Penalties vs. Rules

photo credit: dcbprime     Mac O'Grady is reputed to be the world's worst scorekeeper.   Just ask Paul Azinger about Mac?   It seems that during the 1997 Buick Classic O'Grady, Azinger's playing partner, made  too many mistakes on Azingers scorecard.   Azinger was totally distracted after he  found 6 inexcusable mistakes, he forgot to sign his own card and was immediately disqualified.

Lee Janzen was disqualified from the 1998 World Series of Golf.   During the first round Janzen waited 20 seconds before his ball, which was on the side of the cup,  fell into the hole.   A TV viewer called the tournament and noted that Janzen took more than twice the allotted 10 seconds to wait for the ball to drop.   Janzen was disqualified because he failed to call a one-stroke penalty on himself.

Is Golf That Dangerous?

photo credit: sk8geek     THE SAGA OF OWEN CUMMINGS:  

In 1975 Owen was playing the 7th, a par-5 at a course in Fortville, Indiana.   Hes second shot landed in four inches of water behind a thick stone wall.   Cummings took a gorilla-like,  round-house  swing and topped the ball.   It ricocheted off the stone wall and bounded into the cup for an eagle 3.   The shot one him the hole but cost him the match.   You see, during  his swing, Owen's  club-head struck the wall, flew off his shaft and ricocheted off the wall also –  blasting  Cummings in the face.   He was carried off the course unconscious and rushed to the E.R.   The moral of the story:   take a stroke penalty and “drop” the ball!!

Cummings made a full recovery.

True Caddie “Tails”

photo credit: jfinnirwin     A fielding error cost Mark Brooks two penalty strokes at the 1992 Las Vegas Invitational.   At the 18th hole, Brooks tossed his ball to his caddie for a cleaning.   The caddie missed the ball and it rolled into a water hazard alongside the green.   Brooks took off his shoes and socks and went into the water to find his ball.   He found 18 balls, but none of them were his.   Brooks was penalized for not finishing the hole with the ball he was playing from the tee.

In 1914, during World War I, there was a scarcity of professional caddies in Great Britain.   Country clubs experimented with dogs as bag carriers and ball finders.   The experiment flopped.   Dogs would rather chase rabbits than golf balls!

Wacky Golf Facts

photo credit: danperry.com     In 1920, Joe Kirkwood won the Australian and New Zealand Open golf tournaments.   Kirkwood was not only a tour player but was an accomplished trick-shot artist who used, what was reputed to be, the world's longest golf club – a driver that measured 10 feet long.   He also swung the world's tiniest club – an 18 inch wedge!   One has to wonder if he had a rules book with him?

Sam Snead never mistook his golf ball for that of another player.   Wilson Company imprinted balls especially for Snead with the number O on them.

In 1921, Emmett French played the very difficult Pinehurst Golf  and C.C.  with only his putter.   French finished the 18 hole layout with a stellar final score of 80!

Memorable Bets

photo credit: linein     Titanic Thompson was known for his willingness to make frivolous bets.   During a match in 1940, Thompson was betting he could make three out of five putts from 30 feet.   He usually won by sinking four.   What his victims didn't know was that Thompson would go out on the course the night before and place a heavy water hose from the cup to the edge of the green.   This created a nearly imperceptible trough that tricky Thompson would use to send putts easily into the hole.

After Tiger Woods won the 1997 Masters, a British bookmaker offered 50 to 1 odds that Woods would be elected president of the United States by the time he (Woods) reached the age of 50.   One gambler wagered $200.

Danger on the Course

photo credit: brian.gratwicke     It happened in Jacksonville, Florida in 1985 when W.E. Jackson and a companion were in the middle of a friendly round of golf.   Suddenly Jackson was charged by a 200 lb. wild boar.   Jackson didn't have time to run for cover so he used the 5-iron he had for defensive purposes.   He killed the hog and literally “brought home the bacon.”

After a single X-ray, doctors found out what was ailing Hannah, a three-year-old yellow Labrador retriever from Cherry Hill, New Jersey.   Hannah spent evenings retrieving golf balls for her owner, Scott Sullivan who happened to be working on his short game at the time.   Doctors removed nine golf balls from her aching belly.   Hannah made a complete recovery and is no longer retrieving balls.

Spectator Blunders

photo credit: Sahaja Meditation     A highly excited fan offered a handshake to Gary Player after  he tied  Arnold Palmer in  the final round of the 1962 Masters Championship.   The fan squeezed Player's hand so hard that Player thought it was broken.   It was only sprained, but Player, golfing with a bandaged hand, lost in a playoff  the next day by three shots.

At the 1948 Motor City Open, Lloyd Mangrum had a short putt for par on the 9th hole at Red Run Golf Club.   His ball just barely dropped after hanging a fraction of a second on the lip of the cup.   A lady spectator yelled out, “That wasn't a very good stroke Mr. Mangrum.”   Lloyd replied,”   Are we playing how or how many, lady?”