Ridiculous hero/recovery shots

[baldguy]

I had one of those recovery shots today that makes you wonder where the TV cameras are. I've only had a couple of these in my short time playing this game, but they really do stick in your memory. I'd love to hear stories of other shots like this. Here are the two most memorable recovery shots for me:

a couple months ago - 150 yd par 3. Shanked my tee shot right off the toe. I'm left with 100 yards in, waaay off the hole right. I am in thick dead grass with two towering oaks overhead and a small pond between me and the green. I look up and see a small window between the branches, maybe 6 feet in diameter. Right in line with where I'd need to hit if I wanted a chance at par, but it will have to be a cut. My playing partners are already up near the green, surely expecting yet another blowup hole from me . It's just a practice round, so I figured let's go for the hero shot. I grabbed my pw and opened up the face a bit. Opened my stance and aimed for that window. Smacked one perfectly through the window that got really high up in the air, crossed the pond, and landed softly on the green within 8 feet of the pin! two putt bogey, but still

today's shot was on a par 5. solid drive in the fairway left a 3W cut shot that should put me right up near the green. Set up for the cut, hit it pure... it did not cut. perfectly straight shot that went perfectly into the next hole's fairway. crap. I had 140 in, but a big tree and a telephone pole in the way. Tried to punch out, but smacked the tree and dropped only about 20 yds closer to the green. so now playing my 4th from 120, I at least have a line up to the elevated green, but it has to get up high over a tree, over a bunker, and let the 25-30 mph wind carry it left onto a green i can't really see. ball was above my feet by a decent amount on a mogul and the lie was otherwise less than optimal. This time I'm playing with a +1 HCP golfer and have held my own with him for the first few holes... gotta try to make something happen here! grabbed my 8i and hit a 3/4 swing off my front foot (front foot was higher than back). the ball goes right up onto the line I saw in my head. the wind carries it left just enough to get it near the hole. I walk up and see the ball sitting there, 3 feet from the hole! I made par

so, who else has some hero shot memories to share?

 

[WardF]

Nice! I go out of town for a couple of days and you start hitting miracle shots? haha! I think I actually was there for that first one if were talking about hole 4 Oakmont. Which par 5 on the other one?

 

[diddums]

The last round I played. First hole was a par 4, I pulled my drive off into the rough. Found it laying in some 4inch tall grass and my shot was through the tips of a line of trees. Hit my 8i and got good contact but it carried too far and landed 40m long right of the green. Now my line is blocked by a big bushy tree about 15ft tall. Pulled my 60* and hit it pure, landed 2ft from the cup and made par.

 

[Ali_J]

On a par 4 in a club competition, 17th hole. I sliced my tee shot into the woods on the right, and there was a line of trees between me and the fairway all the way to the green. I could only see a little piece of green and if I hit a straight punch, I'd be in the greenside bunker there.
So I pick up the 7 iron and set up to draw it around the trees. Everyone else was waiting, and I had no idea whether this would work.
I hit it perfectly, going low and moving towards the green. It bounced to the left of the bunker, onto the green and stopped about 10 feet from the pin.
When I think about that shot, I wish there could've been a camera somewhere there :|

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

 

[baldguy]

Nice! I go out of town for a couple of days and you start hitting miracle shots? haha! I think I actually was there for that first one if were talking about hole 4 Oakmont. Which par 5 on the other one?

yes you are correct, the first one was hole 4. the second was hole 3. I was inspired by the fact that I had to hit from hole 4's fairway

 

[Castor Hades]

I love reading these stories, specially than underdog thing when the group has already got to think you can't save it, and bHAM! On the green, like the OP.

 

[Ag2979]

Mine that comes to mind was in a scramble a few years ago. I was in Rochester, NY playing a scramble charity tourney. This is before I got swing help and nothing I did on the course made sense. I would use my 7 wood for just about any shot outside 130yards. Our best ball was blind, 150 out with a big pine in the line. One guy punched out safely and the rest tried to get over/around it. I pull my 7 wood out to laughter. I hit the ball over the tree and stick it 5 feet from the cup. My one friend still tells the story of the mighty 7 wood.

 

[baldguy]

some fun stories so far. keep em coming!

 

[Jersey Nate]

We need a rope hook me haysoos story in here.

 

[Ndfan301]

I can think of 2 that I've had during my years.

First was roughly 10 years or so ago, put had a horrible drive into a patch of trees. To make it better it was some pretty low branches, and I was only sitting about 100 yards out from the green, so now real shot (or so I thought). I was young, and decided what the heck, I'm going to try a punch shot with my PW. Must of hit it perfect because it cut right between the trees, low enough not to hit any branches, and ended up on the fringe

2nd happened just last year. Must of tired out on the 8th, and grounded my driver which caused me to hook, and be about 75 yards or so short, and into trees. First round playing with my Burner irons, didn't wanna try anything funny, plus my only shot was a punch out into the fairway. Took my medicine, and ended up roughly 150 out, easy 8i shot. Well nearly bladed it, someone ran along the fairway and ended up 20-25 feet, but pin high. Took the mindset of "just get it close and avoid a 3 putt". Ended up draining it for par. It was lovely!

