Most average golfers would be happy to make par on any hole when playing a round of golf, so when Shawn Harman recorded a double eagle on the Humboldt Golf course July 17, he was pretty surprised.
"It felt pretty good, actually" Harman told the Journal a few days after he played, "but, I was kind of surprised. I couldn't find my ball, and my partner (Dave Rowe) and I spent a few minutes looking for it. Finally it was Dave who went and looked in the cup, and there was my ball."
In golfing terminology, a birdie is one under par, an eagle is two under par, and a double eagle (called an albatross) is three under par. In this case, Harman took only two shots to sink his ball on the seventh hole, a par five. His first shot off the tee landed his ball about 200 yards from the pin. From there with a No. 3 wood he sank the ball on his second shot.
The surprise wasn't only Harman's. Rowe, who earlier this year had recorded an eagle on a par four hole on the course, thought he may have done it again.
"I thought it was déjÀ vu," said Rowe about finding the ball in the cup. "I thought it was mine until I looked at the ball, and saw it wasn't the one I was using, but Shawn's."
Harman has been golfing for about 20 years. It's the sport he gives the most time to, although he used to play racquetball and soccer. Like most dads, though, he says he's more involved in his kids activities these days.
Harman knows the importance of investing time in sporting activities with his children, because it was his dad who first introduced him to golf.
The father of three has been playing golf at the Humboldt Golf Club since he and his family moved to the city from Saskatoon eight years ago
A weekend golfer, Harman considers himself "just an average golfer."
"I wouldn't say I'm great," said Harman, "I'm probably a pretty average golfer, really."
With a handicap of 20, he is usually shooting in the high 80s or low 90s on the Humboldt course, which requires a score of 76 for an 18-hole game at par.
Although he doesn't expect to repeat the performance anytime soon, Harman said he wouldn't mind doing it again someday.
