Watch This Diehard Bears Fan/PGA Tour Player Nick Hardy Slam Dunk An Albatross
The odds of making an albatross are about 3,000,000:1 and my research shows this is Nick's first. So congratulations to him on going from +2 to -1 with a single swing of the club in the 2nd round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. Suprisingly, that's the first albatross in tournament history and just the fifth this season.
My only question is what season are we on now? Because I swear the golf season just ended a couple weeks back and they're already out playing more tournaments. To be honest it's quite difficult to follow as a casual fan. 5 albatrosses seems like a lot if we're running an October fiscal year. But if we're on a calendar year basis, then 5 seems much more appropriate to celebrate - more rare than an NFL walk off and much more rare than an NBA buzzer beater.
While I wait for that answer, I also want to say that I would prefer my albatross to roll into the hole smoothly vs. an authoritative dunk. I know we're getting picky here but the dunk simply happens too fast. You have no time to prepare for the excitement of watching it go in. Don't think that's a big deal? A guy at my local golf course died in September 2023 after dunking one from the 9th fairway to push a front 9 Nassau. He didn't even have time to grab his chest or ask for help. One minute he was 130 yards out, into wind with a 9-iron. Next minute he was dead.
Sad story until you hear it told in the clubhouse. Turns out Gary had some bad melanoma and was struggling for awhile. He outlived his wife by a couple years and didn't have any children. His major passion was a Tuesday afternoon golf league and he often joked that he was just waiting to die on the course. "One of those heart attacks where you don't even have time to react. That would be nice."
Well that's exactly what Gary got when he dunked on 9 for eagle. He died.
Personally that's too much of a risk for me, which is why I like a nice, smooth, left-to-right roll that falls with approximately 3 full rotations of force. Enough to jar the stick and make a sound but gentle enough to seem intentionally brilliant. That's the right way to watch an albatross, no disrespect to Gary.
None taken - Gary's extended family
The other important thing here is that Nick is a monster Bears fan. How he's able to concentrate to play professional golf right now while the team is 4-5 and staring down 11 straight losses... that's really the most impressive thing about all of this. Not even a week removed from changing coordinators and he's out here throwing fucking darts into par 5's. No way would I be able to do that.
Or this.