Everyone is glad when they can get off work early. Spencer Otteson was still smiling a day later after he was able to leave his construction job in Lonsdale a little earlier than normal on a sunny Thursday.
And everyone on the Prairie View Golf Course in Brooten would get to find out just how happy he was.
Because he was able to leave work a little early, the 19-year-old Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa graduate got a chance to golf with three of his buddies. He didn't make it on time to tee off on the first hole -- No. 10 on the Yellow course at Prairie View Golf Course-- but caught up to his brother, Tyler, Steve Hurst and Troy Rosengren on No. 11.
Spencer was sitting 3-over par as he approached the 16th tee box. No. 16 is a 297-yard, par-4 hole with water approximately 50 yards in front of the green, three sand bunkers guarding the green and an out-of-bounds that haunts golfers who are long off the tee or with their second shot if they elect to lay up in front of the water.
You can either be like Tin Cup and "go for it" or be conservative and play for par.
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"I always go for it," laughed Otteson, who golfed on the BBE high school team.
His three playing partners decided to play if safe and land their tee shots in front of the water. Otteson, going fourth, took out his driver and blasted the shot.
"I always go for the green on this hole," said Otteson, who isn't built anywhere near John Daly at 6-foot-1 and 160 pounds.
With trees blocking the view of the green, the four players never saw where the tee shot landed, although Otteson figured it was on a hill next to the green.
As the four approached the green, Dave Dell was ready to tee off on No. 17.
"He yelled to us that the last shot went in the hole," said Otteson. "But I didn't believe him. I thought to myself 'sure it did'. Then I saw a ball mark about 10 or 12 feet in front of the hole and started to get nervous."
Dell then pointed to the cup and said "it's in there. It took one bounce and dropped in."
Otteson walked up to the hole and couldn't believe his ball was nestled in the bottom of the cup.
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"When I bent down to pick up the ball," he said, "I just started shaking."
He suddenly went from 3-over par to even in one shot and finished the round with a 36.
"I reach the green about one out of 10 times on that hole," said Otteson. "I've been able to drive pretty far the last few years. I probably average around 325 and can hit 375 with a wind at my back. But the closest I've come before to the hole was about 10 feet. You have to be careful on that hole, though, because if you go over the green it's out of bounds."
It's the first ace of Otteson's golfing career.
"I'm going to have the ball mounted," he said. "I'm still nervous. I'm not ready to golf again on that hole because I'm scared I'll have a really bad shot the next time."
He sure didn't this time.
