Somehow I managed to get Phil and I an all expense paid trip around the Army Navy Country Club’s 18 holes in Arlington Va. just outside of Washington D.C. This is the same golf course that all of the Presidents play. Not an easy feat, but with the help of my Medal Of Honor winning friend Doug Bazatta I pulled it off.
We were paired up with these two young navy officers, probably to keep an eye on us. They were fairly good golfers and we struck up a team match play bet of some consequence. Phil being the hack that he was and broke as usual to boot I not only had to carry the day, but our team, and pay off if we lost.
The match was going along well and by the back nine we had them pretty much in my hip pocket. They were down three with four to play. The fifteenth hole was visible from the highway and I had driven by it a hundred times. It was a beautiful 615 yard par five. A little creek ran through the fairway about 380 yard down the fairway, well out of reach to us all. A long down hill drive and a simple three wood and then an eight iron to the elevated green.
Well I smoked my drive and it just kept rolling and rolling until I was afraif it might roll into the creek. It stopped on the upslope 5 yards short. I waited for everyone to hit their second shots and when they reached me I was lining up my three wood and taking aim at the green about 235 yards up the hill and straight into the sun. Unleashing a monster three wood right at the green with my patented little fade it disappeared clear out of sight. As Phil shouted “That’s got a chance” the two young officers just stood there, slack-jawed, staring at my shot.
After they hit their approach shot to the green, Phil’s fifth shot, we went to find my ball. Nearing the green I kept looking for my ball but it was nowhere in sight. To the bunker behind the green, it must be there I thought since I really nutted it. No ball there or anywhere. After five minutes of looking on of the fellows said to go back about 80 yards and drop. Hitting four from there I could still make par and it beat going all the way back to the creek some 235 yard away. So with eight iron in hand I went back, hit my short punch shot to the green four or five feet away from the flag. Slowly walked to the green just hoping for a half.
When I went to tend the flag for one of the other players, low and behold, there was my ball IN THE HOLE. A double Eagle. The first fellows said that’ it was a two stroke penalty, playing the wrong ball, but I explaind to him that once my ball went into the hole, no matter what else I did, I was done with this hole and my score stands at 2
After all those years of driving past that beautiful hole and wondering how it played, there I was with my first and only Albatross (not to mention the 64 dollars of those nice young officers money) which I had to split with Phil. Phil oh Phil.