27/05/2026
The Best Worst Shot I Ever Hit
Sometimes the shots that go wrong end up changing everything.
I was playing one of the early Legends Tour events in Iowa, not long after breaking my tibia in a skiing accident. I really had no business being out there yet, but as Vice President of the tour I felt I had to show up and support the event. The weather turned miserable that Saturday, rain pouring down and hardly a spectator in sight.
On the back nine I came to a par five, soaked, limping, and determined to get through the round. I hit my second shot and watched it hook wildly right toward a beer tent about 200 metres up the hole. Two gentlemen were walking out with arms full of beers and my ball nearly took them out. They stopped in their tracks. I hobbled over, apologised, and promised I owed them a beer after the round.
By the time I reached the 18th green I was drenched and exhausted. Sure enough, those two men were waiting for the beers I had promised. One of them was Steve Snyder, who owned a vitamin company called 21st Century. That rainy conversation turned into a friendship, a sponsorship, and years of generous support for the Little Golf Trust. When he saw me limping, he suggested I try one of his products to help with the swelling in my leg. It worked so well that I used it for years, and soon many of the players on tour were taking it for joint support too.
To this day, I still have a few of the 21st Century hats I wore back then. This photo (taken last week) of me wearing my 21st Century peak at Metropolitan Golf Club, brings back the memory of what I always call the best worst shot I ever hit.
