"One in a Million" (aka WTF) Moments

[Cut68]

I was playing an early season round a couple of years ago and hooked my tee ball onto a still-frozen pond. The ball came to rest about a foot from the edge. I played an 8 iron punch shot off the ice to 4 feet and made birdie. Absolutely bizarre (and my opponent nearly walked of the course in outrage and astonishment)

[Aquaguru]

Originally Posted by zeg

I assume he's referring to the rule that you do not get a provisional for a ball that is hit into a water hazard.  If you play a "provisional" under those circumstances, it's not a provisional, it's immediately in play and your original ball is abandoned.

While that is true, it only applies if the tee shot could *only* have been lost in the water hazard.  If it is possible that it's lost anywhere outside the hazard, then you are entitled to the provisional and, if you take it and find your ball in the hazard, you would have to abandon the provisional.  Given that it's a blind tee shot, I think it's quite likely that the OP played correctly, though it would depend on details that we don't know.

Yes it is a blind tee shot and there is no real way of telling whether its in the fairway, water, or woods that are even farther left of the water.

[Kieran123]

Mine was at the range with a friend. We were seeing how close we could get to targets and he asked me to get as close as I could to a little blue wooden pole about 40 yards out. I hit my shot and it flew and bounced right off the top of it ( that is one in a million ), then he tries....and does the same thing.....truly weird.

[natp0wers]

Two aces in the same group on the 165y par 3 2nd hole is the only WTF moment i can think of. I did not see it but could hear it from a few holes ahead.

[golferfreddie]

Can't compete with dual aces on the same hole, but...

Several years ago I was standing on the opposite side of the green waiting on my buddy to hit out of the sand so we could all putt.  He hosel/blades the shot and it is headed right at me (which I was standing "way" left of the flag).  In the split second I have to react, I can tell it is going to barely miss me and I stick the head of my putter out in an attempt to make contact and keep the ball from rocketing into the pond beside the green.  The ball strikes the lowest edge of my putter face at the same time I am moving the head downward toward the ground.  The ball comes to a dead-stop under the head of my putter on the fringe.  It was an ultra-friendly round, so he plays it from there and salvages a two-putt bogey!

[jay8s]

Yesterday at the range.

There is a protected tree about 125 out.  It has a net strung between two telephone poles that protects the whole tree.  I aim for the pole to the left.  Pull my driver fully expecting to hit my baby draw, and sure enough hit the pole dead on.  The ball bounced about 100 yards back to me.  I could spend all day trying to do that again and have no chance.  I have been trying to hit that pole with my draw for the last two years.  1000's of balls I am sure.

[Mattplusness]

Weirdest thing I've seen is on a par three. Friend hit a stock iron shot and it landed and hit a sprinkler hear bouncing over the green and hitting the cross beam for an iron fence and back into play.

[PaulMVR]

I hit my drive on a par 4 and I lost it in the woods. So I teed it up again and hit another drive for my 3rd shot 230 yards in the middle of the fairway. I had 150 yards left to the green, and I holed out to save par.

[Jonnydanger81]

170 yard Par 3 complete carry over water.  It's a man made lake so before the green has a bunch of rocks and gravel leading into the lake, barely enough room to walk by between the start of the green and edge of the rocks.  Guy in my group hits a pretty decent shot, high, wind catches it, kind of knocks it down he hits the rocks (which are all angled every which way) ball bounces about 20 feet into the air, still goes another 5-10 yards in the right direction and lands 3' from the pin.  I'm up next, hit the same exact shot, start cursing thinking that we'll never see the ball bounce off the rocks and actually on to the green again, and mine does the same exact thing except on the other side of the pin.  Looked someone walked up the hole, extended their arms and dropped a ball out of each hand.  Both made the birdie too.

[walk18]

A couple years ago in a scramble, I pull a drive headed toward the middle of a large pond. It hits a turtle, careens dead right and stops in the middle of the fairway. We could not believe what we just saw. I think the turtle was ok, they have pretty hard shells.

[xxsoultonesxx]

On the 9th hole of a local par 3 course, there is a statue of a scottish bagpipe guy in the middle of the fairway on a 160 yard hole. Sometimes we will hit our tee shots and then tee up a second ball and try to drop one on the statue with a wedge (its about 80-90 yards out from the tee box). So the first couple shots both missed by a few feet and then my buddy steps up and blades one and it flew about 4 feet off the ground and right between the legs of the statue, and the gap is maybe 3" between the legs....astonishing.

