It only took 22 years, but yesterday on the 12th hole at Sun Valley CC in Reheboth MA, I shot a three on a relatively short par 5. For low handicappers (<10), this plays as the course’s number one handicap hole when it is played as a par 4. For the rest of us weekend golfers, the 8th hole secures that honor as it plays as its most difficult par 4.
The difficulty is not the yardage to cover — it plays a mere 425 yards from the middle tees. It starts with the tee shot that must be played short of a brook wiggling through the 175 yard marker, guarded by trees and a boulder on the right and trees long down the center. Hitting the left part of the fairway makes for the longest approach into a small green front-to-back, guarded by a bunker left and a grass mound on its right. Plus, your shot needs the lift and carry to cover the trees that will be in front of you.
So the only realistic place for a go-for-the-green approach is a 200+ yard tee shot that is center cut. Fortunately, we had a good wind at our backs and my choice of a 5 fairway metal hit that center spot and left 215 yards to the green. I chose to hit that 5 again, because of the uncut fairways and would have been satisfied with it coming up short for an up-and-down attempt for birdie. Instead, my approach bounced harmlessly onto the green and drifted 3 feet left of the cup! It was a mere formality in sinking the putt for a three.
I have played this course on a regular basis since I caught the golf bug in 1987. And I have never hit that green in two before. I have gotten there in two on the prior par 5 hole numerous times, with my shortest eagle attempt at 20 feet — I thought if ever I were to make an eagle, that would have been the hole.
I can recall vividly the day I first made a par 5 green in two. It was at Swansea CC and I had a 300+ yard tee shot to inside the 150 yard marker. My approach did not make the center of the green where the pin was, but it was a relatively straight uphill putt. My enthusiasm took control of me as I scorched the 25 foot putt passed the cup 15 feet — then missing the comeback and settling for an unceremonious score of par.
I also recall four putting the first hole at Beaver River CC for a bogey. And another 3-putt mishap occurred after I smashed a 353 yard drive and landing a nice 187 yard 4-iron to the center of the green. Those missed opportunities quickly transformed into misfortunes.
Still, I had an eagle shot pop out of the hole from a long approach shot, leaving a 3+ foot putt for birdie — and I lipped that attempt out of the hole too. And I missed an ace, which counts as an eagle too, by 8 inches at Midville’s 155 yard par 3.
Yes, a lot of eagle attempts each with their own story. But I finally get to gloat about the one that did not get away.
