| 09 January 2009
As I stood on the tee of the 11th hole at the Arnprior Golf Club at Sand Point, I was in shock having witnessed my first hole-in-one. My uncle had just hit a soft wedge that bounced once and landed directly in the hole. He was more shocked than we were since he was having an absolutely brutal round to that point. That's not to say that he's a bad golfer though, he's actually very, very good. It's just that his game unravels faster than a Senators Playoff team after Ricard Persson has just taken a major penalty for high-sticking a Leaf. The word meltdown might be a bit of an understatement. The best part of the whole experience is that whenever my uncle's game deteriorates, he overcompensates by swearing. A LOT. He's turned it into an art form. If you want creativity and spontaneity, he's got it in spades. The problem is that it takes a toll on your own game. If you think golf is hard as is, imagine yourself walking down the fairway while someone is ragingly swearing and making a scene without any rhyme or reason. It's just impossible to stifle your laughter.
Why is this important?
As I watched the World Junior's Gold Medal ceremony, I couldn't help but sit in awe as Eugene Melnyk spun around in a circle while pumping his fists in the air. As I continued to watch him celebrate, I couldn't help but be reminded of my uncle's celebration on the 11th hole. For everything that had gone wrong that day, up to that one shot, you'd figure that that his elation would have carried over for the rest of the round. It didn't. At the next tee box, my uncle laced a 25-yard dribbler off into the brush. Without missing a beat, he broke into an expletive-laced tirade that would have made John Tortorella proud. So here we are, we as Sens fans are waiting idly on the tee of our very own twelfth hole. Eugene has just had his hole-in-one moment, but we're wary of the twelfth-hole shank. After the loss to Boston, is he going to find time to re-evaluate the management personnel? Or will he coast through the rest of the season coming off the high of the WJHC Gold Medal? If not, wake me when he gets to the clubhouse and buys everyone a round of drinks. I'll need one.
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