I play at Cedarwood Country Club in Charlotte, NC and I’ve met some my closest friends there. As I close out Round 1 of Fairway Follies most of the stories include those fellows. I’ve learned a lot during these 18 Holes and one thing is not to use real names. So I close the Round with Scott who’s actually the protagonist in “The Boatie” story. He’s a lefty
#9 at Cedarwood is one of the most difficult par 3s I’ve ever played. It looks harmless from the tee box but that’s deceiving. Consider: from the men’s whites it’s 185 yards; Traps left and right leave a narrow gap to the green; the green itself viciously slopes from back to front; and, the west wind is always in your face.
Scott and I played 9 late one afternoon. He won the previous hole so he had honors. A back pin made the shot about 200 yards and the wind was howling. He decided to hit all he had in his bag. His driver was pure but he pulled it slightly to the right. The ball struck the cart path very hard about pin high and it bounced like it contained flubber. Another high bounce. Another as it bounced over the twosome that just finished the hole. Another bounce over the bag rack near the pro shop. Another and it flew over the circle drive fronting the clubhouse. Finally, the last bounce as it entered the tall grasses that encircled the US, NC and Cedarwood flag poles.
“We’ll never find it!” he said in shock.
I have no idea what happened to my shot because we were in a hurry to find Scott’s ball. We needed a bushmaster with a machete as we swam into the decorative grasses. After 10 minutes Scott announced “I’ve got it. It’s against a flagpole!”
“Which one?”
Fittingly he replied “The Cedarwood pole!”
It was miles out of bounds and was impossible to play so Scott walked off the distance back to the pin. A total of 270 yards!
See you in Round 2!
Fairway Follies, Joe Hinson 