 

[TheHeez]

I've had a few but the most recent was on a long par 4, my drive was left and to get on the green I needed to hit a 7i but I needed to cut it around a tree and hope for the best. I took a rip and it did not cut, just straight and nearly on the tee box of the next hole. This leaves me with a terrible lie on hard dirt, next to the ball washer and severely above the green with it sloping away from me. My only hope was to land it short and either have it bounce off the cart path or land a little further in the rough and somehow get it to not roll off. So I hit a low 56° and it landed in the rough, two bounced through it, got on the green and released to within two feet. Saved par.

I try to avoid the hero stuff but sometimes its the only option you have.

 

[moosejaa]

About a 490 yard par 5. Tree-lined fairway, both sides, water in front and to the right of the green. Fade my tee-shot into the right rough along the tree-line. Figured I'd lay up. Didn't want to challenge the water from 240ish. Chunked my layup shot about 40 yards. Still in the rough, looking at 200 over the water. Had to fade it because of the tree-line. Hit a 4 iron to the right fringe. Proceeded to 3-putt a bogey but that 3rd shot was one of my best ever.

 

[Brianbigoats]

Last summer on a short par 4 i was laying up and hit the cart path on the side of the fairway which kicked my ball into a dry lake which is very deep 20 feet ball was in the bottom had 120 to the pin i decided to hood my PW and end up sticking it 8 ft from the pin when i took my swing i could not see the green/flag/ fairway just a dirt wall i did make the put for birdie

 

[baldguy]

bump - would love to hear some more stories of risk/reward

 

[Scorp]

Chalk this up to pure dumb luck.

Years ago I was playing Charleston AFB SC course. It was a par 3. I sucked at golf then and still do to this day. I was playing with a couple of guys from work in a 3some I think... anyway.

We're at the elevated tee box and I don't remember the exact yardage... I do remember thinking that I couldn't reach the green with one of my irons so that probably made it about 130 yds or so... (I was playing MaxFli tournament blades I got and couldn't hit worth a darn...)

The other guys were using short irons. I grab my 5 wood and tee it up. (It was a real wood 5 wood. 1 screw missing from the sole plate, 1 screw loose, 1 screw stripped. The sole plate had about 1/8 " gap by the face.) I make my swing and the ball is a low screamer... off the tee, and straight down into the rough. In total, it went maybe 10 yards. Didn't even pass the ladies tee. (I know, "pull your panties up Alice...").

I walked up to my ball and just smacked it again with my gimpy 5 wood. The ball reached a height of maybe 10 yards and corkscrewed towards the green. I couldn't see where it hit but assumed it went over the green. I grabbed my putter and PW and was stalking the rough on the backside of the green looking for my ball and couldn't find it. One of the guys asked "did you look in the hole?" I responded "with that shot? You're kidding right!" So I go look in the hole.

By gosh, the ball, MY ball was in the hole. First birdie ever. I think it was my last also.



Another shot I remember:

My game had improved slightly but not by much. It was like my 3rd shot on a par 5 and I was aiming for the green. 2 others in the 4some had reached the green in 2. I line up and make my shot. Range was 50 yards maybe. I watch my ball arc up and up and up moving towards the green (surprising me) and comes down and hits my buddies golf ball on the green knocking it away from the cup a couple of yards. Couldn't replicate that even if I wanted to.


Last one that I thought was cool when it happened because it saved me a lot of frustration.

Playing again at Charleston AFB course. Tee shot on a long par 5 dind't go far and wound up in the rough on the left side of the fairway. The fairway had a dogleg right... I amble up to my ball and select my driver from my bag. (Can you see where this is going?) My thinking at the time was bigger club, it'll go further, and I still had a long way to go to reach the green. (Besides, it was very similar to my 3 wood which was somewhat reliable for me off the deck...)

I line up, take my stance, and swing away... and the ball flies straight and true... with a fade (or draw... whichever it is... I'm a lefty and it went away from me...) "Aww man!" came out of my mouth as I watched the ball rise and curve away from me heading towards the opposite side of the adjacent fairway. (I'd already been playing Army golf that day and wasn't relishing another sojourn to the far side...). I watch my ball continue on its predestined path when suddenly CRACK/THUNK!!! It hit the ONLY free standing dead pine in that area that stood a chance of stopping that ball. The ball hit it solidly and kicked back into my fairway at around a 45* angle from where it hit the tree. This put it a lot closer to the hole in the middle of the fairway.

It was cool and a lucky shot.

 

[giorgiokaan]

We need a rope hook me haysoos story in here.

I've had a lot of those!

This weekend was my first weekend of the 2014 golf season and I set out to play 9 holes on the hardest course at my club. I was playing horribly as I was using some older and way too soft clubs as my new ones are still shipping to Italy. It had been raining for the past 2 days and it was freezing, like 4* Celsius freezing. The course was soaked and I was hooking everything. At one point I hooked my iron into a left hand side bunker, I was about 30 feet from the hole with a massive downhill slope going towards the hole about halfway between me and the flag. The sand was super wet and packed and I was thinking "man I have a 1 in 50 chance of stopping this anywhere inside 10 feet" I then took my 60, chose a spot on the left of the flag right before the slope and swung across it hard, it went straight up, landed on the crest and gently rolled to a foot. It was super cool as it was my first time playing in 2014 and I was excited about this awesome shot.

I have had many more which were better and way more "hero" shots but this recent one was just cool as it is fresh in my memory.