My ball is in a tuft of grass in a native area five yards left off the seventh green at The Orchards Golf Club during the Rocket Mortgage Monday qualifier. I hit a big draw into a short-sided penalty area left of green and I’m standing over the ball planning my escape. It’s a vital moment in the round as I’m 2-under and facing the most daunting challenge of the day so far.
It’s a fairly straightforward lob shot with a 60 degree wedge, and upon inspecting the lie, I’m confident I’ll have a good chance to save par. Caddie Ryan French sets the bag down at the edge of the penalty area and I reach for my 60 degree wedge. It’s not there.
I move a few clubheads around and I know what’s happened before any words are spoken. I played my third shot on the previous hole, a par-5, from the greenside bunker and leaned the 60 degree wedge up against my bag as I walked to mark my ball. French began raking the bunker and when he was finished, must not have seen the wedge when picking up the bag.
“What’s wrong?” French asks.
“Am I missing something or is the 60 not here?” I ask.
“It’s not there?” French says studying the bag.
“I don’t see it. This could be a problem,” I say.
“Must be on the last hole. I’ll get it,” French says as he takes off running.
There is a native area that crosses the hole and the path around it is on the other side of the fairway. The sixth hole runs parallel to the seventh with impenetrable forest between. French runs down the thick treeline but without a machete, I don’t see a way through.
The two other players in my group have 35-footers for birdie and are just marking their balls on the green. They watch my distressed caddie running down the roughline with amusement.
“Forgot my wedge on the last hole,” I say. “Go ahead and finish out and if he’s not back by the time you’re done, I’ll hit it with a different club.”
They nod and begin their routines as I consider using my 54 degree wedge. The shot can be played with the lower lofted wedge but it’s a bit more difficult. In Monday qualifiers, there’s little margin for error, and while it’s way too early in the round to tell, this up-and-down could be the difference-maker.
French has disappeared around the dogleg as one of my playing partners lines up his birdie putt. He leaves it five feet short, buying French more time. My other playing partner leaves his birdie effort in a similar position. Hurry Ryan, hurry!
French, meanwhile, has found a path through the trees and reaches the greenside bunker on the previous hole. He’s searching the area frantically but doesn’t see the wedge. The group in front must have picked it up, causing him further delay and added stress. He takes off back through the trees towards the next tee.
“I can’t hit with you standing there!” Englishman Brian Davis calls out from the tee when he spots French moving towards him.
French is sweating, winded, and undeterred.
“Looking for a club?” Davis asks. “It’s in my bag.”
French sees a club sticking out above the others in Davis’ bag and grabs it hastily. He begins running back towards the green before realizing he hasn’t checked it and isn’t actually sure he’s grabbed the correct club.
Back on the green, the players in my group are grinding over their par putts. It’s an ideal series of events for me. If they both hit their birdie putts to within tap-in range, I’d have already hit my shot with the 54 wedge. I’ll just open the face way up and hit it like a bunker shot, I think. If this was a three or four round event, no big deal, but in an 18-hole qualifier, each shot is precious.
Both players in my group hole their par putts and as the flag goes back in, I grab the 54 wedge.
Just before I walk down into the penalty area, I peer back to the treeline. Emerging from the dense forest holding the 60 degree like a relay baton is French. He’s sweating and his pace is slowing, but somehow, he’s made it. Moments later, he hands me the wedge on the verge of passing out.
“Amazing hustle!” I say.
“Thank…God…I’m…in…some…kind of…shape,” French says, gasping for air.
I walk into the native area and hit a lob shot 12-feet past the hole. Not my best.
I hand the wedge to French and make sure it ends up in the bag.
“Ok…let’s…get…focused,” French says.
The putt breaks considerably right-to-left and after I stroke it, I think it’s in. The last foot of the putt flattens out and the ball stops breaking, narrowly missing. I tap in. A lot of work for bogey.
“Where was it?” I ask.
“I found a way through the trees and got all the way to the last hole and the wedge wasn’t even there,” French says. “Brian Davis had it. I grabbed it from his bag, ran for 10 seconds, and realized I didn’t even check it.”
“The only thing that would have made this better is if you made it all the way here with Brain Davis’ wedge,” I say. We laugh.
“I can’t believe I made it,” French says. “If this was before I was in shape, I would have died…I would have died!”
“I can’t wait to put this on Twitter,” I say.
French laughs. I can see the gears turning as he composes the tweet in his head.
“I’m just glad I missed the green there,” I say. “Imagine what we would have done if I hadn’t missed another green for a couple holes.”
