Hitting the ultimate golf shot

Ending the season in style

My wife, Jayne, and I were out at Way-Lyn Ranch Golf course, located between Kimberley and Cranbrook, B.C., for the last game of the season. All the other courses in the region had closed, but thanks to the kind folks of Wayne and Lynn, they stayed open for an extra week this fall.

We played along hole by hole, hitting some good shots and some questionable shots that really didn't go where they were intended. Nevertheless, we were having fun and taking in the scenery atop of the back nine with 360 degree views of the Rocky Mountains. We came to hole 15, par 4, at 279 yards. Throwing caution to the wind, the driver was the selected to take a chance of hitting the green. The swing was made, the ball was struck and the flight was high and straight. The ball landed short of the green, then trickled onto the green and just out of sight—as the green is slightly elevated. As we approached the green, I was unable to see my ball and quickly grabbed my wedge and putter and walked to the back of the green as I thought it must have rolled off the back. Jayne said she thought it was short and I said “No, I saw it roll up and on the green.” Not believing me, she walked over to the pin and looked inside the cup. Well, the rest is self explanatory and yes, it was my first hole-in-one on a par four.

It was more luck than skill on this one, but nonetheless, still a hole-in-one. I still have the ball and the score card.

What a treat

I was golfing with Allan Coulter and Jack Sandberg when I hit the hole in one! Todd, the pro-shop Manager, was a witness by the green. Along with a gift certificate, I had the priviledge of treating all my golfing buddies at the following scramble and dinner for the seniors.

An exciting shot

I was golfing with my wife Hazel and our friends Bob and Margaret. The green has two levels and the pin was on the top level. We watched the ball hit the lower green and travel up and disappear into the hole. How exciting!

The season's first

As an official kick off to the 2007 golfing season we were pleased to hear that avid golfer John McMillan scored a hole-in-one at Way-Lyn Ranch Golf Course near Cranbrook, B.C., on hole 14.

A hot shot

This the story of my long anticipated hole in one.

My name is Ron Boisvert, I am 54 years old and have been an avid golfer for 30 years. Over my 30 or more years of golfing I had always dreamed of getting an ace but after quite a few near misses I had finally accepted the fact that I, like most recreational golfers, would probably not ever get one. However my wife Sheila had won two passes to play the Medicine Hat Golf and Country Club.

On July 17, 2006, we were able to make arrangements to play in Medicine Hat, which is five hours away from were we live. We were up early as the summer weather can be very hot and we had started our round of golf with the temperature in the mid 30's already. We played the front nine with two very friendly ladies from the Club recommending landing spots to navigate the heavily treed course. When we reached the 10th hole both ladies and the group in front of us had to quit because of the heat. We continued on because, you know, it was a free round. All around the course staff were aerating tee boxes, mowing around greens and we went about enjoying our round. When we reached number 14 which is normally 150 yards from the whites par 3. But this day had the whites set back with the blue tees at 205 yards because of the aerating.

I proceeded to tee it up on the 205 marker. My drive took off straight and bore into the headwind bouncing twice before it disappeared into the rough in front of the green, I moaned, as the rough is lush and thick. Sheila said, "no she saw it rolling on the green and rolled off the back, or maybe into the cup." We proceeded to the front of the green and found no ball so I was resigned to the fact that I would be chipping back onto the green from the rough. As I walked by the hole I took a peak and there was my ball. At first I felt disbelief but soon I felt the realization that a dream had come through.

After a congratulation kiss from my playing partner we looked around to see if anybody had witnessed it—the hole-in-one that is—but the group before us had already walked out of range and all the workers we had dodged all day were nowhere to be found. I was a little sad that only the two of us had seen it but my wife assured me that she would never forget our round together.

When we finished our round we shared a toast in the club house and proceeded to our van which displayed 42 degrees celsius on our readout. "Are we nuts?" we both said out loud. No, after all it was a free round of golf with the best golf partner you could ask for.

First ace

We are members of the Prestonville Golf Society, a small society in the south of England.

