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Hole-By-Hole: The Best and Worst Shots in Masters History (Back 9)

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Everyone has their favorite moments from the Masters. But what are the best and worst shots in Masters history for each hole at Augusta National?

From shots that directly impacted the outcome of the tournament, to others that were impossibly shocking, miserable, or symbolic in their own right, every hole has a story to tell.

77 years, over 3,000 different players, and more than one million shots taken. These are the legendary bests and worsts forever etched in Masters lore.

Related: Hole-By-Hole: The Best And Worst Shots In Masters History (Front 9)

No. 10: Camellia – Par 4, 495 yards

The Masters - Final Round

The Best

Bubba Watson is a self-described new age redneck. He raps in golf videos, drives the “General Lee” and flies around the golf course in a hovercraft.  So it shouldn’t be surprising he dared to even imagine the Looney Tunes shot he pulled off on the second playoff-hole of the 2012 Masters.

Watson was deep in the woods on No. 10 after an errant tee shot. His ball nestled in a bed of straw in a place where Augusta’s pines looked like monsters from Sleepy Hollow. Watson couldn’t even see the green, but he stepped up and just bludgeoned his wedge. The ball screamed 40 yards through the trees, snap-hooked right and soared 115 yards in the air before plummeting softly on the green. Watson then two-putt for par to become the 76th Masters champion.

Watson put himself in position to win on the strength of consecutive birdies on Nos. 13 through 16. But it was his shot at No. 10 that everyone wanted to talk about afterward, including Bubba.

“I’m obviously going to say I’m the only one who can do it,” Watson said.  “I’m the only one who had a chance to do it.”

Call that bravado. Call it a Bubba-ism. Watson is a Masters champion with a style as bold as his swing.

The Worst

Scott Hoch was 24 inches from Masters immortality on the first playoff hole of the 1989 Masters. Twenty-four inches from breakfast in the Masters Champions Locker Room. Twenty four agonizing inches, but that might as well been 24 feet.

Hoch greased his Green Jacket gimme entirely outside the hole and 4 feet beyond. It was the shortest putt missed with a chance to win any major championship in history. And when Hoch launched his putter 10 feet in the air, he became the Masters poster boy for putter paralysis.

It was more painful than childbirth to watch. And Hoch said after the playoff, “I’m just glad I don’t carry a gun with me.” Nick Faldo made his 25-foot birdie putt on the next playoff hole and went home as the 53rd Masters champion. Hoch just went home.

No. 11: White Dogwood – Par 4, 505 yards

Larry Mize 1987 Masters Pete Pappas TheGreekGrind PGAPappas

The Best

The 51st Masters was a modern-day tale of David and Goliath. Larry Mize was a relative unknown, a local kid who ran the scoreboard during the 1972 Masters. Greg Norman was golf’s most dominant player, ranked No. 1 in the world. And with one deadly sling of his wedge in a sudden-death playoff, Mize dropped the giant Norman to his knees.

Initially a three-man playoff, World No. 3 Seve Ballesteros was eliminated on the previous hole. And on No. 11 Norman reached the green first, leaving Mize a choice between playing it safe or going for the jugular. The fresh-faced Mize went for the kill.

Taking aim at the front edge of the green, Mize chipped towards a grassy bank. The ball bounced twice before catching the slope. Then it broke straight for the hole. And when it finally dropped in the cup, Norman was out on his feet.

Mize chipped in from 140 feet, delivering one of the most absurdly fantastic shots in Masters history.  The crowd went berserk. Mize danced in disbelief. And the hometown hero became an Augusta legend in 1987.

The Worst

Ben Hogan had a well-documented blueprint for playing “White Dogwood” in 1954. Always aim the approach towards the right fringe of the green.  Anything left was too risky with the greenside pond. But in the final round of the 18th Masters, Hogan deviated from the plan and it cost him a potential third Green Jacket.

Hogan heard a tremendous roar from the crowd two groups ahead, and presumed his lead had diminished. So Hogan uncharacteristically fired at the flag and the result was disastrous. Rather than recording par or birdie like he did in the first three rounds, Hogan took a double-bogey six when his ball found the pond.

Hogan lost in an 18-hole playoff with Sam Snead the following afternoon. But that roar from the crowd on Sunday? It wasn’t an eagle roar, or even a birdie roar. It was a roar of approval for a player who went barefoot into Rae’s Creek searching for an errant shot.

