Incredibly, the sometimes (but not often) not-so-fine line between a Shababa and one of the best players in the world was vividly demonstrated this past weekend by the Most Interesting Man in Golf, Miguel Angel Jimenez, and the Most Interesting Shababa at Fiddler’s Creek, your intrepid blogger, Hubba. Here’s how.
Last Friday, I was playing with three other Babas at the lovely Creek Course at Fiddler’s Creek in Naples, from the not-so-intimidating Creek tees. The fourth at Fiddler’s: that day, a 165-yard shot over water, very little wind. I placed my ball on a club-made tee (those who play with me know of what I speak), told my fellow Babas why I teed it that way, and then proceeded to absolutely baff a four-iron about 15 yards ahead and to the left of me that barely reached the next tee, and never left the ground. Simply stated, the shot was a physical marvel, and one that even I was unaware lurked in my bag of tricks. (Of course, I should know better. Any shot lurks in any Baba’s bag.) I then proceeded to dump my next shot into the water, took a drop in the drop area, chipped on, and two-putted for a “smooth” (all my high scores are always “smooth”) triple-bogey six. Pretty pathetic, eh? …
But not as pathetic as The Mechanic this past Sunday at the BMW Masters in Shanghai. On the ninth tee at Shanghai, Miguel dumped his first shot in the water. And his second. And his third. And his fourth, en route to a sterling 13 on the hole. Can you say “Tin Cup” in Spanish?
So, even though I banged my first “drive” 15 yards, and dumped one in the drink, I still beat The Mechanic by seven strokes on one-hole. Alas, Miguel’s 88 bested my 89 by one. The point is this: on any hole, at any time, even the best players in the world can play like a Shababa. Indeed, they can play even worse than a Shababa. Miguel, take two weeks off, and then quit the game for good!
Yours truly at his favorite spot on any golf course. Chapter 11 in The Manifesto.