The shot with the rescued 60 degree wedge didn’t end up being the difference maker. I signed for a 2-under 70 at the end of the day. As players finished their rounds, French discovered an unknown Golf Galaxy employee had shot 65 and was calming his nerves with a few beers after the round.
French’s lost club adventure anecdotes on Twitter would have to wait. There was another player to hustle for.
I move a few clubheads around and I know what’s happened before any words are spoken. I played my third shot on the previous hole, a par-5, from the greenside bunker and leaned the 60 degree wedge up against my bag as I walked to mark my ball. French began raking the bunker and when he was finished, must not have seen the wedge when picking up the bag.
“What’s wrong?” French asks.
“Am I missing something or is the 60 not here?” I ask.
“It’s not there?” French says studying the bag.
“I don’t see it. This could be a problem,” I say.
“Must be on the last hole. I’ll get it,” French says as he takes off running.
There is a native area that crosses the hole and the path around it is on the other side of the fairway. The sixth hole runs parallel to the seventh with impenetrable forest between. French runs down the thick treeline but without a machete, I don’t see a way through.
The two other players in my group have 35-footers for birdie and are just marking their balls on the green. They watch my distressed caddie running down the roughline with amusement.
“Forgot my wedge on the last hole,” I say. “Go ahead and finish out and if he’s not back by the time you’re done, I’ll hit it with a different club.”
They nod and begin their routines as I consider using my 54 degree wedge. The shot can be played with the lower lofted wedge but it’s a bit more difficult. In Monday qualifiers, there’s little margin for error, and while it’s way too early in the round to tell, this up-and-down could be the difference-maker.
French has disappeared around the dogleg as one of my playing partners lines up his birdie putt. He leaves it five feet short, buying French more time. My other playing partner leaves his birdie effort in a similar position. Hurry Ryan, hurry!
French, meanwhile, has found a path through the trees and reaches the greenside bunker on the previous hole. He’s searching the area frantically but doesn’t see the wedge. The group in front must have picked it up, causing him further delay and added stress. He takes off back through the trees towards the next tee.
“I can’t hit with you standing there!” Englishman Brian Davis calls out from the tee when he spots French moving towards him.
French is sweating, winded, and undeterred.
“Looking for a club?” Davis asks. “It’s in my bag.”
French sees a club sticking out above the others in Davis’ bag and grabs it hastily. He begins running back towards the green before realizing he hasn’t checked it and isn’t actually sure he’s grabbed the correct club.
Back on the green, the players in my group are grinding over their par putts. It’s an ideal series of events for me. If they both hit their birdie putts to within tap-in range, I’d have already hit my shot with the 54 wedge. I’ll just open the face way up and hit it like a bunker shot, I think. If this was a three or four round event, no big deal, but in an 18-hole qualifier, each shot is precious.
Both players in my group hole their par putts and as the flag goes back in, I grab the 54 wedge.
Just before I walk down into the penalty area, I peer back to the treeline. Emerging from the dense forest holding the 60 degree like a relay baton is French. He’s sweating and his pace is slowing, but somehow, he’s made it. Moments later, he hands me the wedge on the verge of passing out.
“Amazing hustle!” I say.
“Thank…God…I’m…in…some…kind of…shape,” French says, gasping for air.
I walk into the native area and hit a lob shot 12-feet past the hole. Not my best.
I hand the wedge to French and make sure it ends up in the bag.
“Ok…let’s…get…focused,” French says.
The putt breaks considerably right-to-left and after I stroke it, I think it’s in. The last foot of the putt flattens out and the ball stops breaking, narrowly missing. I tap in. A lot of work for bogey.
“Where was it?” I ask.
“I found a way through the trees and got all the way to the last hole and the wedge wasn’t even there,” French says. “Brian Davis had it. I grabbed it from his bag, ran for 10 seconds, and realized I didn’t even check it.”
“The only thing that would have made this better is if you made it all the way here with Brain Davis’ wedge,” I say. We laugh.
“I can’t believe I made it,” French says. “If this was before I was in shape, I would have died…I would have died!”
“I can’t wait to put this on Twitter,” I say.
French laughs. I can see the gears turning as he composes the tweet in his head.
“I’m just glad I missed the green there,” I say. “Imagine what we would have done if I hadn’t missed another green for a couple holes.”
The shot with the rescued 60 degree wedge didn’t end up being the difference maker. I signed for a 2-under 70 at the end of the day. As players finished their rounds, French discovered an unknown Golf Galaxy employee had shot 65 and was calming his nerves with a few beers after the round.
French’s lost club adventure anecdotes on Twitter would have to wait. There was another player to hustle for.
.JPG)
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