For the uninitiated, 'par' in gold indicates the average number of strokes (times the ball is hit) to get from the tee to the hole.
In 1912, a golfing enthusiast made golfing history by taking 166 strokes over a 130-yard hole. (Again, for the uninitiated, that's a whoooooooole lot more than it should have taken! The hole was par 4!!)
It was during the qualifying rounds of the Shawnee Invitational for Ladies at Shawnee-on-Delaware in Pennsylvania that the lady approached the tee on the 16'th hole. Her shot off the tee, however, sent the ball flying into the Binniekill River. Now, most golfers would look at that and say "Oh well... Them's the breaks", count an extra stroke, grab another ball, and start again.
Not our enthusiast, though.
When she saw that the ball was floating down river, she grabbed her husband, climbed into a nearby row boat, and, while hubby pulled at the oars, our determined golfer took a swing whenever the ball was close enough.
For over a mile and a half, her devoted hubby rowed and counted... rowed more and counted more... and then he counted first and then he rowed...
By some stroke of luck (pun intended!), the ball eventually landed on shore, followed by Miss Determination, who began to make her way back through the forest.
Almost two hours later, a shout of 'fore' caused fellow competitors to turn their heads in time to see a ball come flying through the trees and landing on the green. The proud and persistent golfer marched to the green and putted it in the hole .
It took her 166 strokes.
