How lucky are you?

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I saw Shanshan Feng win the Reignwood LPGA Classic in China with the most outrageous good fortune at the last hole. Her second shot looked for all the world to be heading right of the green but got a lucky bounce in the rough and almost went into the hole. Luck played a big part in that win. How important is luck in golf? Do you consider yourself to be a lucky golfer or an unlucky one and what is the luckiest break you have ever had or seen?

Guess my luckiest was a hooked drive heading for OOB on our 10th, landed on the course side of the ^ shaped top of the wall (3" wide) and kicked on into the middle of the fairway in a comp I went on to win or at Son Vida this year, massive pull up 11th (? huge uphill par 5) heading into deepest darkest woodsville. No chance whatsoever as it was going that deep in and had missed at least the first 2 rows of trees. Didn't see anything or hear anything. Hit provisional and sliced, drove up cursory glance in the trees for first, no chance. Left it to go look to see whether second had stayed in play right "there's one there" I heard, drove over to the right hand side of the fairway and found first ball a good 40 yards further up than the point of entry on the left. Impossible I tells yer. Scrabble to a par and 3 points. Lost second ball, but had got it off someone else anyway!

Unluckiest I can remember was a big uphill straight par 4 somewhere in (I think) Spain a few years ago. Cart path up the left, natural slight fade so aimed left and got the odd "straight one", very well hit so lands fairway, bounces through rough, trickles onto cart path (say 300 yards in total forwards) then rolls back down, gathers paces, bounces and bounces arrow straight back, never deviating from the cart path (one of those rough ridgey affairs so low statistical probability of any let alone each bounce staying straight) until it finally kicked in and nestled in the rough about 60 yards in front of me. Funny unlucky though so we had a right giggle.

I think a lot of you have nailed it with the summary that luck is "something happening that has a statistically low probability of usually happening".

Although I have a slightly different opinion... Whilst I believe luck is as described above, I think it is also a mindset.

In our club championship 2nd round a few years back I felt I was very "lucky" for the first few holes, whether I was lucky or not is probably up for interpretation......

I had shot 72 (level) along with one other chap on the first day and we were 3 shots clear of the field in the last group when we teed off (we pretty much knew the winner would be one of us unless we both collapsed to +7 or the like)
On the first I hit a horrible toey push with my driver straight into the trees on the right (dogleg right par 5) and had to hit a provisional, walked up, found it through the trees on a great lie with a clear line to the green. Wedge wedge putt for birdie... partner killed it down the middle hit a long iron to the green and 3 putted for par.
2nd I had about 150 to the green with my 2nd, uphill, bunker short with pin tight on the front. caught it fat left it in the bunker, thinned it out to the first cut about 10 yards from the flag, caught my chip a bit thin but it hit the flag and went in for par.
I was then 2 clear with a wedge in my hand to the 3rd green, hit a bad pull about 15 yards left but it got an unbelievable (lucky??) bounce off the mound to the left of the green and went in the hole for an eagle 2.
After I played fairly steady after that to shoot -2 (70) which won it by 5 for me but I remember being on our par 3 11th when my partner was only about 1 shot behind, he was bunkered and left it in with his first attempt then only just got it out... he said to me "well its obviously your day anyway"

That day I felt very lucky through those first 3 holes. on any other day I could have lost a ball up the first, bogeyed 2 and been in all kinds of c*ap left of the 3rd green.

I think its how you perceive yourself though. I know guys who will hit a crap tee shot that ends up in the rough because the sliced/hooked it and say "that was so unlucky, surely it has to bounce left/right!"

I try to stay fairly level headed on a course, if I get a bad bounce I know that I will get the odd good bounce here and there to make up for it

I did play one round with a guy who holed his 160 yard second on our sixth to a hole masked by the small bank in front of the green claiming that he'd played for it (which is true, we all often aim for the hole) but it did have a big element of luck to it. Him "played for it" me "Lucky ba*tard"

On the 9th in the same round he hit a horrible drive and duck hooked it into a copse of trees and immediately bemoaned how he never got any luck ever. Him "I'm so unlucky" Me "Why can't you see that that was simply a Poopie drive"

Shows how much personal perception is involved (that he couldn't see I was right!).

I find the whole subject of luck (or probably better to say chance) in sport or life really interesting. Ed Smith, the ex-cricketer turned journalist has written a book all about it. Funnily enough called Luck.

In it he talks about how he thought by practice he could control or eliminate chance but over time realised that it is just there. For instance the guy who makes his debut in a strong team at his home ground is statistically more likely to succeed in his career than a player who makes his debut abroad. But when you get the call is often down to someone getting injured which is pure chance. But you have to be good enough to get the call and deliver though.

I guess though that the Gary Player saying does have some resonance as the more you practice the less likely you are to hit the poor shot that requires more good luck and if you are out of position you are better able to cope as you know that you are good enough to deal with whatever is thrown at you.

The racing driver Maria De Villota wasn't too lucky. Lost her right eye in a crash at Duxford last year and found dead in a hotel room in Seville this morning. Aged only 33, a pretty sad story.

"the more i practice the luckier i get"
i interpret this to mean that good players can take advantage of the good breaks.