Golf In A Parallel Universe

by Jimmy Bloodworth

  I mark my ball and wait for Cory to size up his putt. He is out so he will put first. If he makes it. I have to make mine to tie. If he misses then I will have a chance to win the PGA Championship and the Grand Slam.

  As I am waiting for Cory I look at the crowd. I have that same feeling I had right after I sank the putt to win the Masters. I was confused. I felt like I just woke up from a dream. Now I feel the same way. I feel like this is all just a dream. That voice in me is coming back strong again. It just keeps saying “Time to come home." I do not understand what that is all about. I look around at the gallery again and I feel like this is the first time I have ever been on a green where people are watching me. I feel like I have two people in my body and brain. One from another time and place who is not a professional golfer. And myself, the professional golfer who has been on the tour for 10 years. And I feel like one is trying to escape.

  Somehow, I am able to bring my mind back to the task at hand. I stand back and watch Cory as he lines up his putt. Of course I want him to miss his putt. But then at the same time I feel numb and do not care.

  Meanwhile, Agent Phillips and Jerry Churchill have reached the maintenance building. This is an old two story building that the course uses to store maintenance equipment. It a white wooden structure that looks like it may have been a home at one time. The main part of the building is down stairs and it has a second story which looks like some type of attic. It has stairs on the outside of the building that leads to a door in the attic. Agent Phillips is looking for the agent that is suppose to be here garding this building.

  They look upstairs and there is a big window that has two wooden doors that are swung open and has a perfect few of the 18th green. Agent Phillips and Jerry look back at the 18th hole and notice Jim and Cory are on the green. They walk to the stairs and Agent Philips stops in his tracks. “What is it?," asked Jerry. He pointed under the stairs. He saw two legs of a body that was laying face down. They came closer and realized there was a dead body there. It was the the FBI agent that was garding this building. He was laying face down under the stairs in the weeds in a pool of blood. He was dead. It Looked like his throat had been cut. At that point, they realized that the agent was killed by Dafford Hilton. He had to be upstairs by the window poised to make a shot at Jim on the 18th green.

  Agent Phillips looked back at the eighteenth green and knew there was no time to call for backup. He looked at Jerry and put his finger to his lips in a be quiet gesture. He pointed upstairs. Jerry understood. They both realized there were seconds to spare and they have to do something now. Agent Phillips pulled out his gun, and they quietly walked up the stairs. When they got to the top of the stairs they could see the door was slightly ajar.

  Meanwhile, back on the eighteenth green. Cory and his caddie had looked over his putt. I was amazed how calm he seemed. I felt sure he would make this putt. He settled over the ball and made a nice stroke. The ball gently rolled downhill towards the hole. The gallery cheered in anticipation. And it looked like it had a chance. However, he misread the putt. He played for too much break and it was not even close. He tapped in for a Par.

  Now it is my turn. I lined up my putt, and I was nervous. My mind was spinning. I could hear a heartbeat. It was loud and sounded like it was in a hollow room and had a slight echo. It just went "bump-bump," bump-bump," over and over again.

  At that moment Agent Phillips and Jerry Churchill reached the top of the stairs. Agent Phillips gently pushed open the door. It was a dark room with no lights but the bright sunshine was shining in, so they could see pretty well. But there were plenty of dark spaces. He had his handgun out as they slowly walked towards the window. And then suddenly there was some movement and a loud thud. Dafford Hilton was waiting for them. He had a steel pipe. And with one big swing he hit Agent Phillips in the head. He was knocked out cold and laying face down on the wooden floor in a pool of blood. Jerry was stunned. He just stood there. Jerry is a thin, 5’6 inch tall 78-year-old man. He was face to face Dafford Hilton who is a large 6’3, 250 pound Ex Marine.

  Jerry was terrified but felt like he had to stop him. He made an attempt to swing at him. But Dafford just caught Jerry's fist with his hand. Then he grabbed Jerry's by his collar and pulled him up to his face. And with a very angry look with his long sweaty hair in his eyes. “Your Boy is is not going to win this tournament” he said as he held Jerry almost up in the air. Then with one big swing, he punched Jerry in the stomach and he went down. Then hit him over the head with the pipe.