No. 12: Golden Bell – Par 3, 155 yards

Fred Couples 1992 Masters Pete Pappas TheGreekGrind PGAPappas 

The Best

Every Masters champion has to successfully navigate “Amen Corner” on Sunday if he’s going to wear the Green Jacket. And at the 56th Masters in 1992, Fred Couples survived this rite of passage with the help of something supernatural.

Couples held a three stroke lead heading towards the treacherous No. 12. But when his tee shot came up short and hit the sloping bank of Rae’s Creek, Couples’ dreams of winning the Masters were about to wash away.

There was really no reason Couples’ ball should have stopped. Nothing was in its way: nothing that anyone could see that is. Ninety nine out of 100 times that ball winds up in a watery grave, but miraculously it held on.

“The biggest break probably of my life,” Couples said afterward.

Couples chipped up to inside a foot and held on to win his first major by two strokes. But Augusta officials could have stopped the tournament right there and declared Couples the winner. His ball was touched by an angel.

The Worst

Tom Weiskopf was known on Tour as “The Towering Inferno.” By Weiskopf’s own admission, he was “spontaneous with his emotions.” And during the opening round of the 44th Masters at No. 12, Weiskopf threw a match in the gas tank.

Weiskopf’s tee shot hit the green, skipped forward and then spun like a Ninja Blender down the bank to drown into Rae’s Creek. Weiskopf dropped from 60 yards and the result was an exact copy of the first. Hop, skip and dunk. Then Weiskopf started percolating. He detonated his third shot in the center of the creek, splashed his fourth shot with a direct-hit and drenched his fifth shot with mainstream perfection.

In the 1980 Masters Weiskopf hit five shots into the water in about a five-minute span, en route to a record-setting 13 on No. 12. And, oh by the way?  In Weiskopf’s previous 12 Masters appearances he didn’t hit a single ball in the water on No. 12.

No. 13: Azalea – Par 5, 510 yards

2010 Masters 

The Best

When your ball is on pine straw and there are two gigantic trees in front of you, the percentage play is to lay up and avoid the big number. But for Phil Mickelson in the final round of the 2010 Masters, the play was to thread the needle and sew up his third Green Jacket.

Greatness or fate took over on No. 13 when Mickelson hooked his 6-iron through the trees, over Rae’s Creek, to four feet from the cup. Mickelson missed his eagle attempt but sunk the birdie. And Mickelson’s one-stroke lead suddenly became a more comfortable two-stroke lead. Mickelson didn’t have to hit that shot. And maybe he shouldn’t have. But “Phil the Thrill” wanted to.

“A great shot is when you pull it off,” Mickelson said afterwards.  “A smart shot is when you don’t have the guts to try it.”

It’s hard to argue with that when the guy saying it just won the 74th Masters.

The Worst

Tommy Nakajima was a fierce competitor on the Japanese Tour in 1978. But a comedy of errors in the first round of the 42nd Masters led to Nakajima posting the highest score ever recorded on “Azalea.”

Nakajima’s drive at No. 13 sailed into the woods and forced him to take an unplayable. After Nakajima laid up, his fourth shot flew into Rae’s Creek.  Not wanting to take another unplayable, Nakajima hit from the creek and popped the ball in the air. It landed on Nakajima’s foot for a two-stroke penalty.

Nakajima’s next shot hit the creek bank and rolled back where he was standing. The ball didn’t hit Nakajima this time. But Nakajima slammed his club on the water in frustration and was slapped with a two-stroke penalty for grounding his club in a hazard.

Nakajima finally chipped out onto the green, and two-putted to close the book on No. 13 with a perplexing 13. When asked after the round where it all went wrong, Nakajima simply replied, “On the tee.”

No. 14: Chinese Fir – Par 4, 440 yards

Tiger Woods 1997 Masters Pete Pappas TheGreekGrind PGAPappas 

The Best

The greatest moment in the history of No. 14 came during the final round of the 1997 Masters when Tiger Woods’ birdie changed the game forever.

Woods’ birdie established a new Masters record for lowest tournament score (270, 18-under). It also set a new Masters record for largest margin of victory (12 strokes) and punctuated Woods’ dominance as the youngest player and first black man to ever win the Green Jacket.

When Jack Nicklaus first set those records in 1965, Bobby Jones said of Nicklaus, “He plays a game with which I am not familiar.” At the 61st Masters, Woods not only played a game with which Nicklaus was not familiar, but he played it in a way that elevated golf to new a cultural plateau.

