Records Were Meant to be Broken

Records Were Meant to be Broken. At least that's what they say.

Jack's 18 Majors; 3:43:18; 8 consecutive birdies; 762; $11,664,239,541,368 (our deficit). Were those records MEANT to be broken or is each individual accomplishment an invitation to be a participant in history?

I had lunch today with an old college buddy and teammate on the golf team. 17 years ago, this same friend shot a course-record 63 and took $20 of my lunch money (and the lunch money of 15 other teammates). It was a remarkable accomplishment. Like many other records, it seemed impenetrable.

Just last week, this same friend began a friendly golf match at the same golf club. This time, someone else seized the invitation to become a participant in history. An otherwise normal day of golf took a dramatic shift after three holes of inoccuous pars. Hole number four yielded an eagle; then a birdie; and another; and another; and another - a front-nine score of 29.

A birdie on hole #10 served as the Ah-ha moment. Seven under par (-7) thru just 10 holes matched the 18-hole course record of 63. Problem was, there were 8 more holes to play. This is where the story gets good.

Pars on 11, 12 and 13 took a little zip out of the zap. But, a tasty birdie on 14 quickly added some zing. But, oh, if it weren't for the brutal par-3 15th hole - 220 yards of torture - and a stingey bogey. Par on 16. Par on 17. Ho hum.

What seemed like an oh-so-historic round-in-the-making was on its way to standing alongside history. (Recap: the course record was 63 (-7). The current history challenger is -7 thru 17 holes - one hole to play). The tee shot on 18 landed in the middle of the fairway leaving a mid-iron to an elevated green. Like many of the previous iron approach shots, this one had a direct path over the flagstick. Problem was, the severity of the elevation meant no one could see the end result. Would it be a side-hill 3-footer for birdie (and the course record); an uphill 15-footer for history?

As the foursome approached the elevated green, there was no Titleist in sight. Hearts started beating faster. Bunker? Deep rough over the green? Nope. History was made that day. This record was meant to be broken (after 17 years). Can someone say EAGLE, as in SLAM DUNK, as in course record 61.

This record wasn't meant to be broken. It just was.