  Dafford then took his position at the window with his rifle as Jim was getting ready to attempt his putt. If he makes this putt he win the PGA Championship and win the Grand Slam which would break his grandfather's record. He carefully raised the sniper rifle and was focusing on Jim in his scope.

  Back on the eighteenth green. Zack and I were looking over the putt. It is not a difficult putt. It is an uphill putt with a slight break to the left. The strange thing. I did not feel like I was putting for the PGA tournament. I felt like I was trying to make this putt for something else. Zack and I were both crouched behind the ball as we were reading the putt. After we were satisfied with our read, we both stood up. As I approached the ball, I turned to Zack. “If I make this I will break 80," I whispered to him. He looked confused.

  I addressed the ball. There were lots of things going through my mind. And again I saw the picture in my mind of a finger on the trigger of a rifle. I felt like this was the end. But I was determined to make this putt. I knew that I can make this putt and win the PGA Championship and win the Grand Slam. But at the same time I told myself that I can make this putt and break 80. I did not understand why I was thinking that way. I could hear that loud heartbeat as I stood over the ball. I was nervous and could hardly hold the putter. I just need to make a good stroke and watch the ball fall in the hole. I get lined up over the ball and looked at the hole. The sun is in my face. I take the putter back to start my stroke.

  At that moment in the maintenance building. Jerry Churchill is lying on the floor half unconscious. He looks over at the window. He sees that Dafford Hilton is ready to shoot. With all of his strength that he could muster. He pulls himself up from the floor and runs towards the window and dives towards Dafford Hilton. He is diving for the Rifle to knock it away before he pulls the trigger. As he jumps his body is parallel to the floor in mid-air and he screams “No'ooo."

  As I start my follow through on my putting stroke, I feel the anticipation. At the instant that my putter strikes the ball, I hear very loud “BANG!."

  I see the ball is rolling towards the hole. It seem like it is going in slow motion. At the same time, I feel myself falling towards the ball. I feel like I am falling in slow motion. I hear the loud heartbeat "bump-bump," "bump-bump." But all I could focus on was the ball. I wanted to see it drop in the hole. As the ball got closer and closer to the hole, I felt myself falling closer and closer to the ground. Just as the ball got to the hole, it seemed to hang on the lip and looked like it was about to drop. At that instant, my body slammed violently face down onto the hard green. And all was black, and all was silent and all is dark.

  Then I had a strange sensation. I have the feeling that I am spinning and spinning and flying through the vast darkness and bright lights of outer space. I feel that I have no control. I try to breath but there is no air. I do not feel anything. I do not feel the wind, heat, cold or anything. I just feel myself spinning. Then all stops.

  Chapter 19: The Journey Ends

  I feel myself lying face down. I start to slowly wake up. I do not know where I am. My face hurts. And the back of my head hurts much worse. I feel wet. I gradually open my eyes. I see a red color in my eyes. I feel something warm streaming down the side of my face. I taste blood in my mouth. I reach back and touch my head and I am in pain. I look at my hand and it is covered with blood. Somehow I manage to rollover on my back. Cool rain is beating down on my face. It feels good. At that moment, I feel hands grabbing me on my arm. I he
ar voices that sound like they are in a panic. “Jim, Jim, are you OK?." I try to sit up but they tell me to stay down. I am confused. I look around. I am on a Golf Course Green. And there are huge tree branches, limbs and tree leaves everywhere on the green. It is somewhat dark, and it is raining. I look up and it is my three friends. “Jim, are you OK? Talk to me” a voice cries out.