The Worst

Fred Couples was 46 years old in 2006. He had no trouble keeping up with young guns off the tee. And during the final round of the 70th Masters, Couples hit the ball like a Masters champion. He just didn’t putt like one.

Couples had a four-foot birdie putt on No. 14 to pull within one stroke of leader Phil Mickelson. But he jabbed the putt across the lip and five-feet past the cup. Couples missed his putt coming back for an eventual three-putt bogey.

From tee-to-green, Couples was as good as anyone in the field. But his flat-stick left him sputtering to a third-place finish.

“I didn’t hit the ball like I was 46,” Couples said afterwards.  “But I putt like I was 66.”

It was Couples best opportunity for a second green jacket, and would have made him the oldest champion in Masters history.

No. 15: Firethorn – Par 5, 530 yards 

Gene Sarazen 1935 Masters Pete Pappas TheGreekGrind PGAPappas

The Best

Gene Sarazen knew he caught the ball pure. It left the face like a gunshot and never wavered from its direct line to the pin. When it reached the green, a thunderous roar went up. When it dropped in the cup, the roar was deafening. In the final round of the second Masters in 1935, Sarazen hit “The Shot Heard Round the World.”

Sarazen used a 4-wood from 235 yards to record the first albatross in Masters history. It launched “The Squire” into a 36-hole playoff where Sarazen defeated Craig Wood for his first and only Green Jacket. And most importantly, Sarazen’s double-eagle permanently put the Masters on the map.

Sarazen’s “Do-Do” (that’s what he called his Wilson Turf Rider 4-wood) is in the USGA Museum for generations to marvel at. And in 1955, Augusta National honored Sarazen’s unforgettable shot by dedicating a bridge in his name. “The Sarazen Bridge” is the first bridge to ever be named after a player in Augusta’s history.

The Worst

In 2013, Tiger Woods nearly holed his approach shot for eagle at No. 15. But it hit the flag during the second round of the 77th Masters, and after his ball diabolically caromed off the flag and rolled into the water, Woods’ next shot would become a “Firethorn” in his side.

Woods took his drop and got up-and down for a bogey six, but a television viewer noticed Woods dropped the ball a few yards further back from the pin, a violation of the rule to drop “as close as possible” to the original spot.

Rules officials discussed the drop with Woods, and he admitted to dropping farther back so he wouldn’t hit the flag again. Woods was not disqualified, but a two-stroke penalty was assessed and his score at No. 15 was officially a triple-bogey eight. Woods’ admission set off an ugly storm of controversy, however.

Journalists, commentators, fans and players called for Woods to withdraw for knowingly attempting to circumvent the rules. Woods might have been cheated out of a eagle on No. 15 and a potential fifth Green Jacket, but allegations of Woods cheating himself was the biggest character test of all.

No. 16: Redbud – Par 3, 170 yards 

Tiger Woods 2005 Masters Pete Pappas TheGreekGrind PGAPappas

The Best

Tiger Woods was in a final-round battle with Chris DiMarco at the 69th Masters in 2005. And Woods appeared wounded on No. 16 when his 8-iron missed the green long and left. Woods couldn’t take dead-aim at the hole because of the severe slope of the green, but that didn’t mean Woods wouldn’t attack the cup.

Woods picked a spot 25-feet left of the pin and chipped. His ball checked up, broke right and picked up speed toward the hole. Then it slowed to a dead stop… for two seconds. It was golf’s version of the Heisman pose before crossing the goal line. Woods’ ball freakishly dropped over the edge for an impossible birdie.

Woods roared like a gladiator and the crowd went berserk. It took several minutes before any semblance of normalcy returned. Woods ultimately needed a playoff to defeat DeMarco and capture his fourth green jacket. But “in your life…” You know the rest.

The Worst

Greg Norman is the most heartbreaking character in Masters history. And Norman’s legendary low-point occurred in the final round of the 60th Masters.

Norman began play with a six-stroke lead over Nick Faldo, but when Norman arrived at No. 16 it had decomposed into a two-stroke deficit. With only three holes left to get those strokes back, Norman fired at the pin hoping for an ace. Instead he butchered his 6-iron into the water.

In 1996, Norman blew the biggest final-round lead in Masters history. And his 6-iron on No. 16 was the “recognition” of this “Greek Tragedy.”

