An old golfer, now into his golden years, had the lifelong ambition of playing the famed 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass exactly the way the pros do it.
The pros hit their ball out over the water onto the small island green on a small spit of land. It was something the golfer had tried hundreds of times without success. His ball had always fallen short, into the water.
Because of this, the golfer had never used a brand new ball on this particular hole. Instead, he had always opted for one that had a cut or a nick in it like many other average golfers do when negotiating very challenging holes.
Recently, the old golfer went back to Sawgrass to try his luck again.
When he got to that fateful 17th hole, he teed-up an old, cut ball as usual and said a silent prayer. However, before he could hit the ball, a powerful voice from above boomed down from the clouds, “Wait! Replace that old ball with a brand new one, a Titleist Pro V1 if you have it.”
The golfer complied with some slight misgivings despite the fact that this same force seemed to be implying he was going to finally achieve his lifelong ambition. As he stepped back up to the tee, the voice came down again saying, “Wait! Step back. Take a practice swing.”
So he stepped back and took a practice swing, certain now that this heavenly force was going to make his lifelong dream come true. Then the voice boomed out once more, “Take another practice swing!”
Dutifully, he did. Then he stopped expectantly and waited. A long silence followed. Then the voice called out last time, “Use the old ball.”