It was hole 14, par 4.

I teed off for slightly over 200 yards with driver 1, sending the ball right to the middle of the fairway, at the break of the dog leg.

Then I lifted the ball for just under 140 yards to land it on the green with iron 5. I was well pleased with my luck so far.

The two buddies randomly grouped by the golf course manager were a black guy with one year's golfing experience and a white guy with seven years under his chest. They kindly encouraged me for the birdie shot. Seeing it was quite a distance away, I modestly brushed away the idea of having my first birdie.

I positioned myself and had a practice putting shot. Then I moved up a tad bit and focused my attention on the ball at the redress. A moderate stroke to my left pushed the ball rolling toward the hole. No sooner had the ball lost its momentum than it fell into the hole from the edge. What a shot! A sure birdie. My first, that is.

Hooray! My buddies cheered on and gave me a high five.

The next hole, I learned that the etiquette of golfing required me to tee off first. I gladly complied. The fun went on.

But that was not part of my best record so far. The best was when I had seven at pars, seven single bogeys, three double bogeys, and a triple bogey, not bad at all for a golf beginner.