A year ago, one of our members recorded a hole in one at the 3rd hole on the Valley course at Singing Hills Golf Course in Albourne, Sussex, England. The player was terry Morgan, who used a nine iron on the 136 yard par three hole. The ball flew straight from the tee, bounced once, and went directly into the hole. I was with three other players and we were waiting to tee off from the fourth when this happened.

An ace to remember

It finally happened! I am 57 years old and I was beginning to think that I would never experience the joy of the feat. I had always said that to our group for as many years that we have been playing and for as much as we play it seemed rather odd that none of us had an ace. Then it happened, it was at my home course, the Elmwood Golf and Country Club in Swift Current Saskatchewan. It was on the 165 yard, Par 3, Number 5. I used my 4 hybrid. My ball landed on the front of the green then rolled and out of sight! If it never happens again, so be it, but at least I will always have that memory.

Finally!

My name is Gabe Kovacs, and I am a six handicapper from Calgary, Alberta.

On July 21, 2006 at Country Hills Golf Club, The Ridge Course, the rare event presented itself to me. The 196 yard par 3 fifth hole was the scene with a light breeze left to right, I chose my taylor made RAC 5 iron for my weapon. Feeling very relaxed I made what felt like a perfect swing and the Titleist Pro V1 tracked left to right with a light fade. The greens were extremely fast, so the plan was to land it short and release to the hole, well it sure did! Twelve feet short of the pin it landed and gently rolled uphill and dropped into the hole! My playing partners and I made eye contact and all of our eyes were as big as saucers! "It's in baby" I shouted with a Tiger-like fist pump. My partners were as amazed as I for they had never seen one in person. What a great birthday gift for four days later—I celebrated both!

Finally after 20 years and many close calls, I can finally say I've had a hole-in-one!

An exciting shot

My name is JD VanWyck and I have a hole in one story for you.

We were at the Mighty Peace Golf Course, outside Peace River, Alberta, and as we approached the 11th hole, expecting a par…, I looked over to my buddy and raised my eyebrow in aww. I took a practice swing and as I looked over at the ball and got into position, I look at the pin then looked at the ball on the tee and swoooosh. It's off! "It's going, it's going" I said. Then a gust of wind caught it and took it to the right. As I put my head down and look away… TINK. I look down the way and saw it had hit something and it was heading back. It's in! When we went back to the hole, we saw it had hit a rock by the pond and actually went in. That was the most exciting hole of my life!

A nice shot

John R Barrett of Ocala, Florida hit a hole-in-one at Oak Run Country Club on hole number four—a par three—at 99 yards, using a pitching wedge and pinnacle one golf ball. His witness and playing partner was Frank Jarvis of Ocala, Florida.

A blind shot

My wife and daughter had gone out of town for the weekend and I thought that there was no better way to spend a gorgeous Florida afternoon than out on the golf course. I tried wrangling up a few buddies, but was unable to do so. Good thing, because the course was packed and I was squeezed in between a three and four person group of people.

After playing, then waiting, then playing, then waiting again, I was ready to quit golfing by the 6th hole—boy am I glad I didn’t. On hole number 16, I drove a gorgeous tee shot, straight as an arrow, but the problem was I couldn’t see a thing since I was looking into the sun. The group of three in front of me was on the green as I started to drive up the fairway looking for my ball. The group started waving at me—I couldn’t begin to imagine what they wanted. Once I got closer to the green, the one guy looks at me and said, “Did you just hit your tee shot?” I said yes, and he responded, “Well it’s in It bounced three times then rolled right in the hole.” I didn’t believe him. What an unbelievable experience. This was my first hole in one and it was a 300+ yard hole-in-one. My only regret is that I couldn’t see it. What a day!

A true Cowboys fan

I went to play golf at the Dallas Cowboys Golf Course in Grapevine, Texas—one of the nicest in the area, which I had been wanting to play at forever. I took my camera, since I wanted to get pictures of what I had heard from everyone was a beautiful course. The camera became extremely useful when on hole #15, a 102 yard par 3, I got my first ever hole-in-one.

