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"Please have this ball and enjoy your round," said East Devon's genial captain as we were about to embark upon our round.
However, he had not told me his gift came with magic powers.
We were fortunate to be given a spot just before the scores of players set out on the annual Captain's Day competition.
And we were accompanied by the Director of Green (all vegetation, not just the putting surface), who gave us the lowdown on the admirable improvements made to the course.
But before we began, we were warned of the intense rough and the speed of the putting surfaces. Both would play their part in Mrs W's and my respective rounds.
The first hole, with its sloping fairway, heathery rough, and fast, subtly undulating green guarded by well-placed bunkers, encapsulates several of East Devon's key elements.
The second drifts back towards the clubhouse and demands a carry from the tee to an almost blind fairway that falls off dramatically to the left.
East Devon was opened in 1902 but redesigned by Harry Colt in the 1i920s and much time, money and energy has been spent attempting to recreate some of the views from his day.
That has included significant clearance of tangly gorse bushes with plenty still to come, including the dense stuff alongside the inviting par-three fourth.
It will come too late for me because I snap-hooked into the undergrowth.
Thus, I reached for the captain's gift and my game was transformed as if by a magic wand after a sticky start.
We were amazed and impressed by the care and detail of the work undergone at East Devon to preserve the lowland heath to the benefit of wildlife and rare plants, as well as the club's golfers.
Its plans have been created in collaboration with R&A agronomists, much-celebrated course designer Donald Steele, woodland management experts Nicholson Associates and Harry Colt architecture specialist Frank Pont.
The advice of local experts is evident on the par-five sixth hole, where gorse and tall bushes have been removed for a traditional Devonshire hedge (who knew there was such a thing). Two trees remain for bird nesting.
The clearance work across the course has opened up some stunning views and made the course feel less claustrophobic.
Indeed, the only hole where we felt slightly hemmed in was the par-four seventh, where over-zealous members planted an avenue of trees in the 1970s. This is the only hole which has a parkland feel.
At this stage, the captain's ball still had fairy dust, and my sand save on the seventh was followed by a two-pointer on the long par-three eighth.
Mrs W was also wading in, and we both secured pars on the long, descending ninth, which offers great countryside views.
The huge three-tiered green on the par-three 10th is one of the craziest I can recall.
Mrs W's tee shot nearly reached the flag but stalled and fell 40 feet back down the flights to the bunker's edge. Her follow-up putt saw the ignominy repeated.
The bending 11th is nearest to an original Colt hole with a drive into a rising fairway that turns towards his typical horizontal bunker sequencing.
Gorse removal has opened more options for players tempted to cut corners.
The approach to the green looks easy, but I couldn't even stop a three-quarter-struck pitching wedge on the speedy green. Thankfully, I snatched my par after a pleasing chip back towards the flag.
Bunkers and trees abound on the uphill dogleg par-five 12th, but I safely negotiated them, sailed the ball onto the green and nailed my birdie putt.
Sadly, my glorious run came to an end on the 14th when I had to say goodbye to the Captain's ball, slashing it into bushes from the tee of this very challenging 90-degree dogleg par-four.
It is a par-five for ladies, and Mrs W sensibly drove left instead of trying to cut off the corner, weaved past its fairway bunkers, and nailed birdie for FIVE points.
I loved the run-in at East Devon, beginning with the shot-curving par-four 15th, ascending into a green that quickly falls from back to front.
The best views are from the 16th tee, from which you can see 40 miles east to Portland Bill in Dorset and 16 miles west to Berry Head by Brixham.
This panorama includes a national park, a national marine reserve, two national nature reserves, three river estuaries, six sites of special scientific interest, over half of the World Heritage Jurassic Coast and Golden Cap - the highest point on the south coast of Britain.
The 16th is a 400-yard downhill par-four which can be comfortably reached in two if the ball is kept on the fairway.
This was achieved by Mrs W and our host as I looked on enviously from the thick rough down the left after pulling my tee shot.
The 17th is East Devon's Marmite hole – a very tough par-four with a hellish 100-yard band of rough separating two sections of fairway before a steep rise to the green.
I played it poorly but liked it and would certainly enjoy giving it another go.
Thankfully, I finished on a high with the short par-four, dogleg 18th, which swings in front of the clubhouse before an attractive green in the corner of the course.
But I was firmly in the shadow because, with 42 Stableford points, Mrs W had enjoyed one of the finest rounds of our travels.
This was pleasing because the course was in great shape, and the welcome was so kind and heartfelt that the day almost demanded good golf.
Afterwards, we mused on the club's history, enjoyed food from the Captain's Day barbecue, and thought about what a pleasure it must be to be a member of East Devon.
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