Nineteenth Hole: The Pit and the Putter

Yet another man in a sinkhole story.

At least the Creve Coeur golfer survived the fall.

In Soviet Illinois, hole plays you.

Lots of good stuff here:  

Mihal said it was a real downer on what had been a fine outing.  

No kidding.  

Fortunately for Mihal, who damaged his shoulder in the fall, he didn't need a wedge or have to play it where it lay.  He had stepped over to investigate an odd "bathtub-looking indentation".  When he stepped on it, because "[i]t didn't look unstable", he started falling.

Here's a clue, folks, a bathtub-looking indentation would necessarily show some cracking and separation around the edges.  This might indicate some instability.  I mean, it wasn't shaking like lime Jello or spewing molten lava, so I figured it was solid.  Right?  Flash to the apes looking at the monolith.  Might as well step on it.  What's the worst that could happen?

Is it possible alcohol was involved?

His golfing buddies didn't see him vanish into the earth but noticed he wasn't visible, figuring he had tripped and fallen out of sight down a hill. But one of them heard Mihal's moans and went to investigate.

"He just thought it was some crazy magic trick or something," Mihal said.

Because people are always doing crazy magic tricks on the golf course over in Waterloo.  It's a Prairie State tradition.  They say it started with Abe Lincoln.

Fortunately for Mihal, his group included a sweater-clad real-estate agent, who, with the help of a rope, was able to retrieve the one-in-a-hole.

Too bad they didn't have a giant version of that ball-retriever thing golfers use.  It would have come in handy.

Mihal should feel fortunate that he was swallowed by a sinkhole rather than mashed by a meteor.