An Occurrence On The Seventh Hole

As with many classic courses, tee follows closely on green on my local favorite. While this makes it very easy to walk, it also makes it somewhat easy to hit someone loitering between holes.

So it was that as I lined up my approach shot on the seventh hole last evening, I noticed a guy sitting on the bench between holes. His legs were crossed, he was wearing a wide brimmed hat, and he didn’t look like he was paying any attention. He also didn’t seem to have a set of clubs.

One of the locals, I thought, enjoying the night air.

I swung, and the ball headed left—my usual miss. As I made my follow through, I glanced right to the bench—and the guy was gone.

That was very odd, because I had looked away only for a second. Moreover, there’s no place for anyone to go. There are no woods to hide in—just a couple of isolated trees. The nearest substantial cover is too far away for anyone to reach in that period of time, even if they ran.

I kept scanning the area as I got closer, but he never did reappear.

A trick of the light, I supposed. A shadow that against the setting sun, looked like a man. And one that disappeared as soon as I shifted position.

But still a bit unnerving.

I ended up with a double bogey.