No. 17: Nandina – Par 4, 440 yards 

The Best

When Jack Nicklaus arrived at Augusta National for the 50th Masters in 1986, no one gave him any chance of winning. Nicklaus was 46-years old and past his prime, but he was able to roll back the years. And then on No. 17 he rolled in the putt.

Nicklaus found himself locked in a dogfight with Greg Norman, Bernhard Langer, Seve Ballesteros and Tom Kite to start the back-9. But he separated himself from Norman and Langer with a birdie at No. 13, an eagle at No. 15 and another birdie at No. 16. Nicklaus’ charge on the back nine was the greatest stretch of competitive golf ever played.

Then on No. 17, tied for the lead with Ballesteros and Kite, Nicklaus sank the most famous putt in Masters history.

Staring down a double-breaking 12-foot putt with a train whistle screaming in the background and the opportunity for Nicklaus to grab sole possession of the Masters lead for the first time in 11 years, Jack’s killer instinct took over.

Nicklaus gently stroked his mammoth putter, raised his left arm triumphantly in the air and chased his ball down the hole for birdie. He became a a six-time Masters champion, and the signature moment was Jack’s magical putt on No. 17.

The Worst

Stuart Appleby enjoyed a four-stroke advantage to start the third round of the 71st Masters in 2007, but on No. 17 the “Eisenhower Tree” issued a high-command resignation of Appleby’s lead.

Appleby pulled his tee shot so far left it flew over the famous pine and into a greenside bunker one fairway over. Applbey then caught his 9 iron thin out of the bunker and dropped it in a stockpile of pine cones.

It took Appleby two more shots to reach the green, and after he three-putt for a very un-presidential triple-bogey, Applbey said, “Stuff like that happens. That’s Augusta.”

No. 18: Holly – Par 4, 465 yards 

The Best

Phil Mickelson came into the 68th Masters needing a major resuscitation. He was an agonizing 0-for-11 in previous Masters appearances. And in 2004, Mickelson’s putt on No. 18 proved to be a real heart-stopper.

A 20-foot birdie putt on No. 18 was the only thing standing between Mickelson and his first Masters championship, but the odds were not in his favor. Only five players in Masters history had birdied the 72nd hole to win the Green Jacket.

Mickelson’s putt looked like it was going to barely miss left, but it caught a piece of the lip, circled around the hole and dropped in. And Mickelson… well, he hopped.

Maybe the relief of finally winning a major got the best of Mickelson. His jump for joy wasn’t exactly gravity-defying, but it was a Mickelodean moment hard to top in the putt-making celebration category.

The Worst

Arnold Palmer strolled up the fairway during the final round of the 25th Masters confident in his third green jacket coronation. All Palmer had to do was par No. 18 like he’d done the previous three rounds, but “The King” put his head on a chopping block.

Palmer pushed his approach right into the greenside bunker. Then he skulled his bunker shot across the green and into the gallery.  Palmer’s next shot raced 15 feet past the hole, and finally Palmer missed a putt that would have at least forced a playoff.

It was a brutal turn of events for Palmer, who finished one stroke behind Masters champion Gary Player. Palmer would still go on to win two more Green Jackets, but in 1961 “The King” could not escape the guillotine.

Pete is a journalist, commentator, and interviewer covering the PGA Tour, new equipment releases, and the latest golf fashions. Pete's also a radio and television personality who's appeared multiple times on ESPN radio, and Fox Sports All Bets Are Off. And when he's not running down a story, he's at the range working on his game. Above all else, Pete's the proud son of a courageous mom who battled pancreatic cancer much longer than anyone expected. You can follow Pete on twitter @PGAPappas

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Opinion & Analysis

The 2 primary challenges golf equipment companies face

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As the editor-in-chief of this website and an observer of the GolfWRX forums and other online golf equipment discourse for over a decade, I’m pretty well attuned to the grunts and grumbles of a significant portion of the golf equipment purchasing spectrum. And before you accuse me of lording above all in some digital ivory tower, I’d like to offer that I worked at golf courses (public and private) for years prior to picking up my pen, so I’m well-versed in the non-degenerate golf equipment consumers out there. I touched (green)grass (retail)!

Complaints about the ills of and related to the OEMs usually follow some version of: Product cycles are too short for real innovation, tour equipment isn’t the same as retail (which is largely not true, by the way), too much is invested in marketing and not enough in R&D, top staffer X hasn’t even put the new driver in play, so it’s obviously not superior to the previous generation, prices are too high, and on and on.

