My Blessing

My six-year-old daughter and I have been playing golf on weekends at a nine hole executive course in Long Beach for several months, but we still go to the driving range on an 18 hole course that has a waterfall on the first hole. She has been begging me to play the course with the waterfall, but I haven't thought she was anywhere near ready, so I told her that once she pars one of the holes on the executive course, I would take her to the waterfall course to play. Her best score ever on a single hole at the executive course was a five, so I didn't expect her to make a three for quite some time.

Last Sunday we were playing a round at the executive course. I had to fuss at her a few times on a couple of the beginning holes because she wasn't focusing on her shots enough. My fussing made her mad and she started crying which made me wonder if we should be playing together on a course at all.

When we arrived at the sixth tee, she looked at me and reminded me that I had to take her to the waterfall course if she made a three. I acknowledged to her I would, so she turned around and stuck her tee in the ground and hit one of the most beautiful shots I have ever seen. The flag was about 80 yards from the tee. Her shot was slightly down hill and down wind. I knew from the moment she struck the ball and I heard a distinctive ding that it was a great shot and would probably be on the green.

Her ball hit right in front of the green, bounced up, and then started rolling right toward the hole. It looked like her ball actually had a chance to go in the hole and it would have if my yelling could have influenced the roll at all, but in the end it trickled inches by the hole and came to rest about four feet from the flag. She proceeded to miss her birdie by another few inches and then tapped in for a par.

There are moments in life that defy logic. I don’t know how my daughter managed to hit the best shot of her life at exactly the right moment when she knew she had the best opportunity to get what she wanted. Coincidence? Perhaps! I wouldn’t believe it happened if I didn’t see it myself.

Last night she turned into a Gremlin before bedtime as she sometimes does and we both returned to earth. Today, I made a tee time for the course with the waterfall. I still wish the moment could have lasted forever.

Update: The round at SkyLinks (Waterfall Course) was fun. We managed to play 16 holes before dark. There wasn’t very many golfers on the course after the Super Bowl started. The little one had a 5, 7, 7, and 18 on the par threes. Her other holes ranged from 9 to 17 with a 13 on a tough par five. I think I’ll keep her.