Apr 162011
Here’s a video of Kevin Na taking a 16 on one hole at a PGA Tour event in Texas earlier this week. This is the kind of golf dg is used to. It does his heart good to see the professionals finally coming up to his level. (For more information on dg’s golf game see “Writers at Play — The Paris Review Interview.”)
Some of you may find it difficult to see what this video has to do with writing & literature. The trick is to look at golf as an allegory of the writing life.
dg
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWTXoNzuk8c]
Why the hell didn’t he take his stroke penalty and rehit his drive?
Wait–you’re right. Writing is like golf.
I should have said why didn’t he take his penalty and rehit again.
But I like this. It’s a damn good story, certainly much more interesting than the other holes that day.
It’s a bit confusing, but I think he did take a stroke penalty and hit his drive again. But then got caught in the trees again. Then he hit the ball and it bounced back and hit him. Then he dropped the ball somewhere. Apparently, he is now famous for the 16. The video is showing up all over.
Actually, I know nothing about golf.
Or writing.
But it’s a great story, right? I think I’d like it better, though, if he were still out there today, whacking away in the wilderness, piling up penalty strokes, and still not getting closer to the cup.
I think I just got an idea for a novel. . . .
Oh, yes!
My favorite part is how seriously his caddy took each shot. At some point, you just have to let go and recognize, that basically, your fucked. Of course, the caddy works on commission, so it might be less funny to him.
In the writing analogy, are caddies agents?
Na came close to making history for having one of the worst holes in PGA tour golf ever, and it’s the worst on a par 4 since 1938, when Ray Ainsley shot 19 on one. (John Daly had 18 on a par 5 as well. Ah, John.)
Even two penalty strokes in a pro event can be devastating. In the event you didn’t know, there’s a tendency in golf rather than take one’s lumps to follow one mistake with another and just get deeper in a hole.
As in writing.
As in life.
But you can have this one Rich! It’s your territory (golf, not screwing up) and it would make a great story.
I’m on it. I’ve actually already got a golf-wife swapping story in the works. Pretty much a hoot. Just can’t get to the green, so to speak. 🙂
Wait a sec. How many double entendres are there in this comment?
OK, Rich. Forget it. I’ll take it.