William Quan

Well, I'd been literally all over the course all morning. By the seventh hole I was spent, I'd probably walked 3,500 yards, mostly crisscrossing the fairways in search of another errant shot. Anyway, I loaded up on the carbohydrates after the ninth hole and immediately felt my energy level rise. I stepped up to the tee on the par 3 11th and let 'er rip. My shot started right and then hooked slightly to the left, landing about twenty feet to the right and in front of the pin. I walked off from the blocks to put my club back in my bag with my head down, but I knew I'd nailed it. What would happen next was now in the hands of the gods, there was nothing more I could do. I'd lived up to my end of the deal. So, I didn't watch my shot reach its ultimate destiny, and it was actually the other three guys I was playing with who saw the ball curl left and roll straight off the flag and into the hole. Suddenly they were shaking my hand and congratulating me. My only reaction was to tell them to keep it to themselves. For some reason I couldn't celebrate as I should have because I knew I'd entered an exclusive club, one which none of them could ever aspire to, and this pained me somehow. They could all golf three times a week for the next thirty years and only hope to do what I had just done. It was kind of a moment of melancholy rather than joy, to tell you the truth. When some of the guys started calling me 'ace,' I couldn't even laugh. Life would never be the same, and I knew it. When I teed up for the twelve hole, which incidentally was also a par 3, the tension was almost unbearable, and I responded by blasting a worm burner which barely cleared the women's blocks. I was back. My story is typical golf... Agony, ecstacy, plenty more agony. But it was a great father's day gift nonetheless. For one brief moment it all came together. I pondered retiring immediately from the sport I love and becoming a motivational speaker, sharing my story with others who had yet to scale the mountain that I had, or perhaps an 'adult film' star, capitalizing on my new-found fame. But then I heard about this website and thought recording my tale here would be good enough. Thank you very much, you're beautiful...