Make Sure You Shout...!

Golf is a very interesting sport, that is at least in my eyes. I have had my fair share of goofs and laughs on the course. It's good to laugh at yourself and remember not to take things so seriously. People tend to get so inside of their head that they don't give themselves a mental break and push themselves way too hard. I have flopped some very basic shots that I more than capable of achieving. I used to be so hard on myself until I learned that golf is just a game that I am good at. I have missed little baby putts for birdie and continued to miss them for par. Sometimes you just can't win!
One very nerve wracking mistake I have made and sometimes still make is gauging if the people in front of me are far enough away for me to hit my first shot. This happened a lot during my freshman to junior years of high school. I began weight training with my coach and was growing stronger and stronger. My problem is that I truly underestimated the potential of my strength. It was simply out of habit and the lack of understanding of how much stronger I had been getting from the training. One key rule of golf is that if your ball gets anywhere close to other players or is heading in their direction and getting close you are to make sure that you shout "FORRREEEEE!" It is simply golf etiquette and respect that is expected to be mutual among all players.
One day I was teeing off on a very long 500 yd par 5 hole. I was completely sure that I could only hit a tee shot that would soar for no more than 235 yards. There was a man that was about another 60 yards ahead of where I thought that I could hit. So I did not see a problem in teeing off on that hole. I completely turned down any chance there was of me ever hitting a shot that would go further than 240 yards and did not ever think my ball would be able to reach almost 300 yards out. Well I was terribly wrong. I stood and watched as my ball just rocketed off of the tee box. It kept going and going and was approaching the man and his golf cart ahead. I was stuck in a moment of shock and could not get the four letter word out of my mouth, FORE. I watched as the ball luckily was stopped by the top of the golf cart, yet still hit the man of his head. I was devastated because I knew the danger of a flying golf ball. Once I caught up to the man I noticed that his head was very red and his friends had returned with ice to put on his head. I was on the verge of tears at this point and kept apologizing to the man explaining that I had never ever been able to hit that far. His response was rather comforting and he said, "Great shot kid!" I was so shocked  that he was being so calm and did not want to file a lawsuit against me. He continued on with his day and I continued to try to not be traumatized by the event. Never will I ever again forget to shout FORE.