  I look over to the hole. “Did it drop?” I asked. "Yeah, yea, the ball went in the hole” one of them said as he put a towel on my bleeding head. “I won the PGA! I won the Grand Slam! Where is the Gallery?," I asked in a dazed and confused tone. They stood me up and moved the big tree branches so they could take me off the green. “Where’s my caddie” I asked even more confused. “Look Jim” replied Tim. You just got struck by lightning and hit on the head by the falling tree. We need to get to the hospital. I started to realize where I was. I was confused but things started make a little sense. “So the ball, dropped? I broke 80?," I asked again. "Yeah, yeah, you broke 80," you stupid fool replied George. They took me in the club house. They explained to me that they were waiting for me to finish my round. They were in the clubhouse watching me on the green. Right after I hit the putt l was struck by lightning along with the tree which came down on top of me. George is a doctor. He had me sit in a chair. He was wiping the blood off my head and looking at my wound. “Not too bad. May need a couple of stitches. Head wounds bleed a lot, but usually not that bad. But you may have a concussion. And you definitely got hit by lightning You have burns on your shoulders and face. We need to get you to the hospital and get you checked out” he said as he was helping me up.

  All this time, Gerald who is the assistant pro who I have been taking golf lessons from the last few months was there. He was in the background and did not come over or say anything.

  As we were walking towards the door to leave for the hospital, Gerald yelled out loud. “Jim!." I turned around and looked at him. “He missed," he said in a matter of a fact tone. I looked at him. “What?," I replied, looking confused. “He Missed” he said again. He was looking at me as if I should know what he was talking about. And for some reason, I felt like that I should know what he was talking about. I started to walk over to him and George grabbed my arm. I jerked my arm away from him and I walked over to Gerald. He is a short fat old man and I was looking down at him. “What are you talking about!” I yelled out loud. “He missed," he said one more time. I just looked at him not knowing what to think. Also Gerald looked so familiar to me. Sure, I have been taking golf lessons with him this year. But now it is like I know him from somewhere else. I just stood there, not knowing what to say.

  Then he said to me softly. “Keep it Parallel Jim, keep it Parallel. When he said that phrase, it hit me hard. He has been telling me that all spring because when he was giving me golf lessons I as going way past parallel on my backswing. So all the time he would tell that phrase. He even told me that this morning before me and my buddies teed off. It never really meant anything to me except to concentrate on shortening my backswing. But now when he said that it seems to have a totally different meaning. I feel like I have heard that from someone else. I just stood there looking at him. So much was going through my mind. I did not know what to do.

  Then George grabbed me and walked me out the door with the other guys. “Don't listen to him. He is just a drunk old fool. He has probably been drinking all day. We need to get you to the hospital," he said as he whisked me out the door. George put me in his car and I gave my keys to Tim. He is going to drive my car and follow us to the hospital and then take my car home after I leave the hospital.

  “How long was I out," I asked as we were driving. “Just a few seconds, We ran out there right after the lightning struck and you went down," he replied. “Wow! I feel like it was a long time. I feel like that I have been away for months for some reason. And after I talked to Gerald back at the pro shop, I remember having all sorts of weird dreams," I said in a confused tone. “You mean, like winning the PGA?", he said with a chuckle. “Yeah, Yeah! How did you know that? I asked eagerly.

  "Because when we got to you and you got up, you kept rambling on that you won the PGA Championship and the Grand Slam, he replied smiling. “But I did! I did win the PGA and the Grand Slam," I said defiantly. He looked at me as we were driving. “You may be worse off than I thought. I hate to disappoint you. But you did not win the PGA or the Grand Slam. But you did break 80 today, even though you almost got yourself killed doing it.

  “I broke 80!? Cool” I said in a thrilled tone. He just looked at me shaking his head. I was thrilled that I broke 80. I have been trying to do that for a long time. But I could not figure out why I was so convinced I won the PGA. I kept having these very strong feeling that I have been somewhere else. It was like a dream. And in the dream I was a professional golfer.

  The doctors checked me over in the Emergency room. I had a concussion from the large tree branch hitting me in the head. And I had burns on my shoulders and face from the lightning. “You're a lucky young man” the doctor said. I shook my head in agreement. “You're lucky you did not get killed. Lightning is a strange thing. Sometimes a person can take a direct hit like you did and not get hurt too bad. Whereas other people would be killed instantly."

