Golfer Phil ‘on the loose’
He tried to cut off too much of the boomerang-shaped hole and ended up in the trees.
Phil le Roux has been back in town for a (lot) longer than he had planned.
He’s also pulled – or pushed – off a golf rule stunt Tiger Woods may have been proud of. Or at least caused him to smile.
Earlier this year, he – that’s Phil, not Tiger – was en route from Knysna, where he works as a teaching pro and yoga health instructor, to Germany to give some lessons and earn a few Euros.
ALSO READ : Golf gets its ‘Sole’ back
He stopped over in Southbroom to visit his folks. And then Covid-19 happened.
That was in March. Now it’s September and he’s getting ready to return to the Western Cape with his girlfriend Amy Brown in a few weeks’ time.
The two-time Southbroom Golf Club champion has played some golf, although hasn’t really got back into his stride just yet.
In the business day at Margate CC last Friday, his usual gun-barrel straight tee shots found more right-to-left shape than he would have liked.
This was especially the case on the par five 5th hole, which swings up and around on the south-western side of the course.
He tried to cut off too much of the boomerang-shaped hole and ended up in the trees.
There has recently been some planned burning and tree felling there, and after some searching and charcoal kicking, Phil found his ball.
It was in play, but blocked by a branch. Well, technically it was a branch. It was more like a tree, but it had been chopped down and so he was allowed to move it.
“Loose impediment,” he laughed as he leaned into it.
It wasn’t quite the same as ol’ Tiger back in the day at Phoenix Open in 1999, where he rallied the crowd to move a massive boulder, but it’s the biggest loose impediment yours truly (who took the pic) has ever seen moved.
Phil eventually hacked out it out off the charred turf, flicked a wedge onto the green for three and walked off with par. Standard stuff, you know.
Still, he saw the funny side, and enjoyed his game almost as much as his time back on the coast: some frustration, some laughs, and a good time re-connecting with family and friends.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
