This Week at WorldGolf.com: Nov. 8, 2006

The truth is that the great shots we hit are what keep us coming back to the golf course

Having recently finished a golf excursion that saw me play eight rounds at eight great and diverse golf courses, I have learned a few things, but only one great truth.

I learned things about my swing - that I need to keep my right armed tucked in better, that my grip had gotten lazy over the years, etc. I also learned some things about golf equipment - and that I, a mere mortal, can't compete off the tee with some 60-year-old duffer who pulls out a Nike Sasquatch driver.

These aren't great truths, however. The great truth I learned was simple, and I heard it every round I played, from golfers who shot everywhere from 75 to 115, after they hit a quality shot.

"That is why you keep coming back."

How many awful rounds have you had that were not only resurrected, but elevated in your memory due to one unbelievable shot? Say a perfect tee shot on a par 3, leaving you with but a tap-in for birdie? Or that perfectly placed drive that cut the corner of a par 5, leaving you with a beautiful approach shot to the green?

Those are what keep us all coming back, regardless of our handicap. It's what has kept Chuck Siddall of Reno coming back, and for good reason. On a pleasant afternoon, the 60-something Siddall lofted a utility driver some 190 yards from the fairway into the hole on the 454-yard, No. 16 hole at his home course of LakeRidge Golf Course. While enjoying his brilliant eagle, Siddall was quick to point something out to his playing companions, regarding their low-stakes skins game.

"I get a shot on that hole, by the way," said Siddall. "Mark me down for a one."

Other stories like that can be found at WorldGolf.com's Hole-in-One Honor Roll, where duffers from around the globe get to gloat about scoring an ace. Like William M Bemis II of Braintree, Mass., who aced the No. 17 hole at Pinehill Golf Club during the Chrysler Tournament of Club Champions.

"I knocked a 7 iron in the jar from 169 yards!" wrote Bemis. "I won a 2007 Chrysler Aspen."

I guarantee he was back on the course in no time after that. And that's the truth.

As always, WorldGolf.com welcomes your comments.

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