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The 18th flag fluttered with the grandstand at its rear, water on the right and the clubhouse beyond.
The strike with the five-iron was perfection, sliding around the bunker at the front of the green and coming to rest three feet from the hole.
The fist pump, the wave to the imagined crowds… and the inevitable McIlroy-esque missed birdie putt.
The dramatic conclusion to my round at Centurion was the week before the world's best women golfers in the Aramco team tournament and TV towers, scoreboards and the stand around the 18th green were being erected.
It is a curiosity, a member-only club that seeks publicity - unlike The Wisley and Queenwood which shun it.
Indeed, despite the imposing clubhouse, highly-rated restaurant, and orangery, it has a different feel.
Nevertheless, I can report that the course has many interesting features – not least the SEVEN par-fives for non-professionals from the silver tees.
This might give you the impression that you'll always have a chance to score well.
However, the rough at Centurion is so penal that it demands players to balance accuracy and length, adding an exciting challenge to your game.
By the way, we were told that the tee colours (black, silver amethyst, stone and cerise) were suggested by a Centurion marketing executive from her nail polish pallet!
I digress.
The opening holes are very different from the remainder of the course. They are played down avenues of tall trees, evoking thoughts of nearby Woburn.
The first is a par-five, with bunkers and trees threatening drives that are too long before leading to a green with sand traps in front and towards the rear.
It sounds obvious, but avoiding hazards will result in an excellent opportunity to score, and that is a mantra for much of Centurion.
The par-threes are the most significant impediment to a stellar score because they demand pinpoint accuracy.
This is highlighted on the second, tucked away in woodland with a target surrounded by bunkers, which will snaffle the inaccurate.
The track emerges from the woods on the fourth, a bending par-five with heavy rough down the left-hand side.
It is so thick that we initially thought it must have been grown up for the Aramco but were put straight by our host who said it was ever thus.
After a quick return to the woods for the par-three fifth, we were back into the open for the sixth, a lovely par five with frightful fescue threatening those offline.
These included me, but surprisingly, I found my ball, chopped out, and weaved between bunkers and tight traps to achieve par.
Podcast partner was not so lucky, even though his ball didn't seem as deep in trouble as mine.
The starter told us to add only one shot for a lost ball and place its replacement on the adjacent fairway.
We were prompted to think that if management had been compelled to introduce such a rule, they should simply order the cutting down of the rough.
Anyway, my round went from strength to strength because I kept my ball on the short stuff. Sadly, my playing partners were not so fortunate.
The seventh is a tough par-four that I played with my sensible hat on. I laid short of a rough-strewn dip fifty yards before the hole, accruing two Stableford points.
The view from the eighth tee is the best on the course – with three holes visible from the tee in one direction and the Hertfordshire countryside in another.
It is a prime example of Centurion's optical illusions, with the fairway landing areas seemingly much narrower from the tee than the reality. Thus, players are tempted to force their drives and end up in the fescue.
The ninth is a corking hole – steep banks on its right and a lake on the left for those who drive too far. The fairway twists around the water between large bunkers before a green that falls from left to right.
By this time, we were having great fun, and the day's most hilarious moment came after the friendly lady at the halfway hut served some quick refreshments.
Our pal fired his ball into the rough from the tee on the par-four tenth and indicated he would take advantage of the local rule. However, he hadn't confirmed his decision when our host found his ball under a thicket.
After dislodging the ball about 15 feet, he again mooted that he should throw out another one, only for the host to pipe up again that he had found it.
Thus, he hacked out from the undergrowth, and the ball sprang almost sidewards towards the pond on the nearby 12th.
Meanwhile, my podcast partner and I made serene progress up the fairway, narrowly missing out on birdies.
The green of the tricky, par-three 11th was moved after it was decided it was too close to the parallel M1.
Its new entrance is narrow, with heavy bushes lurking for those who err left and a big steep bunker protecting the flag. I was in the latter but exited nicely.
The sand was Centurion's weakest element. It is compacted and contains many stones - surprisingly poor for a venue of its status.
The 12th is the club's picture hole, a par-four with an undulating, dipping fairway which filters precise tee shots down towards a lake directly in front of the hole.
We had been told that the course had been built on landfill which contained the old Wembley Stadium.
Thus, inspired by thoughts of England World Cup winners and Coventry City FA Cup glory, I lifted a nine-iron approach over the water to within 15 feet of the hole.
It wouldn't be the first or last time I would miss out on birdie.
By this stage, I was compiling a healthy scorecard but was undone when we briefly returned to the woods for the claustrophobic 14th, a 200-yard+ par-three with a slanting green and pin behind two large bunkers.
At 435 yards, the 16th is a brute of a par-four, bending to the right with no visible landing area.
I pushed the ball into a large bunker but caught my second shot too well and found another trap as the fairway dipped. A double bogey ensued.
One of our pals had been bemoaning his game but nearly scored a hole-in-one on the lovely little 17th.
His gorgeous chip saw the ball sail over the false front, down the treacherous slope to the hole and just miss glory.
This left us with a super final hole - a par-five that must be driven between bunkers before the previously described entrance to the green.
It will provide a sparkling conclusion to the Aramco and I can testify there may even be heartbreak.