Wednesday's Practice Round

Sully Sullivan @ SI


Today was one of those magical days that comes around once in a lifetime. It all began with a call to Scotty Illustarated from St. Marlo's GM Jason Luna. Mr. Luna invited me to play 18 holes with him this afternoon in a practice round leading up to this weekend's big event. Well, needless to say I was excited to play along side Mr. Luna (aka Ball Striker)as he fine tuned his swing for a major Reunion Tour event.


The afternoon began with a bang! Going out on the back 9 first, Jason laced a drive down the middle of the fairway on the way to an opening birdie 4 on the par 5! Getting inside of Jason's mind during today's round was another experience all together! On hole #2 Jason found himself without his 6 iron (which he left in his trunk) on the par 3 playing 179 yards. So what did he do? He merely choked down on his 5 iron, took a massive divot and placed is tee shot safely on the green. This is not a shot your average player is capable of pulling off. As he often told me today, "I have every shot in my bag. I am the most talented player on the Reunion Tour". Jason just missed birdie number 2 with a wonder putt that came up just short. He took his took putt par and moved on. Par, par, par. Ball Striker was a par machine on the back 9 today. Playing a draw off of the tee. Cutting a 7 iron onto the green. It was all on display today! After the first 6 holes, Jason was -1 par. A double bogey on two of the next 3 holes derailed what could have been a stellar round. All in all, Ball Striker did close with a 40 on the opening 9. When I asked about his 40, B.S. said, "I was pleased with how I began. But those 2 doubles really trouble me. I know I have the talent to shoot 38 or 37 on this side. I really do not think anyone else on the Reunion Tour has that type of talent." Well, as they say, the proof is in the puddin'.


The 2nd 9 began just like the 1st 9. A massive drive with a slight cut that flew about 300 yards left Ball Striker with about 120 yards to a difficult front pin on #1. Standing over his ball B.S. game me another glimpse into his steel trap of a mind by saying, "I really do not see how I could do anything wrong here." With that he managed a beautiful swing on the ball, leaving it just feet (30) from the pin. He really is a master of his trade! In a rare blip in his game, B.S. 3 putted for a bogey 5. The next hole, the 469 yard par 4, is truely mystery. I am not sure if it was a sasquatch or an UFO. Whatever it was that buzzed the fairway really rattled Ball Striker's nerves. After yet another picture perfect drive of roughly 290+ yards, B.S. put his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th shots into the woods. While he denies it, I believe B.S. was attempting to hit the sasquatch or UFO in the woods to protect others. This is all you really need to know about Ball Striker! A man willing to put the safety of others before his own golf game! I know that is what I will take away from today's round. That, and everyone needs to bring their A-game to even compete with Ball Striker.