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When Golf Makes You Say 'Whoa!'

8/12/2011

19 Comments

 
This video shows how Arthur Fennell, Jay Harris and Allison Bourne-Vanneck conspired against me at the 2011 National Association of Black Journalists Golf Tournament. Here's Allison's written account:

Herb Lowe thought he had just wrapped up another round of golf. He exhaled coming off the last hole and thought it was time for fellowship with friends, perhaps a drink, and a time to re-live all the great golf moments at Freeway Golf Course that day. But Lowe thought wrong – more fun at Freeway Golf Course was just 10 feet in front of him.

Leading the way was Lowe's long-time friend and trusted golf partner, Arthur Fennell, who was flashing the biggest 'Kool-Aid man' grin in the history of Kool-Aid. Lowe was led to his golf cart and soon encountered the biggest "Whoa" moment in his golf career. "Whoa!" said Lowe stepping back. "Did you see that? Did you see that?" He said out loud to his group, pointing at a motionless red snake. Fennell tried to hold his giggles. He had waited 18 holes to pull the rubber-snake prank on Lowe. "Wha-hoa! Did you just see that! Did you just ... George, did you just see that!" Lowe nervously asked his other partner, who's first name was really Jay. "Not George, I'm sorry, Jay," Lowe said as more chuckles erupted from the group, and Lowe looked at the snake in disbelief.

Then Fennell saw his opportunity. He bent down, picked up the rubber snake, and flicked it furiously it at Lowe so they made as much contact as possible. "Come on man. Don't do that!" Lowe turned and ran back towards the green. The laughter grew even louder. The jig was officially up. "Is all that on camera?" asked Lowe, pointing to the videographer, another golf partner of his. No one could answer – the laughter could probably be heard two foursomes behind them. "Now that's just wrong!" said Lowe, shaking his head, coming to terms with Fennell's prank. 

That's just a day with Fennell at Freeway.

OK, yes, they got me. For the record, I should have suspected something was up when Arthur needlessly moved our golf cart from one spot to another by the 18th green, and also when Allison pulled out the video camera (just before I hit a birdie putt). I'll just end with Jay sharing that after he and Allison conspired – yes, conspired! – to play me, they asked the following key question: "What kind of grown man keeps a rubber snake in his golf bag?"

Updated August 17: Check out this nice report by Allison about a Virgin Islands presence at the NABJ convention.

Updated August 18: Jerry Bembry offers this video of another practical joke against me, this time on a golf course in Baltimore in 2007. It was wrong then and it is wrong now! To think, Jerry was my best man and Arthur was a groomsman in my wedding. How does the saying go, "With friends like these ...?"
2011 NABJ Golf Champions
2011 NABJ Golf Tournament Champions (from left) Jay Harris, Allison Bourne-Vanneck, Arthur Fennell and Herbert Lowe.
19 Comments
Charles Robinson
8/18/2011 11:37:42 am

I'm laughing at the whole scenario. What a great gag. But let me say you guys and gals are no slackers you punched in with the lowest scores in the NABJ Tournament and yes there are trophies. Will get the to you soon. I know Herb was trying to pull up his end.

Reply
Eric
8/30/2011 11:38:55 am

This post is hilarious. Once again the post manages to make a personal connection with the vivid recollection of the video, and the video itself. It makes me laugh because of the situation, and in the end your comments on the situation sum it up, and really convey the comical sense of the post. Congratulations on the trophy and the birdie!

Reply
Sarah
8/31/2011 02:13:02 am

I wouldn't typically be attracted to a post about golf (or any other sport for that matter...except the Cubs of course), but this one is absolutely hilarious. It's a good balance between humor and actual information. The video completes the post.

Reply
Becca French
8/31/2011 05:37:13 am

This is hilarious. Posts like this allow us to see the not so serious side of professors, while still being informative. Getting to know more about you, while having a comical video to accompany it really makes the story fun and interesting!

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Andrea Anderson
8/31/2011 05:37:39 am

Golf bores me, it really does. This however, did not. it made me laugh but also brought me to something else I found of interest that you linked to, the Virgin Islands tourism video. This was a great balance between humor, personality and informative information.

