Can you remember yours? I can remember mine…it haunts me sometimes ha ha.

I was playing the Lilac Tournament in Spokane, Washington at The Fairways Golf Course. The Lilac was the biggest tournament of the year for most of us amateurs. It was the only 4 day event and was aggressively flighted. It had a 0-2 level and a 3-5 and so on. There was also a professional division with, at the time, the largest payout in the State.

This was THE BIG ONE of the tournament schedule…I went to sleep with the lead in the 3-5 flight (I was a 3 at the time) and was ready to rock the next morning. I was up 1 starting the day and was quickly down 3 after 4 holes. My closest opponent was ON FIRE to start. I clawed back to take the lead a few holes later on a 2 shot swing and I was a shot ahead going to the back nine.

I made a par on a very reachable par 5 and we were tied. Then I hit a great approach to the 16th and made birdie as he made a bogey. I went to the 18th up 2 and striped a driver right down the middle…

The 18th at The Fairways is one of the toughest holes in town. Out of bounds lurks right and left and the green is fronted by a pond that stretches around the left of the green. The green is HUGE and slopes severely from back to front making shots that are short of the center of the green an exercise in screaming “STAY THERE!!!”

I had a measly 148 over water and slightly downhill after a very good drive and I chose a 9 iron. I got a touch quick and pulled it into the water. OUCH!! Here is the funny part, this was not the worst shot I had ever hit.

I dropped and played a sand wedge to about 6 feet past the hole and spun it back over the edge to 8 feet short of the pin. My opponent hit his to about 9 feet right of the pin and suddenly it looked like I was about to barf away the tournament. Then the unthinkable…he putted his ball about 2 total feet. The greens were very quick and he had a severe right to left break, but he literally putted the ball 2 feet and had 7 to negotiate from there.

I just missed my 8 footer and he banged in his par putt and we were tied…

We played off on the first hole. A dogleg right par 4 with OB right and OB through the dogleg. The play was to hit a long iron or a fairway wood to the corner of the dogleg which would leave you a PW or a SW in.

I drew the first straw and would tee off first.

I had hit #2 iron (yeah we played #2 irons then ha ha) EVERY round and had no more than an 8 iron in through 4 times through. I decided that I should just play it the same way again and I pulled the #2 out of the bag. Pre-shot routine and……CLICK!!!

I had just shanked the ball directly out of bounds. Not pushed, not faded, SHANKED!

The tournament was over, my opponent put his fairway wood back in his bag and hit a #6 iron in the fairway and bogeyed his way to the title. I was the runner up.

That shank was the worst shot I had ever hit, given the situaton. I had hit shanks before and I have hit some since, but none have stung like that one.

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