  “What about the weird dream, I had when I was out? And why do I feel like I went to a different time and place and was gone for a long time?," I asked. “Well, your brain was fried with thousands of volts of electricity and you got hit in the head by a big tree branch. You brain got fried. You may have all kinds of strange feeling," he told me in a consulting manner. He told me that I need to take a few days off work and just rest. I told him that I have vacation all next week, so that is not an issue. We finished up, and they released me. It was time to go home.

  We got back in the car and George was driving me home. He called my wife earlier and let her know what happened and that I was OK. Tim was following us with my car. I was happy as we were driving. “I broke 80 today!” I said out loud in a celebrating manner. The radio was on and playing music. I was having a good time playing the Air Drums on the dashboard. George just looked at me like I am crazy.

  We arrived at my house and Tim pulled in right behind us in my car. My house is older Wooden style house that is painted white and has a small white picketed fence around the front yard. As we stopped, I looked at the house. “My God! I feel like I have not been here for months," I said as we were getting out of the car.

  And out walked my wife and my two kids. My wife ran over to me with tears in her eyes and gave me a big hug. At that point, I do not know why, but I lost it. I just started crying as I hugged her and the kids. Even Though, it has only been a few hours, I feel like I have not seen them in a long time. It felt so good to be with them again. I held them tight, and the tears flowed.

  And then I realized something and it really hit hard. As I looked at my wife. I was thinking about the weird dream when I was knocked out on the 18th green. And in that dream, I was a professional golfer. And in that dream, I was single and had met this woman. And we were going to get married. As I looked at my wife, I realized she was that same exact person in my dream. When I realized that, I just hugged her again and held her tight. This all went on for a couple of minutes. The wife and I and the kids were all very emotional. My wife laughed a little because we were a little embarrassed for showing so much emotions, especially in front of my two golfing buddies that drove me home.

  Finally it was time for George and Tim to go. I thanked them and told them I was sorry I had to put them through this. They just joked with me that I better listen to them next time when they tell me it is time to get off the course when a storm is approaching. I told them that I will for sure. “Here’s your keys, and your clubs are in the trunk," Tim told me as he handed me my keys. We said our goodbyes, and they were getting ready to leave.

  At that time another car drove up. Out stepped an elderly couple with a concerned look on their face and they walking over to us. It was m
y parents. At that instance my mind flashed back. I was remembering that strange dream that I had when I was unconscious. I dreamed that I was at another time and place. The dream was so real to me. I was a professional golfer. And my parents were killed in a car accident when they were driving to seem me play in one of my first tournaments. I remember that this happened ten years ago in that dream.

  When my parents walked up to me, I had felt like they have been dead for years, but here they are. And I was so happy to see them. I lost it again, and I hugged them and cried harder than ever. It was so incredible that I had that feeling that I had lost them, and now they are here with me.

  After a couple of minutes of this, my buddy Tim yelled out. “My gosh, this is becoming a soap opera," he said laughing. “You just got a little bump on the head” he said still laughing. George, who is a doctor friend of ours took my wife and parents to the side my explained to them that I did have a concussion and was struck by lightning. So I may be having all kinds of emotions and saying strange things. After that George and Tim left, and we went inside. It was nice to be back home again, I felt like I have been gone a long time.

  Chapter 20: Decision Time

  The next couple of days, I just rested. I slept well at night. It felt so good to be home and be with my family. Something that I felt that I have really missed for some reason. I feel like I have been away for a long time. Within a couple of days, my head was clear, but my body was very sore. Even though my head was clear, I could still remember that feeling that I had been somewhere else for a period of time. It was not so much like a dream. But more like a feeling. I could remember bits of pieces of being a professional golfer. It was not real clear, but it seemed to be real to me. However, I just wrote it off as the trauma of the concussion and the lightning strike. It makes perfect sense. The brain is an amazing thing. And when it gets scrambled like what happened to me, I guess you can have all kinds of strange sensations.