"I just can't seem to make putts!" exclaimed the golfer. "I'm getting close but none fall in the hole."
"What you need is a new putter. I bet you could find a great one in the pro shop on the other side of the clubhouse," reasoned the caddie.
With that, the golfer and the caddie found the pro shop and searched for some time for a new putter. There were putters of all shapes and sizes. Long ones, short ones, silver ones, gold ones. Even with all the variety, there wasn't a putter that seemed to fit. Just when they were going to give up a hope, a dull glow came from behind a pile of old, discarded golf clubs. The golfer reached behind the pile and pulled out an old, gold putter that seemed to come from the 1950s. Along the head of the putter were engraved the name "EXCALIBUR".
Although it was old, it was the only putter that seemed to feel comfortable in the hands of the young golfer. Even though it felt comfortable, the caddie and golfer were unsure of how it would perform in an actual tournament round. The golfer would try it out at the next week which just so happened to be the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia. It was the first major tournament of the year and the first year professional wanted to prove to the rest of the tour that he belonged.
The putter lived up to its mysterious appearance as he putted exceptional all week long. He was tied for the lead with one hole to play and had a 30 foot putt that would give him the victory if he could sink it. As he lined up the putt and stood over the ball his eyes rested on the engraved words in the dull golden head of the putter: "EXCALIBUR". With that, he pulled the club back and putted the ball with a smooth stroke. The putt curled and seemed to stop right on the edge of the hole before it fell! He had won the tournament and found a weapon he could rely on the rest of his career.
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| "Excalibur" the putter (Wikipedia). |
Author's Note: The inspiration from this story came from The Sword Excalibur found in King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table written by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H.J. Ford (1902). In the original story, King Arthur is without a sword as he rides along with Merlin the wizard. They come upon a lake with an arm rising out of the middle of the water holding a magnificent sword. The Lady of the Lake appears and agrees to let King Arthur have the sword if he will give her a gift when she asks. He agrees and rows out to the sword and retrieves it. I decided to change the story to a professional golfer needing a new putter to fix his struggles. I thought it would be amusing to keep the name of the "weapon" as Excalibur and have it be somewhat magical. I did this because the Masters golf tournament starts next week and a commercial came on as I was thinking of plots for the story. I am a big golf fan so I hopefully did not use to many words that are not known if you are not familiar with golf. I tried to keep the use of sports specific terminology to a minimum.
Will,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this story, largely because it was a creative way to use the original story of "The Sword Excalibur." It's also very relevant, with the Masters coming up next week!
I thought the balance between dialogue and narration was very good. Too much of either one can be oppressive at times, I think, so thanks for making sure to strike a nice balance between the two.
Now, all we have to do is wait and see who will REALLY win the Masters.
I really enjoyed your story! The way you tied the basic story of Excalibur and King Arthur into a golf-themed story really told the story well. I also enjoyed how you kind of tied in some basic, practical golf knowledge (how important putting is to a good golf game) with the connection to Excalibur and how important it was to King Arthur. Great story, man!
ReplyDeleteWill, I like what you did with this story! I love King Arthur and of course the famous excalibur story is a classic and is great for the story rewrite. I didn't think you used too much terminology to where it was hard for the reader to understand. I thought your rendition was fun and relatable. Plus, it makes me excited for the masters as well as celebrate OU Men's Golf team's big win in the tournament this weekend!
ReplyDeleteHey Will. I think I already commented on your introduction in the past so I went ahead and read another one of your stories. I really liked the creative twist you put on the story. It was awesome that you changed the original story to something much more modern. The golf element and the story of the EXCALIBUR putter was great. Your story was very well written and I enjoyed it. Good job man.
ReplyDeleteHey Will,
ReplyDeleteGreat story. I thought that this was a cool way to rewrite the story and modernize it. I'm sure some of the great golfers see their putters as holy because they rely on them so much. I thought that your paragraphs were well organized and your sentences flowed smoothly. I liked that you used dialogue in the story. It helped break up the paragraphs and helped me get to know the characters better. I also liked the picture that you included. Overall, good job.