[mdl]

Maybe not one in a million, but shitty luck with a golf balls with eyes...

At the 11th at Rancho Park in LA, long, uphill par 4.  Playing with little brother, 6'6" ex college baseball player who can't accept that the fact that he's capable of flying it 330 doesn't mean he should try to fly it 360 every time.  Winds up, blasts the ball 30-40˚ left (he's lefty, so a huge push).  8th green is uphill to our left.  Woman sitting in her cart next to that green, perched on the far side of the car with one foot out of the cart, facing us partly sideways.  Ball flies just over the front of the cart, goes through the cart, ricochets off her chest, shatters he wrist which is raised and holding a club.

Myself I've missed a few fairways into the trees and gotten sweet knocks off a thick branch and bounced right in the middle of the fairway.  Nothing crazier than that.

[Stretch]

Originally Posted by mdl

Ball flies just over the front of the cart, goes through the cart, ricochets off her chest, shatters he wrist which is raised and holding a club.

Jeez, I hope you meant "shatters her wrist watch"!

Otherwise, please fill us in on the ensuing legal repercussions.

(There's probably a joke in there about LA fake tits too, right?)

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by mdl

Maybe not one in a million, but shitty luck with a golf balls with eyes...

At the 11th at Rancho Park in LA, long, uphill par 4.  Playing with little brother, 6'6" ex college baseball player who can't accept that the fact that he's capable of flying it 330 doesn't mean he should try to fly it 360 every time.  Winds up, blasts the ball 30-40˚ left (he's lefty, so a huge push).  8th green is uphill to our left.  Woman sitting in her cart next to that green, perched on the far side of the car with one foot out of the cart, facing us partly sideways.  Ball flies just over the front of the cart, goes through the cart, ricochets off her chest, shatters he wrist which is raised and holding a club.

Myself I've missed a few fairways into the trees and gotten sweet knocks off a thick branch and bounced right in the middle of the fairway.  Nothing crazier than that.

You probably saved that person's life. With that kind of advanced brittle bone disease they should have been in a hospital.

[dougstein]

at eisenhower red course hole #8, a short par 4.  second shot was a low screamer, one bounce in front of greenside bunker, hit a rake that someone left in the middle of it, bounced onto the green.  two putts, par!

[mck]

I was playing in a scramble about 10 years ago at Fort Bragg (stryker course I think) and hitting an approach shot into the ninth hole which is uphill with a parking lot a few yards off the green.  Well, the parking lot was full and I flew the green by about 20 yards and heard the distinct sound of a ball hitting a vehicle.  We walked up to the parking lot to view the damage ( all I'm thinking is how stupid I was to hit a shot like that and how much this is going to cost me) and the vehicle I hit belonged to one of the guys in my foursome--small dent in the roof and he thought it was hilarious.  Everytime I played that hole after that day I was always 10-20 yards short of the green on approach shots--just didn't dare to hit enough club

[sharkhark]

i

i was playing a tourney we invented several years ago...i knew it was to be my day when at one hole i missed left of green with tree and sand in way..i lobbed a shot over the tree and hit stick and dropped in hole....but that was just a sign that this not so good 12 hdcp would have a good day..

...so we all ran into each other at back up after hole 9 and it was my honors to tee of in front of everyone...i topped the tee shot only 50 yards short of some water...they laughed...i red faced rushed up and tried to hit a fairway shot to make up for lack of distance of driver...and barely hit it over the creek...they were rolling in laughter...steamed...i went with partner in cart to ball  just barely over creek and swung mightily watching it sail into the distance towards a pond...sure enough..water bound...with such a former flukie good round going i was figuring it was time to start going south in my game...that was when i dropped a ball....about 160 from green and hit a 7 iron that went straight for middle..and rolled..and rolled...disappearing...for a bogey 5.when i won the event by one single stroke...later that day i was challenged by friends who saw my horrible hole 10 and claimed they couldnt believe i got a bogey...but my friend who saw it happen and pulled the ball from hole vouched for me.

[newbgolfer]

This January it was about 37 degrees with snow still piled up on the ground and parts of the green. I was 110 out or so and pulled out my pw. There were no flags in the pin yet, so you were just aiming towards where you think the hole is at. I hit a great shot, then watch it land in the bottom of the cup, *ding*, then bounce up about 30 feet up in the air....