Oddest shot you ever made that looked bad, but turned out good

[Bullitt5339]

Craziest shot I've ever hit:  A screaming, worm burning, 460 yard drive into the fairway.

560 yard Par 5, I hit a drive off a tee that never got more than 2ft in the air trying to kill it.  The cart path crossed at the beginning of the fairway about 150 yards out and the ball smacked the edge of the cart path and then bounced about 40ft in the air and forward about another 100 yards where it promptly hit one of the rounded concrete yardage marker and screamed forward to hit the cart path again and it just kept going down the cart path.  The cart path turned and the ball rolled straight through the rough and ended up in the right fairway, even with the 100 yard marker.

My first ever Eagle.........  I still have the ball as well, marked with my Eagle.  It's so beat up after that hole, it's not like I could ever use it again anyway.

[sebsmash]

Had a hole yesterday that just wasn't going my way. It was a tee shot over a lake and then a pretty straight forward par 4. I topped the tee shot and hit a screamer along the ground it skipped all the way across the pond. It then hit a rock on the far side and bounced all the way back to just off the right side of the water. It was in deep rough and my heels were practically over the edge but I played it anyway and hit a full pw. That was way too much to just land it on the fairway as intended and it sailed over the trees to the dirt about 50 yards from the fairway. When I finally found my ball I had no idea where I was and one of my group drove over and said the green is about 120 over that tree there. I couldn't see a thing so I took his word for it and hit my pw again. My shot took one bounce, hit the pin and stopped a few feet away, I made the par putt. I would say it was two bad shots that turned out good, and apparently I play my best when I can't see my target.

[djbarnes]

Par 3, elevated tee box.  I hit and pretty immediately realize I've hooked it bad.  Turn away in disgust.  I hear the *thwack* of the ball hitting a tree that was about pin-high but way left of the green.  Yep, ball bounces back onto green and stops about six inches from the hole.

Par 4, best ball tourney.  Teammate who is a big hitter, hooks his drive a little.  Green was on the left a little, but further left ahead of the green was a little knoll that the cart path went over.  Someone else hits a safe straight drive and we head out to find his ball.  I see a ball on the green and head that way, only to have my buddy say "someone must have dropped that from the group ahead...my ball is going to be WAY over here."  But I check the ball on the green, and it's my buddy's.  Took a really funny bounce on the cart path and was a couple feet from the hole.  Nice part was this hole was a "closest second shot" hole, so our second shot was IN the hole.

--Donnie

[dlance]

I was playing a round at Seascape GC in CA this weekend and had been hitting my driver pretty well all day. Came up to the 12th hole (a par 5) and decided to really lay into one... This hole had an elevated tee shot down into a narrow valley (treed hill on left, natural grass up to a fence then houses OB on the right). I hit the ball and it takes off down the center of the fairway...for about 2 sec. Then major slice up into the houses (probably about 50 yrds right: at least). The guys i was playing with started to laugh and said "wait for roof" and listened for contact. Bang!

Well thats OB, but i call a provisional anyways and hit another one right down the center. We head down to our next shots and low and behold, there is my first ball sitting in the middle of the fairway, in front of everybody else i was playing with. So not only did my ball hit the house OB and bounce back in, but i still had longest drive on the hole and only a 4i to reach the green.

[vo-man]

I ricocheted my 3rd stroke off of a power line last year and the ball landed 2 feet from the pin resulting in a birdie on a par 5.

couldn't do that again if I tried a million times.

[DelusionalHookr]

Oddest shot I've witnessed...

I was helping out at a girls' high school tourney, shuttling the players up a large hill from 17 green to 18 tee box. As I was sitting in the shade waiting for the group on 17 to play and finish the hole, I watched a girl hit her approach shot from just across the creek fronting the green. She shanked it -- the ball headed about 45 degrees to the right, striking the back of a cart occupied by some onlooking parents.

As everyone around arose from their quick ducking (hands and arms covering their heads), the spectators and I looked around to see where the ball had ricocheted to. It hadn't. Somehow, it stayed in the cart, coming to rest in the floorboard of the empty bag holding area.

