The truth about golf: It's the great shots that keep us coming back for more

Having recently finished a golf excursion that saw me play eight rounds at eight diverse golf courses on the West Coast, I have learned a few things, but only one great truth.

I learned things about my swing - that I need to keep my right armed tucked in better, that my grip had gotten lazy over the years, etc. I also learned some things about golf equipment - and that I, a mere mortal, can’t compete off the tee with some duffer who pulls out a Nike Sasquatch driver.

These aren’t great truths, however. The great truth I learned was simple, and I heard it every round I played, from golfers who shot everywhere from 75 to 115, after they hit a quality shot.

“That is why you keep coming back.”

How many awful rounds have you had that were not only resurrected, but elevated in your memory due to one fantastic shot? Say a soaring shot from off the tee on a par 3, leaving you with but a tap-in for birdie? Or that perfectly placed drive that cut the corner of a par 5, leaving you with a beautiful approach shot to the green?

Those are what keep us all coming back, regardless of our handicap.

It’s what has kept Chuck Siddall of Reno coming back, and for good reason. On a pleasant afternoon, I was standing 20 feet or so from the 60-something Siddall as he lofted a utility driver some 190 yards from the fairway that landed some 20 yards shy of the fringe, rolled up perfectly onto the green and into the hole on the 454-yard, No. 16 hole at his home course of LakeRidge Golf Course. While enjoying his eagle, Siddall was quick to point something out to his playing companions, regarding their low-stakes skins game.

“I get a shot on that hole, by the way,” said Siddall. “Mark me down for a one.”

Other stories like that can be found at WorldGolf.com’s Hole-in-One Honor Roll, where duffers from around the globe get to gloat about scoring an ace. Like Bob Szymanski of Merritt Island, Fla., recalling his recent ace at Cocoa Beach Country Club.

“I was late for the tee time. Pulled up to the second hole, shoes untied, no glove, no practice. Threw the ball down, no practice swing and hit the ball. The ball went directly into the hole (my first one). Wow. The other three members and I just laughed. Naturally later it cost me a ton of money,” wrote a happy Szymanski.

And you just know guys like Szymanski and Siddall were back on the course again in no time after that. And that’s the truth.

The author’s tee shot at this par-3 at Victorville’s Westwinds Golf Course will keep him coming back for more.

–WKW