Luck doesn’t even to begin to describe golfer Ted Kemp’s round in 2008 at the Muscatine, Iowa, Municipal Golf Course. A 12-handicapper, he knocked in holes-in-one on two par-3s.
He used a pitching wedge to sink his tee shot on the third hole from 130 yards out. Then, after remarking to his group that it would be something if he repeated his feat, Kemp later nailed an 8-iron and aced the 182 -yard eighth hole.
A study by Golf Digest said that the odds of getting two holes-in-one in the same round are 67-million-to-one.
Tennis
• You probably play tennis all the time, but do you know the correct height of the tennis net?
The net is a different height at the sides than it is in the middle. It should be 42 inches (105 centimetres) high at the sides and 32 inches (80 centimetres) high in the middle.
• How far are the “service” lines from the net: 17, 21, or 25 feet away?
The service lines are 21 feet (6.3 metres) from the net and parallel to it.
• How wide is a singles tennis court and a doubles court?
The singles court is 27 feet wide and the doubles court is 36 feet wide.
•What’s the diameter of a standard tennis ball and how much does it weigh?
The diameter of a tennis ball is four inches and its total weight is about two ounces.
• True or false? Tennis was once played with the palm of the hand batting the ball over the net.
True. The first known players of tennis were the French, back around AD 1100. They called their game jeu de paume, which means “game of the palm.”
Bloopers
• Jerry Coleman was doing a Yankees radio broadcast and said: “There’s a fly ball deep into center field. Winfield is going back, back, and he hits his head against the wall! It’s rolling toward second base.”
• The MLB All-star game was dragging on and on through a constant downpour, which led TV announcer Curt Gowdy to comment on the flooded field. Curt observed, “If there’s a pileup, they’ll have to give some of the players artificial insemination.”
• Curt also said, “Brooks Robinson is not a fast man, but his arms and legs move very quickly.”
• And, he once observed: “Willie Mays won’t be starting today because the Met’s regular outfielder Rusty Slob will be playing ... er ... I mean Rusty Staub!”
• On another MLB All-star occasion, Gowdy wrapped up the game with: “And at the game’s end, it’s National League 6, American League 4. That score again, American League 6, National League 4.”
• Adding a little climate-colour to the broadcast, Curt observed: “Folks, this is perfect weather for today’s game, not a breath of air!”
An errant shot
Golf produces many examples of people being struck by a poorly hit shot. Former U.S. President Gerald Ford hit several people, so did Spiro Agnew when he was vice-president. Agnew once hit a husband and wife with just one shot. On the next swing, he hit a woman in the ankle. The previous year Agnew had struck golf pro Doug Sanders in the head.
However, no golfer ever predicted such a shot as well as golf pro Mac McLendon. After playing poorly in the first round of the 1979 Masters, he said to his wife, “I’m playing so badly, I’m sure I’m going to hit someone.”
The very next day, the prediction came true. On his first swing on the first hole, Mac drove his tee shot into the crowd and hit his wife!