Do you fist pump when you hole a putt?
By Paul Gueorgieff
Do you fist pump when you hole a putt?
The reason I ask this question was because of the smile that came to my face when watching Tiger Woods' 11-year-old son Charlie do exactly that in a televised teams' event in the United States last month.
Charlie holed a putt and punched a fist downwards like a ball going into the hole. It was a replica of what has almost become a Tiger trademark. Son has obviously been watching dad.
So do you fist pump when you sink a putt?
The answer for myself is no and it started me thinking why not?
It didn't take long to come up with an answer. I haven't holed a putt that was important enough to warrant a fist pump.
I haven't holed a putt that could win me a PGA Tour tournament. I haven't holed a putt that could win me a British Open. I haven't holed a putt that could win me a US Masters.
But there are still many players who have holed putts that could win them a British Open or a US Masters who have not pumped a fist like Tiger or Charlie would do.
It all comes down to your nature. We are all delighted to hole a putt of significance but we all express ourselves differently. It could be a Tiger-like first pump or it could merely be turning a frown to the hint of a smile.
If I sink a putt beyond 20 feet it is usually accompanied with disbelief. That's an exaggeration. I actually mean beyond 10 feet.
If I sink a putt inside six feet it is usually greeted with huge relief. That's an exaggeration. I actually mean inside three feet.
After watching Charlie do his fist pump I thought to myself that I would copy Charlie and Tiger do the same in the future.
I have being doing it for the last four weeks now but I have, as yet, to actually do a fist pump because I have, as yet, hole a putt beyond 10 feet. I exaggerate. I mean hole a putt beyond five feet.
I have never scored a hole in one and I now wonder if I ever did would I make a fist pump? I'm not sure of the answer but I have already rehearsed what I would say.
``I was aiming for that,'' I would say in a matter of fact way, because that was what I was doing in a matter of fact way.
I have written stories about people who have scored holes-in-one. Once at my course we had three players score aces on the same day and my story made the front page of The Dominion Post newspaper in Wellington.
I was intrigued by the various descriptions from the players involved.
One said the shot looked good from the moment he hit it and a second said she only realised the ball may have gone in the hole from the reaction of the group ahead of her on the green.
The third thought the ball might have gone close but wasn't convinced and initially looked for his ball beyond the back of the green.
``The last place I looked was in the hole and there it was," the player told me.
When I go to the practice putting green these days, I not only practice my putts but also practice my fist pumps, just in case I one day hole a putt of importance inside five feet.
