We’ve all heard of “raining cats and dogs,” but raining pine trees? That’s exactly what happened at the second round of the 2023 Masters Tournament! On April 7, play was suspended (for the second time) after two gigantic pine trees toppled near the 17th hole at Augusta National Golf Club.

The hair-raising incident was captured live on ESPN during their tournament coverage, and if there’s ever a time for a collective gasp, this was it. Imagine chilling on your comfy chair, waiting for your favorite golfers to come to the tee, when suddenly pinecones start pelting you! Patrons were probably more confused than anything when it happened, but confusion turned into fear once they heard the unmistakable cracking sound.

Deshey Thomas, a spectator from Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, described the pandemonium that followed. “The tree basically crushed 10 chairs that were sitting there,” Thomas said. “Luckily we got everyone out of there. We were blessed.” Talk about an adrenaline rush, right?

Another patron, Megan Hill of Manhattan, New York, was also shocked by the close call. She said she stood up and screamed, wondering if the tree would fall on her. “If the wind had been blowing a slightly different direction, we might have got hit,” Hill admitted. Thankfully, no one was hurt, as confirmed by ESPN’s on-site host Scott Van Pelt and the Augusta Chronicle.

A team of burly grounds crew members, armed with chainsaws, swooped in to clear the fallen trees, presumably while sporting awesome aviator sunglasses (we can dream, can’t we?). Shortly after, the tournament officials decided that thunderstorms, heavy winds, and lightning were reason enough to put a pause on play. Hard to argue with that when pine trees are doing their best timber impersonation on the golf course! So next time you’re having a “breezy” day, be thankful there aren’t any pine trees lurking around the corner to give you the fright of your life.