December 20, 2010

CHICAGO, IL — The course was very normal length with eighteen greens, four sets of tees for each hole, and 14 fairways. The competition was similar and his round was good, however something happened at the 9th hole to Bob Morris that had him scratching his head.

"It was one of those things that I have never experienced," says Morris. "This is probably a once in a lifetime experience."

Morris arrived to an upscale golf course with his three-some. They grabbed a pair of carts and headed out to the first tee.

"I was playing with a bunch of hackers," said Morris. "One guy was pretty long off the tee, but he was still a hacker."

Morris and long-hitting buddy decided to ride in one cart and tee from the blue (the tips), which is 6,512 yards. The other two hackers would play from the white tee, which is 6,353 yards. "Normally I would just move up and play with the hackers," says Morris. "But that was before I started playing in major championships each June. I am always in preparation for Spackler's tournament yardage and a slope rating in the low-130's."

The group played uneventful golf for 8 holes. The group arrived to the 560-yard 9th hole and found the back tee. Morris walked up the mound and discovered the white tee. He turned around and looked backwards. He did not see anything except trees.

"I thought that someone forgot to put the tees down," says Morris. "We walked all over the place, but nothing could be found except the 'gold tee' about 40 yards up. We must have walked or drove the cart each direction 100 yards."

There was nothing wrong with the golf course. The hackers ended up teeing first and the Morris cart ended up teeing second. The foursome figured things out, played out the hole, and moved through the back nine where it happened again at the 15th hole.

They completed 18 holes without an ounce of ground-under-repair. The Morris cart teed first on 16 holes and the other cart teed first on 2 holes that day.

"The story is like a golf riddle," says Morris. "A pretty good riddle. How can this happen once let alone twice on the same day? So I am asking you guys. How can this happen legally at an upscale golf course within the rules of golf?"

The 2010 Virtual Tournament continues with Mike Hawley in the lead with 72.1 points per round. There are 10 days left in the season-long event.