Our ever-changing group of players retell their most memorable golf stories. Have one yourself? E-mail it to golf@ibmadison.com for consideration. Our league is easy to join, share in the laughter and lessons learned this week!
Jessica Schock
Financial Representative, Northwestern Mutual Financial Network
A few years ago, I realized I needed to begin playing golf. I had taken a few lessons but knew I was not up to par. A wonderful client of mine offered to help and suggested we golf at Pleasant View. We hit the course — I wasn’t the greatest, but he was very patient.
On the 7th hole, I had a great long drive and a good chip that put me on the green, which happens to be next to a ring of trees. As I’m preparing to putt, I suddenly felt like I got hit in the head with a large pillow. I fell to my knees and looked up at my client with a bewildered expression, wondering what the heck just happened!
His eyes were wide as saucers and after a uttering a few words of disbelief, he exclaimed, “You just got hit in the head by a hawk!”
Needless to say, it was a different kind of birdie than I intended to get.
Peter Stebbins
Business Development Manager, M&I Bank
Several years ago, I took a few good customers out to play a round of golf. One of the people in the group was Jeff Becker, VP of mortgage loans at Home Savings, who is a scratch golfer and the other Steve Caravello, my farther-in-law who was probably the best amateur golfer to come out of the state of Wisconsin.
At the first tee, we were attempting to negotiate a bet of some sort and everyone was asked what their handicap was. I indicated mine was a 30. Jeff Becker said he’d never heard of anyone having a 30 and therefore mine couldn’t be that high. Since I do not play often enough, I did not have an official handicap card.
After we had played two holes, Jeff quickly changed his opinion, admitting that he had now personally witnessed someone with a 30+ handicap! We enjoyed a good round of golf where little money exchanged hands since they allowed me to play with my high handicap.
Robert Cramer
Finance Officer, Middleton Community Bank
I was playing the UW Ridges golf course with my father and a couple of his friends. Even though I’m a big guy at 6’4″ and 300 pounds, I have a bit of a whimsical attitude — I was playing with a pink lady flyer golf ball (and was getting heckled by my father’s friends about it).
After I just tripled bogeyed the previous hole, we came to the par four that is located along the pond on County Highway M. I hit a beautiful drive right in the center of fairway, my next shot landed only three feet from the hole and then I hit it in for a birdie.
After that, I got no more heckles from my father’s friends about the pink lady flyer.
Kim L. Tredinnick
Risk Management Partner, Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP
In June 2000, I made a trip to Scotland with eight friends. When it came time to play the Old Course at St. Andrews, we entered the lottery in two groups to get a tee time.
One group was lucky enough to receive a tee time, while the rest of us had to fend for ourselves on the waiting list. An attorney from Milwaukee and I finally managed to make it on the course at around noon.
As we completed our round, onlookers gathered along the fence line along the back and side of the eighteenth hole. The attorney and I both managed to hit pretty decent drives that traveled well down the fairway while the crowd was watching.
As we were strolling up the fairway to hit our second shots, a bagpiper started to play on top of the hill behind the eighteenth green.
We said to ourselves, “Wow — walking up the eighteenth hole at St. Andrews to decent tee shots with a crowd watching and bagpipes playing in the background — golf just doesn’t get any better than this!”
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