A Tiger Woods moment

My buddy Ken Armstrong got his first hole in one January 25, 2006, at High Cedars Golf Club in Orting Washington. He was on the 13th, 130 yards, par 3 using a 9 iron. He was playing with many guys from our usual group. He said while telling me about it, "It was a Tiger Woods moment… the ball sat on the edge and then fell in!" Congratulations Kenny! —Dan Priem

A shot in the dark

I had a hole in one on October 10, 2005 at Chardon Lakes Golf Course on the 14th hole, a 205 yard shot (on the scorecard, I was playing about 190 that day).

All summer I would play with a friend of mine almost every night. We would play for 50 cents per hole. That night we started around 5:00 pm after 9 holes we were tied so we played 10 . . . a par 4 both pared, 11 a par 3 again both pared and now it's about 6:30 and the sun is setting and the next hole is a par 5. Gary says he doesn’t think there will be enough light to finish that hole so he says, "Lets play 14, either someone wins or that’s it for tonight." (he had the honours) He pulls his tee shot in the bunker…

I was just trying to hit something to the front of the green because the green slopes away from him in the bunker.

So I hit it right at the flag and as the ball came down we lost it in the background of the trees (there was almost no light). I thought it might of went over but Gary said he thought it went in and sure enough he was right.

Oh what a feeling!

What a great weekend/fathers day gift. I was with two of my buddies at Lake View Golf Club in Meridian, Idaho. I shot my first Hole in One from 160 yards using a Titleist 7 iron. What a great feeling!

A perfect shot caps off a less than perfect day

Two summers ago, I watched a buddy of mine (Steve Sawchuk) hit his first and only (so far)hole-in-one. It was on the Yellowknife Golf Club at the 150 yard 14th hole. He hit a six iron (and now never uses any other club on that hole)and it was a solid hit towards the green. The ball hit the front fringe and bounced right, away from the hole, a second bounce sent it back towards the hole. The ball rolled onto the green, took the break and went in. We both got exicted and I figured that would be the closest I would be to a hole-on-one.

However, last fall, September 12th, 2004, while on our annual Edmonton golf trip (36 holes a day), I aced the 136 yard 11th hole at the Goose Hummock Golf Resort using a eight iron. Steve Sawchuk, Mark Wouters and I watched as the ball flew directly at the pin, landed about six feet behind the hole, bounced once, spun back and rolled into the hole. Although a shot like this is a beautiful thing to watch, it was an unbelievable "head-dropping" event for me. For you see, I was having a rather poor game and already resigned myself to buying the beer at the end of the round. In fact, my thoughts were rather dark towards the sport as a whole. It seemed kind of ironic that I would shoot the perfect shot on a less than perfect day, enforcing the notion that a hole-in-one is about the luckiest outcome in the world of sports.

On the brighter side, the club did provide a certificate (which hasn't arrived yet), a bottle of bubblies, and there were only a few people in the club house to buy drinks for. Actually, it was only group behind us and the amount times they picked up and returned my PW, I owed them anyways.

Hole-in-one on hole number one!

Is there any better way to start out the season than with an ace on the very first hole! That’s exactly what happened to Paul Crane of Cranbrook, B.C. His ball landed on the green just left of the flag on the 137 yard first hole and rolled the few feet to land in the centre of the cup. "My playing partner, Len Hyde, just about went home right then and there," said Crane with a chuckle. "I'm not sure how I will top my very first shot of 2005, but I will have fun trying."

Second hole in one

Marc L. Riffle aced the 168 yd hole number 7 with a 5 iron at the Dead Horse Lakes Golf Club, in Knoxville Tennessee on Feb. 26, 2005. This was his second hole in one.  "Thank you and great golfing to all.", Marc L. Riffle.

