I almost shot under par this summer. It was awesome.

I was sinking putts left and right, birdie after birdie. I had never done that before. Keep reading to hear how it all went down.

The day was set up perfectly. I was with my friend Gary, who I had not seen in forever. And to make this round of golf even better, it was cheap, on a nice course, and it included a free beer after the round, aka the 19th-hole.

Groupon is awesome.

Anyway, I am just an average golfer, so I am not used to tons of great shots, but this time was different. I just felt great.

I was hitting fairway after fairway, and losing a ball would have been a surprise with this round that I was putting together.

Putting the golf aside for a second — having a free beer included in the $35 charge was in the top five best things of the summer. The two just go hand in hand. Just ask John Daley.

The course had a tough layout with a few doglegs here and there and placement was key. The best shot was one where I put myself under a tree off the fairway for once, and I ended up hitting a punch shot from about 130 out and rolled in on the green, for none other than a birdie.

I also chipped in out of the sand. It was almost like it was not real.

The feeling of sinking a putt as an average golfer is priceless, since most times my putter is not working for me. To be dropping a few putts with ease was a nice relief to have.

But it was coming to an end, and I did not want it to…

Everything was going my way and I knew it happening again was going to be a long shot, so I was really trying to stay in the moment.

It was ME, Sean Hastings, almost shooting under par. Those two things should not be in the same sentence.

And it was not just me that was killing it on the course. Gary was as well. We were both playing some of our best golf.

What was really nice about this course was that in a lot of backyards backed up to the course, kids had lemonade/pop stands set up. Genius idea. Step aside, sidewalk lemonade stands.

When I say a lot of houses backed up to the course, I mean every hole had very expensive homes running up and down the fairway—a distraction to the average golfer.

I have golfed with Gary plenty of times, but this one was a special round. I almost shot under par.

And knowing that an ice-cold Budweiser was waiting for me at the end of the round made things better. Booking the tee time right before I went to bed was a no-brainer. Sweet dreams were on their way.

It all came to an end way too fast.

I eventually stopped dreaming, teed off on one, shot my ball in the water, hit two houses throughout the round, lost 10 golf balls and then 93 shots later I was on the 19th- hole.

Thank you for that deal, Tanna Farms.

Take advantage of those Groupon deals. Especially ones like the one I had.

Sean Hastings can be reached at 581-2812 or smhastings@eiu.edu.