Despite the course shenanigans, the foursome golfed well before arriving at the 15th hole of the Finch Golf Club. The foursome—Brian, Mike, Al and Lester—was surprised to be greeted by a woman standing next to a Pollen Sanctuary sign at the tee.
“Hello and welcome to the Pollen Sanctuary at Hole 15,” the woman said. “My name is Honey. As you can see, we’ve created a place where bees can thrive.”
They looked out over the hole and saw wildflowers lining the green on both sides, with intermixed flowering plants and trees. The rough was made up of nothing but flowers.
“As you can see, we have a very straightforward Par 3 here.” Honey continued, “How are your golfing skills?”
“We’re okay,” Brian said. “Thanks for the information about the hole.”
Brian moved to place his ball on a tee to hit his tee shot, but Honey scurried in front of him.
“Before you swing, I’d like to offer you a few options for this hole. We want to make sure that the bees are not disturbed. We’re trying to save the pollinators, and every ball hit into the rough kills bees.”
“I’m allergic to bees,” Lester said, cutting in front of Brian. “What are my options?”
“If you tell me your current score, I can calculate where on the putting green your ball will likely land and how many shots it will take to get there.”
“Deal,” Lester said, and he told Honey his score.
Honey took out a radio. “Queenie, if you could place a ball at the fourth position. Sir, you made it there in two shots.”
Queenie raced out from under an umbrella near the flag to place a ball about seven feet from the hole.
“I don’t want to do that,” Brian said, and he got ready to hit again.
“Well, we have two other options,” Honey said. “The first one is a virtual golf swing. You take a swing without hitting a ball, and we use our camera trackers to see where it would land.”
“Oh, that sounds cool,” Al said. “I’ll do that.”
Al stepped up to the tee and swung. Honey pulled out her iPad and then radioed Queenie.
“Queenie, it looks like the next ball should be at position six.”
Down at the hole, Queenie ran out and placed a ball for Al about seven feet from the hole.
“What’s the other option?” Mike asked.
“I hit for you,” Honey said.
“Well, then, I’m not the one killing the bees,” Mike said. He placed a ball, and Honey hit a great shot. It landed about seven feet from the hole.
“Alright, I’m going to hit,” Brian said. He placed his ball, and it sliced into the rough. The group watched in horror as it bounced for 50 feet, sending flowers flying. Honey began to cry.
“Can you calculate where I would land for my next shot so I don’t have to walk into the rough?” Brian said sheepishly.
“Certainly,” Honey said. The tears stopped, and she radioed. “Queenie, position 12.”
The group watched Queenie run out and place the ball about seven feet from the hole.
The Finch Golf Club is part of a series, you can read other entries here.