Memoirs of a Starter at Indian Valley

By Merrill Louks

As a starter on the primary gap at Indian Valley for greater than 10 years, I’ve seen loads of unusual issues occur at or across the first tee field. Most had been humorous, some fascinating, and a pair pathetic in my view. The next are just a few of those incidents that I believe you may get pleasure from particularly in the event you play golf.

High Moments

• One Saturday after I reported to the primary tee to begin my shift, there was a min-van on the cart path subsequent to the tee field, about 50 ft from the parking zone, and hung up on the curbing. I believe that the driving force should have had a bit of an excessive amount of to drink on the bar on Friday night after his spherical of golf. The automobile needed to be towed away.

• On my starter sheet, the subsequent group listed to tee off was a Michael three and a Christian single. A lone golfer got here down the hill and when he approached the tee, I requested “Are you Christian?” and he replied “No I’m Jewish”. He stated he simply couldn’t resist.

• A member of the girl’s membership got here to the tee field with the opposite members of her group. When it was her flip to hit, she went to her cart to get the driving force and realized that her golf golf equipment had been nonetheless in her automotive. She made a fast journey to her automotive and made it off the primary tee just a bit bit late,

• It turned out {that a} twosome scheduled to exit by themselves each performed golf left-handed. Whereas they had been on the point of hit, I received a name from the professional store {that a} single was coming down to affix them. You might have guested it; he additionally performed golf left-handed. What are the percentages of that taking place?

• One of many males in a daily foursome within the males’s membership would take his canine, an previous sleepy yellow lab, on the course with him. The canine was laying at his grasp’s ft when certainly one of his enjoying companions topped his drive and it rolled solely about forty yards and wanting the ahead tee field. The canine rapidly jumped to its ft, sprinted down the golf green, picked up the ball, ran again and dropped it on the tee field. Then he laid down once more.

• A gaggle got here to the primary tee and it appeared that certainly one of them was type of in cost. A participant requested him, “Are we taking a ‘breakfast ball’ right this moment?” And he replied, “No, right this moment we’re fasting”.

• A participant on the 18th gap, a par-5, hit his second shot over the cart path separating the eighteenth gap from the primary gap. The golf ball rolled onto the apply placing inexperienced behind the primary tee and dropped into one of many cups. When he got here to retrieve it, he requested me, tongue in cheek, if he might depend that as a two on a par 5, an “albatross”.

• Whereas working a match and standing on the tee field, an errant shot from the ninth gap came to visit the bushes and hit me on the highest of the pinnacle. I ended up within the emergency room and so they put in six staples to restore the gash. Sadly, my spouse and I had been flying to Sydney, Australia the very subsequent day to have fun our fiftieth wedding ceremony anniversary. Since I didn’t have a concussion, I used to be in a position to make the flight, and we did have a beautiful time.

Honorable Point out

• Twice on separate events two younger males arrogantly requested me what was the current course report. Each had poor golf swings and hit wild drives that ended no method close to the golf green. I knew the report was protected

• A girl out for a stroll began down the cart path on the 9^th I went over to her and knowledgeable her that she couldn’t do that. She received very upset as a result of she stated the signal on the entrance to the golf course stated “Open to the Public”.

• A golfer was taking her frisky younger black lab on the course for the primary time. The canine was leashed to her push cart and when she went to hit her second shot the canine pulled over the cart and her golf equipment went flying. She righted her cart and picked up her golf equipment and when she went to hit a second time, the identical factor occurred. Lastly she hit second shot, then picked up her golf golf equipment, and headed down the golf green.

• I used to be standing on the tee field about 10 ft in entrance of the markers to house out the teams leaving the primary tee. A person hit his drive which wised by and simply missed me.  I requested him what he was considering and he stated he didn’t see me. Now that’s holding your “eye on the ball”.

• A minimum of as soon as a month a participant will fail to strap their golf bag to their cart. When leaving the primary tee the tendency is to place the accelerator all the best way to the ground and the free baggage go flying and make an terrible racket. Has this ever occurred to you? As soon as the shaft on the golfer’s driver broke and the pinnacle flew off.

Mockingly only in the near past when one thing unusual occurred on the primary tee, a girl stated to me, “I wager you could possibly write a guide on what occurs on the primary tee”. Don’t fear, I don’t plan to put in writing a guide, however I might go on and on.