A Pro, a Par Three and Me

Wall Street Journal ^ | Friday, May 2, 2003 | RICHARD TURNER

[WaveThatFlag]

Jeff Sluman tees it up low, muttering that he's not really warmed up, then uncorks a soaring arc that seems to accelerate into overdrive, then drops gently onto the green up ahead.

And why wouldn't he? He was 15th on the PGA Tour's money list in 2002, thanks in large part to the fact that he's deadly with short irons: He led the Tour in Par-Three Performance (with an average score of 2.94 per hole). Ranked No. 42 on the money list so far this year, he's one of the elite pros whom millions of lesser golfers regard with wonderment and awe.

[Cincinatus]

Mr. Sluman congratulates me on the birdie. "Hey, it's a two," he says. "Forget about those other six shots."

He must play with Bill Clinton a lot.

[WaveThatFlag]

My brother has an ace on a mulligan, and nobody in the family will give him credit for it. If you take more than one swing, can't be a hole-in-one, right?

[headsonpikes]

"My man, you hit it on the land! he says, supportively."

That's the kind of 'support' I get from my oldest son! %#*!@$&!

[Phantom Lord]

My father pulled his tee shot into the woods and OB and then hit his 2nd tee shot into the hole for a par. Not a hole in one though.

[WaveThatFlag]

The thing with my brother is we were playing a "floating mulliga," and he did pick that hole to play his. He won the hole. He got to write a "1" on his scorecard. But whenever he trys to tell somebody he had a hole-in-one, we quickly say "No you didn't. It was on a mully."

[MoralSense]

My brother has an ace on a mulligan, and nobody in the family will give him credit for it. If you take more than one swing, can't be a hole-in-one, right?

Fred Couples actually did this on the island green at the TPC at Sawgrass in the Player's Championship some time in the 90s. And it was a three, not an ace. It was still spectacular.

[Signboy]

My brother has an ace on a mulligan, and nobody in the family will give him credit for it. If you take more than one swing, can't be a hole-in-one, right?

Actually there is one situation where a second swing could count as a legitimate hole in one. In match play if you hit a tee shot from outside the prescribed teeing area (for instance ahead of the markers or more than two clublengths behind the markers) your opponent has the option of making you hit again from within the proper teeing area. If that were the case and you made a hole in one on that "second swing", I think you could legitimately claim an ace.

[bexardave]

I think Couples did that in'99, most people will proceed to the drop area - Freddie must've been angry, he re-teed and hit it directly in the hole, nothing but net.

[HamiltonJay]

An Ace on a Mulligan? That's like sex with your sister man... just ain't right.

[Lou L]

There is a great book by John Paul Newport, called "The Fine Green Line," which anyone who's ever played the game of golf should read.

For many weekend hacks, myself included, we're often tempted to compare our one shot in twenty (or more), to that of a pro. "Wow, that shot from 150 yards landed within five feet of the pin--I could be on tour with a little more practice!"

In any case, "The Fine Green Line," is a true tale of how one casual player extrapolated his talent as an amateur, and took a year off in an attempt to make "Q-school" and qualify for the tour. He discovers that there's a "fine green line" that separates the occasional brilliance we amatuers experience, from the real talent PGA players have.

A humbling read, for sure.

[Cincinatus]

Right. On one of my favorite par-3's, on two successive rounds, I chunked a ball into the water in front of the hole. My next stroke, on both occasions, landed a foot from the hole, and I sank the putt twice. Score on both rounds? Bogey.

[Labyrinthos]

My brother has an ace on a mulligan, and nobody in the family will give him credit for it. If you take more than one swing, can't be a hole-in-one, right?

Here's the more important question: If you fail to drive the ball past the ladies' tee, do you have to drop your pants for the walk to the ball for your second shot?

[stylin19a]

Know why they call it: GOLF ?

Because %#*!@$&! was taken !

[WaveThatFlag]

Thanks. I'll look for it.

[WaveThatFlag]

I play all the time with a young lady who played competitve college golf. She plays from the men's tees, and, yes, even SHE drops trow when she doesn't get past the men's tees.

[headsonpikes]

"If you fail to drive the ball past the ladies' tee..."

I'm given to understand that this explains the wearing of kilts by Scots.

[stylin19a]

I played a course last week that has the longest par 5 in Illinois. 708 yds. It's about 230 to get past the ladies tees. We suspend that rule on that hole. :)

[Labyrinthos]

I play all the time with a young lady who played competitve college golf. She plays from the men's tees, and, yes, even SHE drops trow when she doesn't get past the men's tees.

Which is why my mother always insisted I wear clean undies whenever I left the house... just in case I was ever in an accident or hit a wormburner 20 yards short of the ladies' tee.

[WaveThatFlag]

I played a course last week that has the longest par 5 in Illinois. 708 yds.

Hope it's downhill...