You guys (Bill and Mark) are going to get me in trouble for telling old caddie stories but can't help myself.
I'm looping on number 7 at "the Valley" for a group of guys from Sleepy Hollow in NY. They were all decent but not great players and we were having a lot of fun. I was working for the boss of the job (member) and they were on their third day of a four day visit circa 1980. He was a good loop but a little taciturn and took the golf seriously. So no fooling around !
My caddie mate that day was Bobby "K" whose last name was impossible to pronounce unless you were native of Poland. He later became an esteemed starter , outside services guy at La Gorce in Florida. Super lovely particularly when he quit drinking ! He had a big burly ex football player who could hit it but every shot was different. His player had gotten over Hell's Half Acre and had about 150 yards to the flag for his third shot. Still not totally sure what happened but when he hit his third it not only flew the back of the green but hit high in the trees behind the bunker that encircles it! It had to be thirty to forty yards deep. I saw Bobby hurriedly looking at the club and shoving it back in the bag when I busted out laughing .....I just couldn't stop it was so ridiculously far over the target.
It wasn't normal to be laughing hysterically at an obvious mistake but Bobby "K' brandished a 7 iron out of the bag and immediately declared to all that it was a fluke of the highest proportions. My player the host saw me laughing which had me worried at first but when he started to do the same I knew I was safe. The hitter looked on furiously thinking it wasn't so funny. Finally he smiled and said wow, "if only I could hit my driver like that" which caused the whole group to continue roaring with laughter. To this day I never have seen a ball hit that far over a green and if the players were alive today we could all have another belly laugh.
Some game , huh!
RIP BOBBY "K"
cheers