07/22/2026
There is always a story to tell, an asterisk, beside a hole on the scorecard, because sometimes writing down a number just doesn’t do justice to a round of golf.
Today I watched a kid become a man in 10 holes of golf. I witnessed our own Cart Hinkle come off an hour lightning delay, needing to play his last 10 holes near perfect at -1 or better to secure his spot in match play at the US Junior Am.
On his very first swing, he hits the ball 5 yards past the pin and sucks it back to about a foot for a tap in birdie! He then proceeds to hit shot after shot for 8 more holes, including a 135 yard punch from under a tree with an 4 iron that he has to cut 45 yards. He proceeds to hit a bullet that wraps around and lands on the green. To the point 2 college coaches walked back to his divot after the fact to see how he was able to get it around the tree.
In his 36 holes played, we saw 9 putts lipped out, 4 of those being horseshoe 360’s. He had the chances and the looks but golf is golf.
Needing a par on the 18th hole, he over cut the ball by 10 yards off the tee box and finds himself in the 6” very thick rough of a USGA setup.
Here’s where it gets interesting. Cart gets to his ball and believes it may be embedded because of the heavy rains from the earlier storms. A rules official is called over and has Cart mark his ball as he should, and allows him to lift it to inspect for it being embedded. The rules official then pushes her fingers down into the hole the ball was laying in and makes the hole even deeper, denies him the relief, and tells him to replace his ball. He makes it known to the rules official that if he is to recreate the lie he had, he would need to pull all the grass out of the hole that the rules official pushed down into the hole. She denies that so Cart asks for another official to give a 2nd opinion. She denies him getting a 2nd ruling and tells him that is the decision and to play his ball. Only about 1/4 of the ball is above the surface so he advances the ball about 10 yards forward, still being in the rough and very much buried. He chunks that one out and then has to attempt to hole out to be in the playoff for the match play. It ends with a triple bogey, missing the cut and an immediate complaint to the head USGA official.
Well, the ruling official was immediately pulled from her post on the course and reprimanded and Cart was given and apology and confirmation that it was handled incorrectly, but nothing could be done to fix the situation after the fact.
So that ends the greatest string of 10 holes of golf that I have personally ever witnessed and his bid to win the US Junior Am but it also begins what I believe will be an amazing chapter in Cart’s life.
I saw a young man embrace the moment of having between 6 and 9 power 4 conference college coaches watching every swing, every move, videoing every shot, and smiling the entire time and while needing to find shots under a lot of pressure.
I’ve always had in my head that it would be a natural, slow progression in watching Cart go from being a kid, to a young man, to a man. Turns out it seems to have happened all at once in a span of 10 holes of golf. The always present end of the round hug was different, it was a tighter squeeze, lasted longer and I struggled to let go. When I finally forced myself to take my arms from around him, I found myself looking up at a man who accepted his outcome, instead of looking down at a boy that needed to be told everything is going to be ok.
I’ve cried a lot over the last 2 hours but the crazy part is I’m not the least bit sad in today’s events. I am so full of optimism in what he showed me he had today. I feel like he just knocked down the door and showed he’s here to compete at the next level.
So here’s to the next chapter, the next tourney, the ongoing chase of perfection in this imperfect game. I couldn’t be more proud to say I’m your golf coach, and I’m even more proud to tell the world that you are my son!
