Readers of The Virtual 19th Hole will recall that, in 2023, longstanding BMC member Richard Black made an impressive contribution to the unlikely possibilities afforded by Braemar’s bridges. In Tuesday League play, he topped his approach shot to the 16th green, but the ball rolled right over the narrow walking bridge and onto the fringe of the green, somehow avoiding the water hazard in front. Richard went on to tie the hole and win his match.
Earlier this year, longstanding BMC member Drew Cripps made his own contribution to Braemar bridge lore by pushing his patented bunt drive on number 2 to the right—and right at the cart bridge spanning the creek. Somehow the ball rolled onto the bridge and came to rest right in the middle of the bridge. Drew took his drop and made a ho-hum bogey.
On August 14, Tom Klassen, a seven-year BMC member and current board member, made his own contribution to Braemar’s burgeoning body of bridge lore. It featured a tee shot on number two, much like Drew’s improbable bunt drive. For his tee shot, Tom chose his trusty 3-hybrid but, like Drew, also pushed the shot to the right. And, as with Drew’s shot, no one in the foursome was able to see if the ball bounced into the hazard, stayed in the rough or—improbably—rolled onto the bridge. As the group proceeded down the fairway, the ball suddenly came into view—on the other side of the bridge. It had rolled all the way over the bridge and wound up ten yards past the bridge just to the right of the cart path. Amazed, the group pondered that, even after hitting 100 shots in a row from that tee box, not one of those shots would likely roll over the bridge and wind up there. Because the cart path interfered with his stance, Tom took a drop, punched his approach shot under the branches to his right and, like Drew, wound up carding a bogey.
Dick Helde
Editor, The Virtual 19th Hole
helde.richard@gmail.com
612-306-3590