They do not have to be gouged out of tree roots, played with the
eyes squeezed shut. They do have to make a U-turn on the green,
slowly regain speed and drop into the cup.
The theatrics Sergio Garcia produced at Medinah in the PGA Championship and the magic performed by Davis Love III at The Masters on the 16th at Augusta National were the two most memorable shots of a memorable year.
So many others, while not nearly as spectacular, were no less great.
As Harvey Penick once said, "A golfer rarely needs to hit a
spectacular shot unless the one that precedes it was pretty bad."
We tend to lose sight of great shots unless they involve a
remarkable recovery. Many times, the best shots look to be the most
simple. Unseen is the pressure of trying to match a swing for the
occasion.
One of the greatest shots ever played came from the middle of
the fairway -- a 4-wood from 235 yards that Gene Sarazen holed for
double eagle in the 1935 Masters that got him into a playoff and put Augusta
National on the map.
But great shots do not have to produce a great score.
A shot that defined the pure shotmaking of Ben Hogan was his
1-iron into the 18th at Merion in the 1950 U.S. Open for a two-putt
par that got him into a playoff, which he won.
With respect to Garcia and Love, here are six shots that were
not nearly as spectacular, yet deserve equal consideration as the
best of the year:
Paul Lawrie in the British Open: "A lovely 4-iron, just past the pin," Lawrie said.
Only he wasn't talking about his approach to 3 feet on the 18th
hole at Carnoustie for a three-stroke victory in a playoff against
Justin Leonard and Jean Van de Velde.
Lawrie was tied with Leonard on the 17th when he hit the best
shot of the Open, a 4-iron from 225 yards that came to rest 12 feet
past the hole for birdie.
David Duval in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic: He needed an eagle on the 18th hole at PGA West to record only the third 59 in PGA Tour
history, the first on a Sunday. Duval had 218 yards to the pin, a 4-iron under normal circumstances.
These were not normal circumstances. Accounting for the
adrenaline, Duval took a 5-iron and hit it pure.
"It just looked so good the whole way," he said.
The ball stopped 6 feet from the cup. One putt later, Duval had
a 59 and a piece of history.
Greg Norman in The Masters: His 8-iron into 12th green on Saturday disappeared into the azaleas. After a five-minute search, Norman walked back across Hogan's bridge and faced the same shot that he thought was good the first time.
He never flinched.
"I put my tee right next to the divot that I just hit before,"
he said. "I aimed to the right of the same tree. The ball went
exactly the same line."
He hit the green, 22 feet from the cup, and made the putt for a great bogey.
"I never doubted I was going to make the putt," he said.
Juli Inkster in the LPGA Championship: She was in a three-way for the lead with a chance to become only the second woman to
complete the LPGA Tour's modern career Grand Slam.
Inkster had 232 yards to the flag on the par-5 16th at DuPont
Country Club. Her 5-wood never left its line, stopping 18 feet
away.
"A career shot," she said, the start of an eagle-birdie-birdie
finish.
Tiger Woods in the PGA Championship: Par felt like birdie at the end of the second round in weather so nasty the rain blew
sideways. Woods could barely see the green on the par-3 17th. He
backed off his 7-iron when water dripped into his eyes.
Finally, he launched a shot that disappeared into the shroud,
settling 20 feet from the hole for a two-putt par.
He didn't win the PGA that day, but he could have lost it.
"Windy, rain, gusty, swirling. It wasn't easy," Woods said.
"Somehow, I was able to make par after par after par."
Duval in The Players Championship: The most feared shot in golf can be the island-green 17th at the TPC at Sawgrass -- especially on
Sunday, when the surface is like concrete and the lead is only one stroke.
Duval had a wedge in his hand and no room for error.
"The best golf shot I've ever seen played -- it wasn't a
spectacular shot -- was when Nick Price won this tournament," Duval
said. "He never gave himself enough time to think about anything
other than hitting it up there close. That's all I tried to do."
The ball descended from a bright blue sky and stopped 6 feet
away for birdie.
Duval was right. It wasn't a spectacular shot, just a great one.
