There is a long list of things I’ll never do in the world of golf.

A look at a few of them:

  • Score an albatross. I’ve made only one eagle in my life, so the chances of getting that more elusive bird are slim, indeed.
  • Chip from just off the green. This is why they invented the putter.
  • Use a driving iron. Really? The face is much bigger on the driver.

I was able to add another thing I’ll never do a few weeks ago. Brandon Matthews drove the green on a 432-yard par 4 hole during the Korn Ferry Tour event at Victoria National Golf Club in Indiana.

I will never be Brandon Matthews.

Let me digress briefly to underline this moment in golf. Brandon Matthews drove the green – yes, DROVE THE GREEN – on a 432-yard hole.

He didn’t hit his driver 432 yards. That would be asking for something wildly incredible. No, he simply did something else that was wildly incredible.

On the 18th hole, and with nothing substantial to lose, Matthews, 28, decided to take the long route across a lake, hoping to land his drive on the waterside green. Players who were not so adventurous hit shorter drives across the lake and then hit iron approaches to the green – the traditional way to play the hole. But Matthews went for the whole pie – not just a piece of it – and watched his ball land on the edge of the green, just beyond the water.

It was a 370-yard shot for a 432-yard hole, but taking the dangerous shortcut succeeded.

Matthews missed the eagle putt (and the cut), but that didn’t really matter. He had already qualified for the PGA Tour next year, so the 18th hole became more or less an exhibition for him.

And his exhibit would win the science fair. Even over that kid with the volcano that erupts.

Matthews automatically became my hero that day. I hope he wins five tournaments next year, but it’s unlikely he’ll ever do anything that impresses me more than his shot that Friday.

Hitting golf balls over water is an activity that befuddles many regular players, and I am president of that group. Doesn’t matter if it’s 60 yards across a swamp in the South Carolina Lowcountry or 100 yards across the edge of a mountain lake. For some reason that’s difficult to nail down, water makes the shot doubly hard.

Matthews stared that demon in the face and vanquished it. Totally crushed it. Embarrassed it. Hit a shot that will be replayed on video over and over and over.

A bold first step on the way to the Hall of Fame. He’s already in mine.