Without digging into the merits of any of these claims, which I believe are mostly red herrings, I’d like to bring into view of our rangefinder what I believe to be the two primary difficulties golf equipment companies face.

One: As Terry Koehler, back when he was the CEO of Ben Hogan, told me at the time of the Ft Worth irons launch, if you can’t regularly hit the golf ball in a coin-sized area in the middle of the face, there’s not a ton that iron technology can do for you. Now, this is less true now with respect to irons than when he said it, and is less and less true by degrees as the clubs get larger (utilities, fairways, hybrids, drivers), but there remains a great deal of golf equipment truth in that statement. Think about it — which is to say, in TL;DR fashion, get lessons from a qualified instructor who will teach you about the fundamentals of repeatable impact and how the golf swing works, not just offer band-aid fixes. If you can’t repeatably deliver the golf club to the golf ball in something resembling the manner it was designed for, how can you expect to be getting the most out of the club — put another way, the maximum value from your investment?

Similarly, game improvement equipment can only improve your game if you game it. In other words, get fit for the clubs you ought to be playing rather than filling the bag with the ones you wish you could hit or used to be able to hit. Of course, don’t do this if you don’t care about performance and just want to hit a forged blade while playing off an 18 handicap. That’s absolutely fine. There were plenty of members in clubs back in the day playing Hogan Apex or Mizuno MP-32 irons who had no business doing so from a ballstriking standpoint, but they enjoyed their look, feel, and complementary qualities to their Gatsby hats and cashmere sweaters. Do what brings you a measure of joy in this maddening game.

Now, the second issue. This is not a plea for non-conforming equipment; rather, it is a statement of fact. USGA/R&A limits on every facet of golf equipment are detrimental to golf equipment manufacturers. Sure, you know this, but do you think about it as it applies to almost every element of equipment? A 500cc driver would be inherently more forgiving than a 460cc, as one with a COR measurement in excess of 0.83. 50-inch shafts. Box grooves. And on and on.

Would fewer regulations be objectively bad for the game? Would this erode its soul? Fortunately, that’s beside the point of this exercise, which is merely to point out the facts. The fact, in this case, is that equipment restrictions and regulations are the slaughterbench of an abundance of innovation in the golf equipment space. Is this for the best? Well, now I’ve asked the question twice and might as well give a partial response, I guess my answer to that would be, “It depends on what type of golf you’re playing and who you’re playing it with.”

For my part, I don’t mind embarrassing myself with vintage blades and persimmons chasing after the quasi-spiritual elevation of a well-struck shot, but that’s just me. Plenty of folks don’t give a damn if their grooves are conforming. Plenty of folks think the folks in Liberty Corner ought to add a prison to the museum for such offences. And those are just a few of the considerations for the amateur game — which doesn’t get inside the gallery ropes of the pro game…

Different strokes in the game of golf, in my humble opinion.

Anyway, I believe equipment company engineers are genuinely trying to build better equipment year over year. The marketing departments are trying to find ways to make this equipment appeal to the broadest segment of the golf market possible. All of this against (1) the backdrop of — at least for now — firm product cycles. And golfers who, with their ~15 average handicap (men), for the most part, are not striping the golf ball like Tiger in his prime and seem to have less and less time year over year to practice and improve. (2) Regulations that massively restrict what they’re able to do…

That’s the landscape as I see it and the real headwinds for golf equipment companies. No doubt, there’s more I haven’t considered, but I think the previous is a better — and better faith — point of departure when formulating any serious commentary on the golf equipment world than some of the more cynical and conspiratorial takes I hear.

Agree? Disagree? Think I’m worthy of an Adam Hadwin-esque security guard tackle? Let me know in the comments.

@golfoncbs The infamous Adam Hadwin tackle ? #golf #fyp #canada #pgatour #adamhadwin ? Ghibli-style nostalgic waltz – MaSssuguMusic

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Fore Love of Golf: Introducing a new club concept

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Episode #16 brings us Cliff McKinney. Cliff is the founder of Old Charlie Golf Club, a new club, and concept, to be built in the Florida panhandle. The model is quite interesting and aims to make great, private golf more affordable. We hope you enjoy the show!

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On Scottie Scheffler wondering ‘What’s the point of winning?’

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Last week, I came across a reel from BBC Sport on Instagram featuring Scottie Scheffler speaking to the media ahead of The Open at Royal Portrush. In it, he shared that he often wonders what the point is of wanting to win tournaments so badly — especially when he knows, deep down, that it doesn’t lead to a truly fulfilling life.