Puzzled, the people in the cart glanced around, not knowing what to do. They then looked at me, noticing (I guessed) the high school logo on my golf shirt, thinking that I looked a bit more official than anyone else there and that I could make the call. I told them I was just a volunteer and not a rules official, but that I could help the player with her drop.

The poor girl, apparently shy by nature, was embarrassed and mystified, not knowing how to proceed. I explained she gets relief from the path, that's there's no penalty, and, because of where the ball was resting in the cart, her nearest point to drop was behind the path, further away from the green. After determining her nearest point of relief (plus a club length), she nervously held out her arm and dropped the ball into play.

Then, with all eyes on her, she struck her pitch shot, picking the ball cleanly -- a quality shot, just a bit strong. Her two opponents already had balls on the green, which neither chose to mark. Good thing.

This girl's pitch landed on the green, scooted across the surface, then caromed off another ball, striking just at the precise angle…then rolled softly into the hole. The crowd went nuts.

Like all who've been long-time golfers, I've witnessed some remarkable shots, but nothing comparable to the small sequence of things that took place for this girl -- a shank into a cart, then not your average drop for relief, followed up with a billiard shot into the cup. I tend to be too pragmatic about golf and life in general, but it was certainly rewarding to see such a uniquely positive outcome happen for the young lady. She was all smiles when I carted her to the final hole.

Cruel to be kind -- seems the golfing gods can have a heart for justice after all.

[Big C]

Originally Posted by DelusionalHookr

Oddest shot I've witnessed...

I was helping out at a girls' high school tourney, shuttling the players up a large hill from 17 green to 18 tee box. As I was sitting in the shade waiting for the group on 17 to play and finish the hole, I watched a girl hit her approach shot from just across the creek fronting the green. She shanked it -- the ball headed about 45 degrees to the right, striking the back of a cart occupied by some onlooking parents.

As everyone around arose from their quick ducking (hands and arms covering their heads), the spectators and I looked around to see where the ball had ricocheted to. It hadn't. Somehow, it stayed in the cart, coming to rest in the floorboard of the empty bag holding area.

Puzzled, the people in the cart glanced around, not knowing what to do. They then looked at me, noticing (I guessed) the high school logo on my golf shirt, thinking that I looked a bit more official than anyone else there and that I could make the call. I told them I was just a volunteer and not a rules official, but that I could help the player with her drop.

The poor girl, apparently shy by nature, was embarrassed and mystified, not knowing how to proceed. I explained she gets relief from the path, that's there's no penalty, and, because of where the ball was resting in the cart, her nearest point to drop was behind the path, further away from the green. After determining her nearest point of relief (plus a club length), she nervously held out her arm and dropped the ball into play.

Then, with all eyes on her, she struck her pitch shot, picking the ball cleanly -- a quality shot, just a bit strong. Her two opponents already had balls on the green, which neither chose to mark. Good thing.

This girl's pitch landed on the green, scooted across the surface, then caromed off another ball, striking just at the precise angle…then rolled softly into the hole. The crowd went nuts.

Like all who've been long-time golfers, I've witnessed some remarkable shots, but nothing comparable to the small sequence of things that took place for this girl -- a shank into a cart, then not your average drop for relief, followed up with a billiard shot into the cup. I tend to be too pragmatic about golf and life in general, but it was certainly rewarding to see such a uniquely positive outcome happen for the young lady. She was all smiles when I carted her to the final hole.

Cruel to be kind -- seems the golfing gods can have a heart for justice after all.

delusionalhooker.blogspot.com

That's a cool one. My oddest shot is similar, without the same type of build up. During a recent men's club event, I'm lying two about 5 yards off the green on a par 4. Due to a combination of nerves and poor technique, I blade my chip shot, which comes out shooting across the green like a rocket. It happens to clip the unmarked ball of one of my playing partners, deflecting just enough to send it about 70 degrees to the right and straight into the cup. It was a lucky break that saved me probably 3 strokes, since my ball might have had enough heat to make it to the opposite greenside bunker.

