May 25th, 2011
I just finished my 4th and final season of college golf so a round of golf was not ideal at the time just being so burned out. But this was a round of all rounds I wanted to ask my playing partner if I could have his daughters hand in marriage, so one more round could be mustered out before the clubs needed to go away for a much needed break. I showed up to the course 10 minutes to spare and ran to the putting green and first tee area. Opened the bag to grab a sleeve of my beloved Pro V1x golf balls just to roll a few and prepare myself for the dewy greens. To my surprise, not a dang ball to my name in my golf bag. Ran up the stairs to the pro shop, ask the kind gentleman for a sleeve of Pro V1x, high numbers if you’ve got em. His reply was an underwhelming and petty gesture as he pointed to the window area where a few sleeves of Titleist NXT and NXT Tour balls lay. Of course I’m like, what is goin on here its my biggest day ever, trying to just manufacture a solid round of golf to impress my future father in law with no desire to do so. Like I said I just got done playing 250+ days a year for years straight trying to compete at the highest level a golf course was the last place I wanted to be at this time in my life. I buy the Titleist NXT Tour sleeve and head out to meet on the first tee. I get off to a good start with kick in birdies on 2 &3 and I was 2 under without having to use a ballmark. Now I am looking a little closer at these NXT golf balls and wondering what I was worried about. Of course my soon to be Father-in-law is talking PGA Tour dreams because he has never seen anything like this before. I set the cruise control on and we approach the 128 yard yard 8th hole. Just a perfect pitching wedge I took dead aim over the bunker. As the ball landed I remember hearing, “oh yeah that should be good” as the ball vanished behind the elevated bunker lip. We pull up the golf cart and my father-in-law heads to the cabbage with weed waker in hand to try and find his ball. I meanwhile can’t help but to contain myself. As I exit the golf cart I see my pitch mark 3 feet right in front of the hole… but no golf ball. I immediately knew what had happened as I let my father in law finish his hole. After his 5 or 6 shots are complete he asks where my bell was. I lean over and point down. It was my first hole in one ever after 10+ years of serious golf. I wanted to go straight to the bar but for a college kid money was tight and it was still the wee hours of the morning. To say the least I finished the round 4 under 68, got the girl and a story of a lifetime. RIP Todd Kamps, and thank you Titleist NXT Tour.