 

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“Is it great to be able to win tournaments and to accomplish the things I have in the game of golf? Yeah, it brings tears to my eyes just to think about it because I’ve literally worked my entire life to be good at this sport,” Scheffler said. “To have that kind of sense of accomplishment, I think, is a pretty cool feeling. To get to live out your dreams is very special, but at the end of the day, I’m not out here to inspire the next generation of golfers. I’m not out here to inspire someone to be the best player in the world, because what’s the point?”

Ironically — or perhaps perfectly — he went on to win the claret jug.

That question — what’s the point of winning? — cuts straight to the heart of the human journey.

As someone who’s spent over two decades in the trenches of professional golf, and in deep study of the mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of the game, I see Scottie’s inner conflict as a sign of soul evolution in motion.

I came to golf late. I wasn’t a junior standout or college All-American. At 27, I left a steady corporate job to see if I could be on the PGA Tour starting as a 14-handicap, average-length hitter. Over the years, my journey has been defined less by trophies and more by the relentless effort to navigate the deeply inequitable and gated system of professional golf — an effort that ultimately turned inward and helped me evolve as both a golfer and a person.

One perspective that helped me make sense of this inner dissonance around competition and our culture’s tendency to overvalue winning is the idea of soul evolution.

The University of Virginia’s Division of Perceptual Studies has done extensive research on reincarnation, and Netflix’s Surviving Death (Episode 6) explores the topic, too. Whether you take it literally or metaphorically, the idea that we’re on a long arc of growth — from beginner to sage elder — offers a profound perspective.

If you accept the premise literally, then terms like “young soul” and “old soul” start to hold meaning. However, even if we set the word “soul” aside, it’s easy to see that different levels of life experience produce different worldviews.

Newer souls — or people in earlier stages of their development — may be curious and kind but still lack discernment or depth. There is a naivety, and they don’t yet question as deeply, tending to see things in black and white, partly because certainty feels safer than confronting the unknown.

As we gain more experience, we begin to experiment. We test limits. We chase extreme external goals — sometimes at the expense of health, relationships, or inner peace — still operating from hunger, ambition, and the fragility of the ego.

It’s a necessary stage, but often a turbulent and unfulfilling one.

David Duval fell off the map after reaching World No. 1. Bubba Watson had his own “Is this it?” moment with his caddie, Ted Scott, after winning the Masters.

In Aaron Rodgers: Enigma, reflecting on his 2011 Super Bowl win, Rodgers said:

“Now I’ve accomplished the only thing that I really, really wanted to do in my life. Now what? I was like, ‘Did I aim at the wrong thing? Did I spend too much time thinking about stuff that ultimately doesn’t give you true happiness?’”

Jim Carrey once said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”

Eventually, though, something shifts.

We begin to see in shades of gray. Winning, dominating, accumulating—these pursuits lose their shine. The rewards feel more fleeting. Living in a constant state of fight-or-flight makes us feel alive, yes, but not happy and joyful.

Compassion begins to replace ambition. Love, presence, and gratitude become more fulfilling than status, profits, or trophies. We crave balance over burnout. Collaboration over competition. Meaning over metrics.

Interestingly, if we zoom out, we can apply this same model to nations and cultures. Countries, like people, have a collective “soul stage” made up of the individuals within them.

Take the United States, for example. I’d place it as a mid-level soul: highly competitive and deeply driven, but still learning emotional maturity. Still uncomfortable with nuance. Still believing that more is always better. Despite its global wins, the U.S. currently ranks just 23rd in happiness (as of 2025). You might liken it to a gifted teenager—bold, eager, and ambitious, but angsty and still figuring out how to live well and in balance. As much as a parent wants to protect their child, sometimes the child has to make their own mistakes to truly grow.

So when Scottie Scheffler wonders what the point of winning is, I don’t see someone losing strength.

I see someone evolving.

He’s beginning to look beyond the leaderboard. Beyond metrics of success that carry a lower vibration. And yet, in a poetic twist, Scheffler did go on to win The Open. But that only reinforces the point: even at the pinnacle, the question remains. And if more of us in the golf and sports world — and in U.S. culture at large — started asking similar questions, we might discover that the more meaningful trophy isn’t about accumulating or beating others at all costs.

It’s about awakening and evolving to something more than winning could ever promise.

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