TOP 5 Most Humorous Moments I Have Seen on a Golf Course…

#5 For a few of our members, we occasionally allow their dogs to accompany them onto the Golf Course. On this particular afternoon, a small well-groomed dog went racing past my window heading towards the parking lot. Once I realized who’s dog it was, I ran out to see where it had gone. Moments later I see the owners golf cart racing down the main road after this tiny white dog booking it towards the highway. Other golfers who had also noticed the chase that was underway, tried to corner off the tiny animal. As the golf cart finally caught up to the dog, a large man towering to over six feet climbed out of the passenger side and tried to get on the other side of the dog while the other man used the golf cart to corral the opposite side. This was one of the funniest sites I have seen on a golf course, two grown men chasing a small ladylike dog down the road on a golf cart. I was worth a good laugh!

#4 Number four on our list has to be the infamous “Jackass” stunt that has haunted most golf courses since the release of Johnny Knoxville’s movie. I was working the afternoon shift in the Pro Shop when a guest came in to lodge a complaint about some boys horsing around with the golf carts on the top field. Locking my doors for a moment I walked up the hill to see what was really going on, I found a site I really didn’t want to see. Bordering our Parking Lot was a forty-foot clay bank, almost straight down, and as I looked up I could see the flash of white (my golf cart) sailing head first down the bank. Hitting the bottom the cart took a sideways flip landing on its side, legs and arms flailing. In panic from the crash and hearing my yelling, two of the boys jumped out to turn the cart back on its side and limped it onto the pavement. As I walked in the direction of the boys, they tried to jump in their car and drive away. The funny part of this story is that it sure didn’t end up that funny for them, unless you call an almost thousand dollar bill funny.

#3 Now, how about the millions of phone calls I get a year for tee-time reservations. Most people are pretty good; they have taking a moment to think before they picked up the phone. But about sixty percent of the others, I am not really sure about. If I had a quarter for every time someone called me for a reservation but wasn’t sure when they wanted to reserve for, I would be an extremely rich woman! Come on people, you gotta let me know at least what day you want to golf…

#2 It was a Saturday afternoon when one of the members came in to inform me of some inappropriate behavior that was noticed on the golf course. Walking over to the side of the club house I looked down the eighteenth fairway. As the lady had described, there was a young man--buck naked—setting up for his fairway shot into the green. By this point a crowd had gathered to witness the spectacle and was cheering on the naked man as he walked with only his wedge up the fairway. We found out later that this was the outcome of a bet that had been made on the round, and he was the unfortunate loser….

#1 And our Number One, most humorous moment I have seen on a golf course, has to be… Well, lets call it The Visiting Scotsman. It was mid August when a sports team returned for its yearly golf tournament, this being the fifth or so year they had come back. Some would come in costume, dressed as old style golfers, or in goofy, tacky outfits but our Visiting Scotsman, came dressed in authentic Scottish garb, or so he said. With some of his teammates making comments about the authenticity of his kilt, he decided it would be rather funny to prove how real his kilt was. I was busy checking in the guys for the tournament and was unaware of what was brewing outside the Pro Shop window. An uproar of laughter took over the Shop, I couldn’t help but look to see what everyone was looking at. Framed in my window, was the underside of a real Scottish kilt, and the full moon of this man proving how Scottish he was. This is one sight that I hope will one day leave my memory banks but the humor of the moment was priceless.

Please feel free to post your own humorous golf stories to the Comments and add on to our list…

~Golf Services~ NEW

Another golf season is roaring to an end, work at the Pro Shop ended last Sunday. So to supplement my free time over the winter I have decided to dip my feet into the entrepreneurial world. JessicaTuckerOnline has launched a specialized Golf Services Section offering personalized golf services, including;

• Information on local Golf, Resorts, and Courses
• A Tee-time Reservation Service
• Lessons, clinics, and instruction
• Tournament Organization
• and Golf Getaways and vacation planning

With my extensive local knowledge and large contact base, all your golf needs in the Southern Okanagan and Interior of British Columbia can be met. Simply send me an email with your name, contact info, and brief layout of what you are thinking, to jessytucker@gmail.com or mail@jessicaannetucker.com and I will design a package specifically fit to your needs. Please, come and visit me JessicaTuckerOnline at jessicaannetucker.com.

Slow Play and Common Courtesy go Hand in Hand…

One of the most recurring complaints that seem to walk through the door of my Pro Shop is the pace of play, what better topic to address in today’s post. Whether it is your first day on the course, or one of your usual weekly rounds it is always important to be considerate to the other players on the course. The biggest culprits of slow play I encounter on course are those who figure, “I paid so and so amount to play golf today and I will take as long as I want.” Well, that’s all fine and dandy for him or her and their buddies, what about the hundred or so others behind you who also paid so and so amount to play, huh?

There are no excuses, pace of play on a normal full size eighteen hole course is usually four to four and a half hours and with a little common sense every golfer should be able to play their round in the time allotted. The best piece of advice I can give regarding pace of play is if you stay within a half to a full hole behind the group ahead of you (as long as they are playing at a decent pace) you should be fine. If I find myself playing in a group that is falling behind I quickly resort to ‘Ready Golf’ and suggest that the others in the group do the same. If you are unsure of the term ‘Ready Golf’, it means basically no lallygagging. While others are hitting, be thinking about your next shot so when they are finished you are ready to take yours. Clubs, bags, carts, and belongings can also be a huge hindrance to pace of play. I try to always keep my equipment closest to the direction I will be heading next, whether it is the green or the next tee-box. All in all, with a little simple common sense pace of play should not be an issue.

