It has been way too long since my last eagle. I went through the entire 2014 golf year without a single eagle. I had plenty of chances but never cashed in. On Saturday, July 4th, 2015 I had my third career eagle on hole #5 at Hasentree Country Club. This is one of my favorite par 5s in North Carolina so it was sweet to finally eagle it.

Hasentree #5 is a straight away par 5 that plays about 495 yards from the three tees. The drive can be challenging for those that cannot hit is straight. There are bunkers to the right and left of the fairway about 230 to 250 yards out. Carrying these bunkers will give most golfers the opportunity to go for it in two. On this particular day I hit my drive to about 270 yards which left me 225 into the green.

Approaching the ball I had to determine if I was going to hit two wedges (which I am very good at) or go for the green. I decided to go for the green with a 5 wood. I don’t carry a 3 wood at the moment. I hit the 5 wood hard but it ended up being a lazy fade that landed about 15 feet in front of the green in the right rough between two sets of bunkers.

The lie was absolutely perfect. As I was taking my practice swings I was thinking “this is chip in able”. I haven’t had a chip in for several weeks and it was time. As soon as I struck the ball with my 60 degree wedge I knew it was going to be very close. The ball landed about three feet from the pin and rolled in. It was a great feeling as it helped catapult me to a round of 74. I ended up birdieing #9 as well to play one of the best front 9s I have ever played at Hasentree.

Hopefully it won’t be another year and a half before career eagle #4. Two out of my three career eagles were on chip ins at Hasentree. This should come as no surprise to those that play with me. I am not very long when it comes to the driver and woods and my short game is, by far and away, the best part of my golf game.