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Kyle
8/31/2011 06:19:36 am

This was simply brilliant. Since I'm a big "Caddyshack" fan, once I saw a video featuring a golf course I couldn't resist. I think it's important for teachers to give their students a peak into their leisure time. It lightens the mood in the classroom and students may find things in common with the teacher. The account from an alternative point of view fueled this post and it provided some insight.

Reply
Ben Sheehan
8/31/2011 07:42:52 am

I agree with Kyle- seeing videos likes this of a teacher outside of the classroom makes it much easier to connect with the teacher and creates an easy-going (but still productive, of course) classroom environment. I hope you were able to get them back. If not, I can give you some ideas!

Reply
Katie Doherty
8/31/2011 08:44:57 am

My little brother Kevin (actually, he is only 15 moths younger) is studying Professional Golf Management at Mississippi State University. Now I have some ideas for pranks to pull on him next time we are on the golf course together. Nice shorts. Kevin's favorite site for golf attire is www.us.loudmouthgolf.com.

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Sarah Hauer
8/31/2011 12:28:31 pm

This post allowed readers to see you in a personal light. They were able to see you with your friends playing a game. It shows us that you have a sense of humor and are able to laugh at yourself.

Reply
Erin Caughey
8/31/2011 01:56:52 pm

I enjoy Allison Bourne-Vanneck's recap on the incident of the rubber snake prank. It's lively and gives a full account of your reaction in a journalistic yet humorous tone. I think my favorite part is the shorts though.

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Ryan Ellerbusch
9/1/2011 01:37:42 am

This is my favorite post on your blog thus far. My initial reaction was, "Nice John Daly shorts!" Now, I think it's your turn to return the favor and pull a prank on your friends. Looking on your Contact Me page that's really cool you had the opportunity to golf at the scenic Torrey Pines course in California.

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Alec Brooks
9/1/2011 03:00:05 am

I don't think I could complete the assignment without commenting on this post. Besides the video itself, my favorite part is Allison Bourne-Vanneck's recounting of events—it's a hilarious recap.

Reply
Ben Stanley
9/1/2011 04:13:56 am

I love this. I hope your friends do not mind, but I am absolutely going to use prank this against my brother next time we go golfing. He hates snakes.

Reply
Marissa Evans
9/14/2011 10:24:54 pm

First and foremost, kudos to the entire crew responsible for executing this great, great joke. I laughed –– very hard.

On a more serious note, this post reminds me that it is fine to blog about your life and the small but funny anecdotal moments. We seem to focus so much on our branding and being unique that we forget to share that we are also humans with great character and personality all of which are important to building trust and loyalty within a following.

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Erica Breunlin
9/20/2011 03:21:25 pm

So you're afraid of snakes as well as mice, eh? I'm with you on that one! But I definitely agree with Marissa and a lot of the other posts above. It's so refreshing to uncover a bit of your personality in day-to-day life. I think this is particularly important for professors in relating to students. I often find myself idolizing professors as perfect, brilliant people and consequently always feel very intimidated to approach them or even ask them a simple question. Clips like these are a nice reassurance that as brilliant as any professor may be, they are still only human with the same kinds of fears and insecurities as anyone.

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Carlie Campbell
1/18/2012 04:20:55 am

There is a reason this post has more comments than a lot of your others, I was cracking up!

On an (ever so slightly) more serious note, this is a great way to incorporate some humor and personality into your blog, which keeps readers interested in returning to see more.

Reply
Dana Christen
1/18/2012 12:32:59 pm

I'm really diggin' the golf shorts! I love being able to see professors outside of an academic setting; it shows your personality and that you're not always all about journalism.

Reply
Indoor Golf link
9/7/2012 05:23:30 pm

I love this. I hope your friends do not mind, but I am absolutely going to use prank this against my brother next time we go golfing. He hates snakes.

Reply
Discount golf club link
10/18/2012 02:46:26 am

Nice Video.I really congratulate the writer for creating such an impressive blog. Thank you for your valuable discussion on this great topic.

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