We all dream about it, that shot which can come in a plethora of ways. The shot--an Ace or a Hole in One--is a crowning achievement for any golfer, and something I had wondered if I would ever achieve. My special moment occurred on the 13th hole of the Legacy Golf Club by Arthur Hills during the first Midwest Regional.
As I sat on the tee, throwing up some blades of grass to get a feel for the wind, I used my Bushnell rangefinder to laser the hole in at 208 yards. I noticed form the blades of grass that it was a little down wind moving slightly left to right at about 5 to 10 mph. The pin was located in the middle left of the green with very little room to the left. I decided to take a 7 iron and play a little cut. The ball started just left of the green and was cutting back dead in line with the pin; I then knew this could be the one. We watched it land about 15 feet short and roll up, up and in.
At this moment I did not know what to think. I could hardly believe my eyes as I had come so close on multiple occasions before. The walk up to the hole was riveting and I could feel my heart beating at an extraordinarily fast rate. As I approached the hole I began to look down finding a Titliest 6 Pro V1 with the number purpled out. I was in shock as the shot finally started to sink in.
I began to wonder what the odds of such a shot were, and what were some of the famous hole in ones from years past. I came across a study in Golf Digest that broke down the odds of such shot to be:
- Tour player making an ace: 3,000 to 1
- Low-handicapper making an ace: 5,000 to 1
- Average player making an ace: 12,000 to 1
Some other highlights from Scheid's calculations:
- Average player acing a 200-yard hole: 150,000 to 1
- Two players from the same foursome acing the same hole: 17 million to 1
- One player making two holes-in-one in the same round: 67 million to 1
Ranking among the Top Hole in one’s of all time is Tiger Woods’ in the 1997 Phoenix Open on Hole #16 at the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale.
A hole in one is a capstone in any golfers career and one you will remember for a lifetime. I am pleased to knock this accomplishment off of the bucket list and am anxious to now get another one.
Care to read about more great golf shots?