Your unluckiest golf stories

As one of our astute readers pointed out, one of Bobby Jones' most revered quotes on the game of golf is as follows: "Golf is the closest game to the game we call life. You get bad breaks from good shots; you get good breaks from bad shots -- but you have to play the ball where it lies."

But even Bobby Jones would have to shake his head at some of the unlucky breaks all of us have experienced while playing. In honor of Friday the 13th, we asked readers to contribute their unluckiest moments on the course -- and you've had some real doozies. Some are embarrassing, some are physically painful, some were for trophies or money -- but in all cases, if not for bad luck, sometimes we'd have no luck at all.

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Here are some of our favorite responses:

Philip Kresler: I broke my left arm playing at Torrey Pines. I slipped on the wet grass walking into a bunker to hit my ball and ended up with a compound fracture of both bones in my forearm. Gosh, I only had two holes to play and I was 2-over-par on the South course.

Tim Callahan: Flew it into the cup on a par-3! The hole spit it out and I three-putted. Then I was stung by a bee walking off the green.

Brandon Scott: I stepped on my putter getting out of a greenside bunker and bent the shaft something terrible.

Sean Kosar: I landed in a deer track within a bunker about four inches deep below an elevated green in a heads-up stroke-play match for money. I didn't have the presence of mind to call it unplayable and take a drop. I spent the next nine swings uncovering the ball.

Kevin Sowizrol: Years ago as a caddie, on a par-3 I witnessed Player 1 hit a beautiful shot which hit the pin and ricocheted off into a footprint in the greenside bunker. His opponent sliced one into a tree next to the green. The tree kicked it out within an inch for a tap-in birdie.

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Ron Kolecki: I hit a cart coming from another fairway and my ball went in to the drink.

Charles Gary: I tried hitting a shot around a tree, but I clipped the tree and back fired and hit the lady we where playing with in the eye.

Greg Andriano: High school practice round, I hit tee shot into heavy rough. There were birdhouses on top of two-inch wide metal poles. My ball landed four feet to the left of one of these poles. With the coach and teammates watching, I proceeded to shank my second shot into that pole,. The ball shot behind me about 70 yards on to the previous fairway.

Christopher Gallegos: Hit the stick on two different Par-3s in a tournament. One hit near the base, bounced backwards and rolled into the water. The other kicked left into a greenside bunker.

Justin Rezkalla: Member/member two years ago. My partner and I were in a playoff for our flight and I had a 12-footer for birdie to either win or lose it. I poured it dead in the heart and somehow it popped out. I still have no clue how it happened. Cost us at least $900 plus whatever we might have won in the shootout.

Drew Hobensack: In our city tournament, we went into extra holes. On the second extra hole, I hit my drive 80 yards short of a Par-4. My opponent snap hooks his ball out of bounds, but it hits a brick house 40 yards and bounces back into the fairway. We both end up about 10 feet for birdie, except mine was two inches behind an old hole cut out from the day before. Needless to say he won and I'm still salty.

Mark Poelker: Walking off a green I stepped on the face of my lob wedge to pop the grip up and pick up the wedge. I stepped on it a little too forcefully and the grip caught me right in the privates.

Todd Gutknecht: Stung on the lip by a bee on a course in Ixtapa, Mexico. It felt like a lit cigar being put out on my face.

Steve Knotts: My bag was attacked and dragged away by a black bear during a tournament.

Lindy Rhodes: A gust of wind caught my cart and hurtled my clubs into the lake.

Lisa Walker: I hit a beautiful tee shot which landed directly on top of a natural spring on the fairway and covered ball in three inches of water. Watching ball bob up and down on the spring was funny.

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Michael Noyer: I chipped over a green five times on a Par-5.

Michael Harrington: Someone shot at me while I was putting. Just grazed my hair. My lucky day.

Rowdy Campbell: Hit dead-center top of the flagstick and the ball went over green 20 yards into a water hazard on the fly.

Jay Sostarich: Playing in a one-day mini-tour event in Las Vegas.. On the 12th hole, it began to snow. By the 15th hole, they called everyone off the course and refunded entry fees because the conditions were unplayable. I was 4-under and realized when I got into the clubhouse, I had an eight-shot lead on the field. Snow in Vegas?

Scott Smith: Hit flag stick, shot the ball off the green 50 yards.

Phillip Werner: Hit the flag and cup with my tee shot, which bounced in the water. I was mad. Thought I made a 1, ended up with a 5.

Jim Houston: I rolled my golf cart twice on the same hole, once in the water.

Tim Bowe: Thought I could clear the root in front of the ball with a 9-iron. The ball hit the root then the side of my head and knocked me to the ground. I would use a wedge next time.

Travis Armstrong: Was dormie through 15. Destroyed the cup with my tee shot on No. 16 but the ball got spit out some six feet. Three-putted to lose the hole. Thought I dunked it for the win and my second ace.

Brent Wilhelmsen: A 60-degree wedge from a tight lie over a boulder. I thinned it into the Boulder, ricocheted it off my forehead, knocked my hat off and flew about 30 yards into the desert. Carded a 5 -- plus the penalty -- on a Par-3.

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Anthony Ricketts: Hit a great 5-iron right at the pin on a Par-5, only to hit a sprinkler head right in front of the green, which bounced over the green into the woods.

Evan Brodersen: Playoff hole. I knock it 10 feet away on Par-3. Kid knocks it in the hole, wins tourney and a trip to Florida.

Art Ashton: Arrived right at my tee time for the A Flight San Francisco City Match Play Championship final, nursing a slight hangover, my shoes not tied yet. I teed it up and hit a line drive right into the ladies tee marker. It came back at me as fast as it went. I ducked just in time.

Jr Wehmeir: The guy in front of me stole my ball out of the fairway twice in one round. How do you score that? He is now called the "ball thief."

Jon D. Turpen: I split my pants open last weekend while picking my ball out of the cup!

These folks may have summed things up perfectly.

Paul Turner: Where do I start?

Mike Smith: Would you like a list?

Michael May: Every time I get on the first tee.

And in closing, how about this beauty? With friends like these, who needs luck?

Michael Shafer: It doesn't sound like bad luck, but here goes. I got a hole-in-one playing in an outing where the prize on that hole was "closest to the hole." Not only did I have to buy everyone's drinks, but they decided that since my ball was in the hole, I was not closest to the hole. 

Here's the complete list of responses from Facebook.