There are few more demoralizing moments in sports than that of the unintentional whiff.
For the most part, golf isn’t a reactionary sport. The player and ball are both immobile and movement is intentional. Action occurs when (and only when) the player decides it’s time to swing. So, when a player tries with all their might to make contact with the ball yet still fails, it hits in a slightly different place than say, a strikeout in baseball or a turnover in basketball.
Yes, a whiff is a moment of deep personal shame. An instant of athletic failure so brazen, we hope to hide from all those we hold dear — our spouses, our friends, and god willing, our children.
Rickie Fowler whiffs tap-in putt en route to bizarre double-bogey
And what happens if we commit a whiff in the shadow of those we hold dear? From some, it’s disappointment, for others, encouragement.
For Mackenzie Haggett, a driving range whiff garnered a far more embarrassing reaction: laughter. But perhaps it wasn’t the laughter, but rather who the laughter came from, that raised the level of embarrassment.
In a video her husband Blake posted to Instagram earlier this week, Mackenzie takes a big cut at a driving range ball to no avail. Then, as she begins to reload for another swing, the camera pans to the left. Sitting in his car seat, Mackenzie and Blake’s baby shrieks with delight, unleashing a laugh that could only make mom and dad do the same. Check it out for yourself below.
There’s no shame in a driving range whiff or two. We just hope baby Haggett is a natural at golf whenever he decides to pick up a club for the first time, because we’ve got a feeling mom might not be afraid to let loose a laugh or two of her own.