How it feels

Golf Digest, June, 2005 by Ron Kaspriske

EVER BEEN STRUCK BY LIGHTNING ON A GOLF COURSE? Been hit in the face by a golf ball? Lose another golfer's favorite club? Or worse, choose to lose the tip of your finger rather than pay off a bet? (We had to go to Evel Knievel for that last one.)

OK, we figure we've got your attention. As part of this month's Feel Issue we talked to a number of people who have experienced all sorts of bizarre things on the golf course.

And this is how it feels ...

Feel Issue Golf Digest Cover Story

Being hit in the face by a golf ball while wearing a kilt Andy Willett, 53, certified public accountant, Delavan, Wis.

CBS called last summer to say they needed someone to play the bagpipes for the teaser show and the opening of the PGAChampionship telecast. I've been playing for a few years, so they asked me to come to Whistling Straits on a Monday evening in full traditional Scottish dress-you know, a kilt, the hat, stuff like that-and play the bagpipes around sunset at various places on the course.

We filmed at one location about two-thirds of the way down the 13th fairway. I didn't know it then, but there was a hidden championship tee box about 250 yards from where I was standing. It's a blind shot for the golfer, and we didn't know to check if anyone was there.

I heard "Fore!" and my first reaction was to raise my hand to cover my face. Unfortunately, it was too late. Aball hit me right above the eye. It didn't knock me out. It didn't even knock me to the ground. But within seconds there was blood streaming down my face. It felt like getting hit by a thick tree branch.

The CBS crew threw me on the back of a cart and started driving me back to the clubhouse. You couldn't get an ambulance out to the 13th hole, and they usually don't allow regular golf carts on the course, so the trails are pretty rough. I was bouncing all over the place, and it took like 20 minutes to get back.

Luckily I'd been wearing a Glengarry hat made from 100 percent Scottish wool. I think the ball hit the rim, which probably saved me from a massive head injury. I also had a pretty nasty bruise on my index finger.

At the hospital, they did a CATscan and thought I might have blood on my brain. But the neurologist ruled that out, saying it was just bone mass. If the ball had hit me another half-inch lower, they told me, I'd probably be blind.

I ended up getting five stitches, but at least I didn't have brain damage or a concussion. I was wearing about $1,500 worth of clothes, and the bagpipes were worth about another $1,500. Luckily the bloodstains came out.

I guess it was worth it. If you remember CBS' opening to the tournament, right after they showed Tiger, they showed a bagpiper playing. That was me.

Losing part of your finger over a bet Evel Knievel, 66, former daredevil, Clearwater, Fla.

I used to play golf at SeaCliff Country Club in Huntington Beach, Calif., with guys who used to cheat me all the time. I got tired of this one guy cheating me, so I put it on the line during a round back in 1975. I could play pretty well back then. I used to have a 8-handicap.

Anyway, we had a match going, and on the 18th hole, I said, "I'll bet you $7,000 on this last hole, and if I lose and don't pay up, I'll cut off my finger. And if you lose, you either pay the money or cut off a finger." And this guy agrees. We used to play for a lot of money back then.

I hit my tee shot into a gravel ditch that ran across the fairway, and the ball ricocheted into the driving range, out-of-bounds. I had to reload, but I ended up getting on the green with my fourth shot and making the putt for a 5. Of course, he made birdie. I was so sick of getting cheated by this guy that I said, "I'm not going to pay you; I'm going to cut off my finger instead."

I walked over the the cart barn and asked the guy there if I could borrow an axe. He didn't have one, but he did have one of those Boy Scouts shovels that has a hinge and can be turned into an axe. The cart guy agreed to help me, and he grabbed a piece of roof shingle to place over the top of my finger so only the tip was exposed.

I'm a man true to my word, and I let the cart guy cut off a tip of my finger. Yeah, it hurt like hell and there was blood everywhere, but I didn't care back then. The guy I bet was so disgusted he just left. I guess he didn't want the tip of my finger, so I put it in my pocket and headed to a nearby hospital. A doctor sewed it back on, and that was that. Even the nail grew back, although I have this nasty scar now.

A couple of days later, that SOB wanted to play me again, and I said, "OK, but this time we're playin' for arms." He didn't take that bet.

Being struck by lightning

Gary Almgren, 30, civil engineer, Kremmling, Colo.

Every summer my town has this festival with food and music and games. One of the contests has residents go up to the bluffs that overlook the town and hit golf balls to various targets 400 to 500 feet below. The balls are marked, and the closest to each target gets a prize. I've participated in the contest for a few years now because I love golf, but I rarely have time to play 18 holes.