I am over in Scotland for the first time and I really wanted to play the Old Course at St. Andrews. I am an average at best golfer (15 handicap) but I love the history of the game and really wanted to play it. This is a family vacation (not a buddies trip) so my only shot is to line up and try to get on as a single at ~10pm the night before. After waiting all night (I was #5 in line), I was added to a local group to finish out a 4 ball and off we went at 8:30 Tuesday morning (all the stands are up for the Open which added to the “cool” factor”)
That is a lot of setup for the story… but everything was pretty normal until we got to the tee box at 17 (for casual golf fans, it might be the most famous par 4 in the world). I had birdied 16 so I was feeling good about myself, but definitely a little intimidated by the tee shot you have to hit over the hotel. The first in our group tees off on 17 and we hear loud applause and someone shouting “Well done! That was a golf shot!” That someone is Gary Player.
He hops over the fence and joins us on the teebox (camera crew in tow), introduces himself, asks how i got on with the locals, and hits a tee shot. He then “interviews” me about staying up all night, first time golfing in Scotland, etc and then tells me to hit my drive (all on video). Fortunately I hit a great drive for me and actually finished 17-18 bogey, par with Gary hanging out with us.
My wife and kids were waiting on 18 for me and they got to meet Mr. Player and my kids got a cool photo of him lifting them up on the 18th green with the town in the background.
It is all a bit of a blur, but needless to say it was an awesome day!
That is a lot of setup for the story… but everything was pretty normal until we got to the tee box at 17 (for casual golf fans, it might be the most famous par 4 in the world). I had birdied 16 so I was feeling good about myself, but definitely a little intimidated by the tee shot you have to hit over the hotel. The first in our group tees off on 17 and we hear loud applause and someone shouting “Well done! That was a golf shot!” That someone is Gary Player.
He hops over the fence and joins us on the teebox (camera crew in tow), introduces himself, asks how i got on with the locals, and hits a tee shot. He then “interviews” me about staying up all night, first time golfing in Scotland, etc and then tells me to hit my drive (all on video). Fortunately I hit a great drive for me and actually finished 17-18 bogey, par with Gary hanging out with us.
My wife and kids were waiting on 18 for me and they got to meet Mr. Player and my kids got a cool photo of him lifting them up on the 18th green with the town in the background.
It is all a bit of a blur, but needless to say it was an awesome day!
