That noise you hear…

One of the courses I play regularly has a 417 yard dog-leg left par 4, as played from the white tees.  It is a very open hole so the wind affects the ball quite a bit.  About 200 yards from the green are two bunkers left of the fairway and one bunker right of the fairway.  If the wind is into me or still I just try to thread the needle between the two sets of bunkers.   If the wind is behind I attempt to carry the left set of bunkers as it leaves a short shot to the green.  Most of the time though when I do this my ball ends up in the rough, but I have a clear shot to the green.

Friday I caught the hole downwind, and I caught my tee shot well.  I might have tugged it just a bit.  Nevertheless I was in the fairway.  My handheld GPS unit told me I had about 130 yards to the front of the green.  There was a red flag on the pole indicating a front pin position.  I drew my trusty 8-iron from its scabbard.  I went through my pre-shot routine taking dead aim at the pin as there was room left and right.  I hit one of the straightest shots I had ever hit in my life. I did not have my usual touch of draw that all too often turns into a pull hook, or my mishit high fade.  The ball hit the front of the green, jumped on board a railroad line headed straight towards the pin and disappeared.  I felt like it had dropped in the hole and profoundly remarked, “Well what you think of that.”  Part of me was hesitant as I have seen balls disappear behind the pin that looked like they had dropped in.  When I arrived at the green sure enough the ball was in the hole.  That is first time in 30 years of golf I have holed one out from that far out.   It is the first time I have holed one out from that distance for an eagle.

The noise you hear is me patting myself on the back.