Putt-Putt

I am not talking bird language or for that matter abusing in an ancient tongue. ”Putt-Putt” is the name of a game. It is the name given to miniature golf where there are 18 holes to be conquered. Each course is not more than 10 feet and you play it delicately by putting the ball to the hole and hence the name putt-putt.

We were four friends seeking ways to spend the evening. Of course, we could have gone to a movie, where we look at accomplished people performing, or just spend time in a park leisurely talking our evening through. But no, all my friends raised the bar and they themselves wanted to perform and so it was putt-putt. One friend of mine had experience in this form of the game and another played serious golf too. The third friend had not played any sport leave alone putt-putt in a very long time. As for myself, I like to read about great people and once or twice I read about the great Tiger Woods and that was all I knew about golf.

Friend 1 who is the seasonal golfer explained us the rules. We all had five chances each to putt the ball to the hole. I asked him what if we could not do it five chances and he replied that in that case the player moves to the next hole avoiding further embarrassment. Oh! If it is going to be that embarrassing, I am not going to take more than 4 chances.

I looked at the green courses and I thought it was a silly game. Come on! How hard is it going to be, just ten feet and five chances. Oh! Man! If I had known this before I would have given Mr. Woods some serious competition. The first couple of holes went well, and we were all more or less equal. But slowly, the courses became more tortuous and there were more obstacles near the holes.

It started getting so bad that in one case I could not find the damn hole! I felt sorry for myself and I realized that I have taken the gift of vision for granted all these years. But not anymore, I was guessing that it starts with night blindness as in my case and slowly develops. But hey! I finally found it to my relief. Now, what are the chances that you can putt the ball in a hole, you have so much trouble spotting with your naked eye? None!

So, it was no more about putting the ball, it was about spotting the hidden hole for me. I was giving excuses like it was my first time and hence there was nothing to laugh about. But they did not buy it as the friend who had not played any sport for a long time kept putting magically. Well, as for the fun, they were all having it and it was extremely painful for me to keep moving from hole to hole because I could no longer do it in five chances.

Finally, all the holes were done, and to all our shock, our friend who kept away from sports had won. So, I had no excuses whatsoever for finishing at the bottom. My happy evening was an utter disaster but then I got a chance to redeem myself. But this time, I was wise and I just said no thanks!

Next in line was softball. No, don’t let the name fool you. You stand in front of a machine that throws so called “soft balls” at you. As you must have guessed it there is a twist in the tale, otherwise why would I write about it? The twist is that the balls came at a break- neck speed of 90mph. This time, I resigned even before I started. If I could not play the simple putt-putt, I had no reason not to believe, I would end up with a broken neck if I played this game. And trust me, it was a lot more fun to watch from the sidelines than be a part of it.

Finally I learnt my lesson: Nothing like laying back and watching movies for a good evening.