While putting, I inadvertently bumped my partner's ball. (inadvertently: unintentionally, accidentally, unwittingly)
The players waited for a propitious morning, then discovered that the forecast had been much more confident than the sky. (propitious: favorable, auspicious, promising) Their most provident member carried a raincoat while the others carried theories about why clouds usually missed this particular course. (provident: far-sighted, prudent, prepared) A voracious reader of equipment advertisements had brought three new clubs and expected each to remove a different personal weakness. (voracious: ravenous, insatiable, unappeasable) His partner suggested a pragmatic alternative: hit one ball carefully before explaining how well the next one would travel. (pragmatic: practical, realistic, workable)
The first player's presumptuous prediction of a perfect round survived only until his opening shot reached a convenient bush. (presumptuous: overconfident, overbold, forward) He offered a preposterous account of a gust that had appeared specifically to interfere with his swing. (preposterous: absurd, ridiculous, ludicrous) His partner refused to impugn the player's honesty but asked why the nearby leaves had remained perfectly still. (impugn: challenge, question, cast doubt on) The player's disingenuous smile suggested that the imaginary gust had already served its purpose. (disingenuous: insincere, evasively dishonest, lacking candor)
An inadvertent tap moved another ball, and its owner immediately explained what had happened rather than inventing a bird. (inadvertent: unintentional, accidental, unwitting) His bona fide admission prevented a lengthy disagreement over the exact position of a blade of grass. (bona fide: genuine, authentic, sincere) The group chose to curtail the debate and continue under the ordinary rules they had agreed to follow. (curtail: shorten, limit, reduce) Their cordial mood returned once nobody was required to pretend that an obvious mistake was an extraordinary natural event. (cordial: friendly, warm, gracious)
The player who owned the new clubs displayed a profound disappointment that equipment could not eliminate the need to practice ordinary skills. (profound: deep, intense, strong) His partner offered a candid account of a similar purchase that had improved his enthusiasm more quickly than his actual performance. (candid: frank, honest, direct) A discerning comparison distinguished a tool's genuine advantages from the much larger hopes attached to it at the moment of purchase. (discerning: perceptive, insightful, astute) The group did not disparage the new clubs; they simply declined to hold them responsible for decisions made by the people swinging them. (disparage: belittle, denigrate, speak slightingly of)
A protracted discussion of the imaginary gust threatened to resume until the player himself asked everyone to retire it. (protracted: extended, prolonged, drawn-out) His unassuming joke about the bush allowed the group to laugh without requiring him to defend the original account. (unassuming: modest, unpretentious, self-effacing) The next shot provided tangible evidence that a calm adjustment could matter more than a complicated explanation of unfair circumstances. (tangible: concrete, perceptible, palpable) The player remained sanguine without predicting that one successful shot guaranteed a flawless afternoon. (sanguine: hopeful, optimistic, confident)
Their equanimity became a more useful shared resource than an agreement to praise every attempt as exceptional. (equanimity: composure, calmness, evenness of temper) The match retained its competitive interest while leaving room for honest mistakes, sound decisions, and ordinary conversation between holes. (competitive: rivalrous, contest-oriented, striving to win)
One player's prodigious drive inspired genuine admiration, which he accepted without claiming that it would happen on every hole. (prodigious: enormous, tremendous, extraordinary) A transient shower gave the group time to consider how much effort they had spent explaining shots already completed. (transient: brief, temporary, passing) Their underlying reason for meeting was companionship, not maintaining an imaginary record of flawless decisions. (underlying: basic, fundamental, foundational) They reached a concise agreement: describe the last shot honestly, make the next choice thoughtfully, and save the longest stories for lunch. (concise: brief, succinct, terse)