For more suggestions on speeding up the pace of play, please email Tales from the Pro Shop Counter…

Busy Summer...

Another summer has come and gone, and again my blog has suffered. With the snow soon on it's way and a long winter ahead, I plan on diving head first into the blogging world but in more directions than just golf. So, hopefully I will be able to make this blog into a bit more like what I had in mind for "Golf Tales From the Pro Shop Counter".

I will keep you posted as to any new blog-ventures I explore. And please keep an eye out for my NEW winter-time postings.

Canada Day

Well, it was July 1, when I finally found a few hours to play my first round of golf this year and although I was unsure of how my round might go, I sucked up the first tee jitters and ended up playing extremely well. Of course, the first few holes were rather ridiculous until I found my swing on the sixth hole. It was a perfect day to celebrate Canada’s birthday, the weather was not too hot but warm enough to enjoy the outside comfortably. The golf course was in the best shape I have seen it in years, the entire grounds were the vibrate green found usually in glossy photos of famous golf holes. The air was humid with the smells of freshly irrigated soil and sod floating on the air. Standing on the fifteenth tee-box with my driver in hand I took a moment to envision the shot I was wanting to make. Seeing my spot, I took my steps up to the tee-block$ and placed my ball and tee into the semi-solid ground. Stepping back for a moment I grabbed the grip of my driver and moved forward to address the ball. Feeling for the perfect spot, I moved the grip slightly in my hands and finding it, I tightened my grip for my takeaway. Pulling back, raising the club above and behind my head I stopped for a slight moment to follow the exact same path back the ball. An explosion let out, the club whipped me to my finishing position, my body facing the flight of ball. Spinning through the air, the ball projected forward moving towards the target. In a gentle downwards curve the ball faded for the ground taking a few heafty bounces before finding its home on the manicured green carpet.

The whole moment made me remember exactly why I have spent so many hours of my life working at this game.

Watch Out for that 7 Iron!

After deciding it was time to add my first golf story to my postings, the first that came to mind was a golfing date I had last summer with three of my close friends. Two of us were quite experienced in the game, my best-friend was just learning and her husband had played Golf a few times, so all and all we were really just a bunch of hackers out there for a good time and a couple drinks. As we plugged along through the first two holes, my girlfriend showed herself to be quite the natural golfer with a very athletic, strong swing. As we rounded the corner to the fourth tee-box, we stopped at the tee-box and parked the carts on the gravel path taking a few minutes to give my friend a couple more quick pointers. A short Par 3 laid out in front of us, a tricky little hole with water on the back of the two-tiered green and about 70 yards of trouble between the tee box and the flag.

After watching a few of her practice swings and figuring everything was good, I sat back down in my cart for a drink and chat. Looking away for a brief second, I could hear my girlfriend and her husband on the tee box as she set-up for her swing. I heard the breeze of her club as she took it back, and then I heard a hearty thwack of proper club head to ball contact and without looking up, I commented on how wonderful her shot sounded. Finishing what I was doing and raising my head to see where her shot ended up, the two voices from the tee-box caught my attention. Looking over at my two friends, here was my girlfriends leaning over her husbands bent neck and blood seeping from the place his hands held his head. That wonderful sound I had mistaken for her hitting the golf ball, had actually been the sound her 7 Iron made when it contacted the top of her husband’s head. Jumping out of the cart, the two of us who had been sitting ran over to survey the situation.

Getting a towel and pressure onto the wound we were soon able to see the extent of the damage and whether we would be organizing a trip to the hospital. This last thought, not so possible after the few beer we had had and the half hour drive to the nearest hospital. If you have ever thought there was no way a club could break the skin, you are so wrong. In the parting of his hair was a gash about three inches long and deep into his head, the exact shape of 7 Iron that had struck him. After being reassured that he was okay, and not in worry of passing out we headed for the nearest first aid station to find proper dressing for his wound. Needless to say after taking care of his head and taking a quick break in the shop we continued on to play the nine holes, and everyone was much more careful to pay attention to ALL their surroundings.

The moral to this story, of course is that when golfing always be aware of where you are standing and where others are standing in relation to you, especially when they have a golf club in their hands.

Golf, Learn from the Best, Look for the PGA

As many golfers consider a quick tune-up before the Golf season rolls into full action, many head to the local driving range, training facility, or Pro Shop to find a lesson. You may have already found a Professional to work on your game with you, or have a few, but some are not so lucky. Those just learning the game may have no idea where to start in finding lessons or some may not have found a Teaching Pro they are comfortable with yet.

A topic of conversation quite regular in my Pro Shop last season was the misrepresentation of “Teaching Professionals” in the Golf industry. With the growing amount of Golf Pros and Teaching Professionals in the industry, anyone considering a few lessons should take a moment to look into who you would be letting teach you. When looking for a golf instructor, it is important to know that anyone can label themself a ‘golf pro’ or ‘instructor’ and not necessarily have the proper training to teach others how to play the game. The PGA came into place to moderate this, so that PGA Teaching Professionals are all trained in the same way to teach, you, the golfer the game. Like other professions it is those letters following the Pro’s name on the wall that is important, in golf you want to be looking for the PGA Certified. If you are unsure don’t be afraid to ask because your golf swing is much too important to let just anyone mess with.

So before taking up lessons with a new golf instructor take a moment to chat with them and do your homework!