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NWO Golf Links
As I shrieked the word, “Ditch,” in a voice
that would break glass, my partner saw it
and slammed on the brakes.
Nowmost of us, have been in a golf cart in the
wee hours of the morning, with the sparkling
dew still on the grass and are familiar with
what happens when you slam on the brakes.
Hydroplaning is the technical term, and that
is exactly what happened to us. Even with
the brakes firmly applied, we continued to
barrel toward this Grand Canyon of a ditch
at top speed, but had flipped around and we
were now skidding backwards.
Who ever said golf was boring? We do like a
challenge don’t we? Of course we do.
We entered the 15-foot-deep ditch rear end
first at a pretty good rate of speed. It was like
riding the ‘Demon Drop,’ when it existed, at
Cedar Point. I held on as best I could, and
luckily slammed my least vulnerable spot,
my head, into the roof. We finally came to
rest in the middle of the stream, shaken, but
not seriously injured.
We looked at each other and started to crack
up laughing. Why not? We had narrowly
escaped death’s evil grasp and would live
to tell tall tales about our bravery and quick
reactions. If we would have entered that
ditch any other way than backwards, we
would be talking major injuries. It was a
miracle! The ‘Golf Gods’ looked favorably
upon us that day.
Seeing no way to get the cart out of the ditch,
we abandoned it and climbed out with our
clubs and dignity intact. As we crested the
top of the ditch, we realized we were a mere
50 yards from the green with the safety of
the clubhouse on the other side.
We started the trek, still being pelted by rain
that would dent steel, but didn’t even notice.
We had survived a golfing adventure and
would live to play another day.
All that remained was to explain what had
happened to the pro shop and still get our
key deposit back
.