Lightning never strikes twice in the same spot, right? Hold that thought.

A guy I know named Patrick loves the game of golf, and while he is plagued with one of the worst slices in the modern golf era, he is committed to the game. One day, on a short par five, Patrick decided to hit with a driver even after his playing partners all laid up with irons. Undaunted by the objections of his overcautious buddies, he elected to try and cut the corner on the narrow golf hole, knowing if he did, he could get to the green in two.

Everything looked fine through the swing, but it was then that his error was fully realized. The ball took a nasty right turn, easily cleared a row of pine trees and made a beeline for a rather expensive looking home along the course. The ball pierced the screened-in pool, plunking into the water. The owner of the home, who just so happened to be floating in the pool at the time, while uninjured, was not happy about the intrusion.

Patrick may not be much of a golfer, but he is a genuinely nice guy. He immediately went over to the home, offered an apology and pledged that he would be back the next day to fix the screen, even though the owner said it wasn't necessary.

The next day, Patrick, a carpenter by trade, showed up and not only fixed the screen he broke, but actually mended a couple other rips and tears in the structure. The homeowner was elated. The man now had a completely bug-proof pool and Patrick felt better about the damage he caused. A happy ending, right?

Let’s fast forward one week, to the next Saturday. Back out on the course again, Patrick comes to the infamous par five. He’d been striking his driver beautifully all day, he decided that it would once again be his club. Need I even say what happened next?

Even though he was trying to hug the left side of the fairway, alas, the shot got away from him again, and as he watched the ball rise into the blue sky, his guts twisted in knots as it once again made a sharp right turn, headed for the same house. Patrick sprinted over to find that the ball ripped through the screen again.

This time, nobody was home.

Sunday morning, the doorbell rings, and the homeowner opens the door to find Patrick there, smiling. The man asked what he’s doing there and Patrick says he just wanted to see how the work he did held up.

The man smiled and explained how he had lived in that house for years and never had a ball hit his home, but how yesterday, a ball went through the same spot and he found it in the bottom of his pool.

Patrick smiled back, reached down beside him and picked up a new screen and his tools. “It was me!” he confessed.

The two had a pretty good laugh about it, Patrick fixed the screen, the two men shared a beer, and to this day, have remained friends. They even golf together from time-to-time.

Personally, I can think of easier ways to find a playing partner, but golf brings people together, even when one of those people’s houses is taking heavy fire from a mis-chosen driver. •