Needless to say, I wasn't about to complain about any bad breaks for the rest of that round!

[Lost-Ball]

playing a par 5 at a course where the houses are too close on the course. my 3rd shot got me hole high right of the green. i hit/bladed my 56* sand wedge and it hits the flag stick with some heat just below where the flag is attrached and drops straight in the hole for a birdie. if it wouldnt of hit the flag stick it would of hit the big 4ft X 4ft one piece glass window of the house that was right in the direction of my ball

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by dlance

I was playing a round at Seascape GC in CA this weekend and had been hitting my driver pretty well all day. Came up to the 12th hole (a par 5) and decided to really lay into one... This hole had an elevated tee shot down into a narrow valley (treed hill on left, natural grass up to a fence then houses OB on the right). I hit the ball and it takes off down the center of the fairway...for about 2 sec. Then major slice up into the houses (probably about 50 yrds right: at least). The guys i was playing with started to laugh and said "wait for roof" and listened for contact. Bang!

Well thats OB, but i call a provisional anyways and hit another one right down the center. We head down to our next shots and low and behold, there is my first ball sitting in the middle of the fairway, in front of everybody else i was playing with. So not only did my ball hit the house OB and bounce back in, but i still had longest drive on the hole and only a 4i to reach the green.

Good story ... but what I'm really interested in is the story behind the avatar?

[Jasonbolt]

I was playing with three other guys when we come to the 8th hole, a par 4, that requires a second shot over a lake; we hit our tee shots and had about 110 left.  One of the guys skulls a wedge into the lake and turns away after he hits it and starts cussing up a storm.  The two other playing partners turn away while I continue to watch the ball.  The ball ends up skipping across the lake and finishes 3 feet from the pin.  I start laughing, and they all look at me awkwardly - here I am laughing while the other guy is cussing at his terrible shot... Only until I had explained where the ball finished did they all start to laugh.  Fun times.

[mdl]

The weirdest one I've ever hit was on a short ~300 yard par 4.  The fairway gets super thin running up to the hole and there's a bunker guarding the front right, so even though I'm capable of rolling one up on the green on a great drive and having a pretty short pitch and putt for birdie with an average length drive the smart play is more like 5i-SW.  But anyway, this day I was going for it with the driver.  Hit a nasty low pulled snap-hook.  A paved cart path runs up the entire left side of the hole.  Out where my drive landed the path has run left, away from the fairway, at least 50 yards left, and has just started to turn back right towards the back of the green.  I hit the path right in the corner of the path and curb on the far side of the path, ricochet hard right and forward and roll up to about 15 feet.  Just missed the eagle putt but got a tap in birdie!

Luckiest/weirdest I've ever seen was in fact the only ace I've every seen in person.  Par 3, playing ~180 that day.  Playing with a random guy who tops the heck out of a hybrid, couldn't have flown more than 30-40 yards before hitting the ground for the first time.  Skip, skip, skip, rolllllllll, ace!

[Texas Tee]

Alright, me & my team mates were at the State competition in golf.
It was a long par 4, and I hit a decent drive.  My second shot was laying about 175 yards from the flag/hole.

I reached in my bag, grabbed an 8 iron. The lie of the ball was in a large, flat-bottomed valley, hills immediately all around.  This area was still considered fairway…it was kind of like a grass bunker...

Anyway, I hit the ball (connected wonderfully!), the ball caught some massive air, and then….then…….then…..it WENT STRAIGHT INTO THE HOLE !!!

The shot was beautiful, but the bad part was me swallowing a 3" tee.  Back then, I either carried my tee over my ear (like you would a pencil), or sometimes I put it in my mouth.

After making that amazing shot, I inhaled, BIG TIME, and the tee went into my throat.  It took a little work, but it went on down.  I told my mom (after all, I'm still in high school when this happened), and when me and my team returned from State, I went to the doc.  A x-ray revealed exactly where (in my body) the tee was...

