I’m about 140 yards from the hole. I hit my 9 iron a little flat, and the ball bounces off the green into a pine tree behind.

We search for the ball around the tree, but can’t find it. Then a fellow searcher lets out a shout: the ball is in the tree, about 5 feet off the ground. In the shot below, notice the shoe of a fellow golfer in the lower left corner to get a sense of the ball’s distance from the ground:

I got out my sand wedge and then swung upward into the branch. The ball pops out of the tree and rolls within a few feet of the tee. Here’s where the shot landed:

Probably two of the most amazing shots I’ve ever had, in succession.

And I made par.