation stories, but I had such a good time I decided I just have to tell all the sports-related ones.

On Thursday my friend Ricky, Brendan and I woke up super early, 7:20 a.m. is wicked early for vacation time, and hit the links. We made an 8:10 a.m. tee time which looking back might not have been the best idea. We were struggling after a late night soaked in booze.

We barely made it to the course on time. We were in rough shape. The round went so-so for everyone. The front nine was miserable, the back not much better for me. But the scores aren’t the story.

The course, Charleston Municipal Golf Course, was crowded all morning and the design of the course had the tee boxes right behind the greens, disaster for a long shot with the large crowds.

On I think hole No. 4 I hit my tee shot just off the fairway to the right, probably about 225 yards or so. My ball landed in a good spot with a nice shot at the green, but was under a huge weeping willow tree. The course was lined with these trees which were more for beauty than obstructing shots.

After the group ahead left the green, I was first to hit. I took out an 8-iron thinking I was about 150 yards away, but turns out it was only about 110 yards. Big mistake.

As I went into my back swing I made excellent contact with the ball and it felt good. I couldn’t see the ball at first with the branches of the tree blocking my view. As I dodged out from under the tree I found the ball and it was headed right for the flag stick. But as the ball got closer it looked like it was going to be long and then at the last second I saw the group ahead of us at the tee box.

In a weak attempt to warn the group I shouted “Fore!” OK, I’ll be honest; the other two guys in my group could hardly hear me yell it. It was one of those last-minute attempts because I wasn’t noticing the people, just the shot and its proximity to the green. Selfish I know, especially considering what happened next.

The ball came in hot and as it got closer to the ground, a short man came into focus in the direct path of the ball. With a shattering stop, the ball came crashing down on what appeared to be his right shoulder. It was official, I had actually hit a guy on the golf course and he wasn’t happy about it.

We stood in shock and amazement, not sure if it actually hit the guy or not, but what the man did next confirmed our beliefs. He charged from his tee box back onto the green and began shouting and pointing at me, screaming words of profanity I can’t list in this blog. Most of them began with the letter “F” and he threw a few mothers in front. I yelled back an apology, saying that I didn’t see him and the ball until the last second which was true, but I still felt bad.

For the next 14 holes I avoided that group at all costs. I have never walked on egg shells while playing golf before. If I hit a shot near the next tee box, on that side of the hole, I walked slow, or took the long way to get there. I wanted to avoid confrontation at all costs.

I wish I could say that was the last run in with that guy and his group. We didn’t hit anyone else, but we yelled “Fore!” quite a few more times, causing all five players, yes, they were playing with five, to cover their heads and duck.

Now I know what you’re saying. “They were playing with five? Well he deserved to be hit then.” My thoughts exactly, but man that must’ve hurt and left a mark for sure.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 at 9:29 am and is filed under Blogs, Golf. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.