"We would prefer that the tee passed naturally, just be glad it was a wooden tee", said the Doctor.

Oh, here's another little directive he gave me: "Now sorry about this, but you are going to have to 'keep an eye' on whether you 'pass' that tee, or not.  It could get hung in your intestine, and if that happens, only surgery will get the job done.  You will have passed it in about 3 days if all is ok, 'make note of when it arrives' "

Bottom line: the tee passed just fine, and the 20 years since then, I've never carried a tee in my mouth !!

I Eagled that Par 4, though, and did it at State, no less !! ;)

[ejimsmith]

Originally Posted by Texas Tee

Alright, me & my team mates were at the State competition in golf.

It was a long par 4, and I hit a decent drive.  My second shot was laying about 175 yards from the flag/hole.

I reached in my bag, grabbed an 8 iron. The lie of the ball was in a large, flat-bottomed valley, hills immediately all around.  This area was still considered fairway…it was kind of like a grass bunker...

Anyway, I hit the ball (connected wonderfully!), the ball caught some massive air, and then….then…….then…..it WENT STRAIGHT INTO THE HOLE !!!

The shot was beautiful, but the bad part was me swallowing a 3" tee.  Back then, I either carried my tee over my ear (like you would a pencil), or sometimes I put it in my mouth.

After making that amazing shot, I inhaled, BIG TIME, and the tee went into my throat.  It took a little work, but it went on down.  I told my mom (after all, I'm still in high school when this happened), and when me and my team returned from State, I went to the doc.  A x-ray revealed exactly where (in my body) the tee was...

"We would prefer that the tee passed naturally, just be glad it was a wooden tee", said the Doctor.

Oh, here's another little directive he gave me: "Now sorry about this, but you are going to have to 'keep an eye' on whether you 'pass' that tee, or not.  It could get hung in your intestine, and if that happens, only surgery will get the job done.  You will have passed it in about 3 days if all is ok, 'make note of when it arrives' "

Bottom line: the tee passed just fine, and the 20 years since then, I've never carried a tee in my mouth !!

I Eagled that Par 4, though, and did it at State, no less !! ;)

lol!  how long were your tees?

[dpgator33]

Downhill probably 20-30ft,  to a narrow green, with water on the front and left side.  Very beautiful hole, extremely fun to play.

Pulled the tee shot that bounced on these rocks that are fashioned so that they're kind of a bridge to the green.  There are two of them on the hole, the other one is more pronounced.  Anyhow, the flag was back left right near the creek.  My ball hits the "bridge" of stones, bounces about 100ft in the air, lands back on the green and rides the slope down for a manageable birdie putt...which I didn't make, but still, better than losing a ball and scrambling for maybe a bogey!  Coincidentally, another guy in my group hit the front set of rocks, and his ball bounced into play as well, not on the green though.

[Texas Tee]

Originally Posted by ejimsmith

lol!  how long were your tees?

It was a 2.75".
Thank the Lord it wasn't a 3.25" !!

[Dave2512]

Lately it's been almost all my shots. My scores are getting better but the golf is pretty ugly.

[dlance]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

Good story ... but what I'm really interested in is the story behind the avatar?

I was playing a round over at Eagle Ridge golf course in Gilroy, CA and on the 8th green we walked up and saw this guy crawling around on the green, so we put a ball in front of him and he crawled up on it and just stopped. Then we moved the ball and put one of our putters down and he crawled up on that too. So we took some photos on the ball and on our clubs before gently moving him off to the side of the course so he wouldn't get hit by the people behind us. It was pretty cool.

[SnumfaGolf]

Last year playing one of my local courses I was on the 9th hole which is a short 100 yard par 3 across water - I bladed it and skipped my shot across the water and it landed within 5 feet of the hole, ugliest birdie I've ever made! And actually just today my friend did the same thing on a different course, but he actually hit some water past the hole, somehow it bounced back and the ball ended up inches from the hole which would have made for the ugliest hole in one history! lol.