Crying Wolf

A dozen of my friends get together every year to play golf for a couple of days. This year was in Invermere and our first course was Eagle Ranch on May 28, 2004. My group was playing the game "Wolf" and I was first off the tee on the 162-yard hole 5. The wind was blowing hard from right to left so I decided to take a 9 iron over the right sand trap as the pin was on the left side. The shot looked good from the start as the wind slowly took my ball towards the hole. As it disappeared after landing on the green, my friends were already halfway down the fairway. When I picked up my ball from in the hole, my only reaction because we were playing Wolf was "I guess I'll go alone". This was definitely one of those times when it felt great to have to buy your buddies a round of drinks!

An ace at 74

Finally, my first hole-in-one, at age 74! It was on Aug. 21/04, on No. 2 at Kokanee Springs with a 6 iron, 157 yards, not bounced off a tree or cart path, PURE! After more than 20 years played on our home course.

A short hole-in-one

While visiting my parents over the Canada Day long weekend in Blind Bay, B.C., my Dad and I played a few rounds of golf at the local par-3 course. My Dad had been telling me how he got his first ever hole-in-one earlier in the year. I was playing terribly as usual, but as my Dad teed off from hole #2 we both watched in amazement as the ball bounced twice and rolled straight into the cup. The hole is only 65 yards, but a hole-in-one is still a hole-in-one. — Jeff Cooper

A tour to remember

I shot a hole in one at Windermere Valley Golf Course on May 16, 2004. I used a 9 -wood on the 8th hole (119 yards). We were travelling through this area and the Kootenays on a golf/fishing tour. My home club is Shuswap Lake Estates Golf Course in Blind Bay B.C.

A great start to the season

I'd like to acknowledge my hubby’s 2004 Hole-In-One on February 17 on the 6th hole (127 yards) at Viewpoint Golf in Mesa where he used his 9 iron to ace the hole.

Barb R. Kadatz, for her husband Doug Bienert, Edmonton, Alberta

Nice shot!

After 22 years of playing golf my husband, Dan Priem, got his first ace on September 25, 2003. It was 172 yards, with a six iron on the 11th hole at High Cedars Golf Course in Orting, WA.

Sharon Priem, for her husband Dan Priem

Clean as a whistle

I have been golfing for six years and this was my first hole in one. It happened on June 11, 2003 at the Whistle Stop Golf Course just outside of Camrose, Alberta. It was on hole #3, 130 yards, over water and on temporary greens. WOW! When I hit the ball, I didn't see where it went, but I heard it hit the flag. The people in front of me were watching and they “helped me to find my ball.”

Hole-in-one (undeserved)

I started golfing around 10 years ago. I learned the game at Surrey Golf Course on the ‘North Nine’. Back in those days I was a true hacker in every sense of the word and considered a double-bogey a good score. I stepped up to a par 3, 170, yards that ran along the side of Fraser Highway (where drivers honk their horns in the middle of your backswing). I hit a good shot to the front of the green it took a big bounce and disappeared in the hole, to my buddies’ astonishment.

I’ve always been proud of that shot and every time I drove down Fraser Highway I'd look across and think back to it. But some bright spark decided to renovate the course and now the hole no longer exists! In the past years my game has improved considerably—however I've never come close to another hole in one and probably never will.

My first ace!

I'm 39 yrs old with a registered 13 handicap from the blue tees.

It was Thursday July 3rd 2003. I went out golfing with my brother Tim as we usually do every Thursday to Coaldale Land o Lakes golf course just 10KM outside of our home here in Lethbridge Alberta. The weather was beautiful with a slight breeze blowing from the west. We started at 8:00am on a shotgun start on hole number 6 and were joined by a friend (Ken) of my brothers which made us a threesome. By the time we got around to Hole number 3 which is a par 3 140 yds from the blue tee box I was having a pretty good round. This hole plays west back into a breeze and the green runs back to front with a fair grade. I thought I would just hit a 7 iron and get it on the green play it safe take par and carry on. I teed it up, nice easy backswing, and hit my shot. I hit it straight at the pin and it was looking real good right on line. I saw it hit the green right by the cup and the ball disappeared. Well I yelled and did the old fist pumping action cause I new it went into the cup. I then high fived my playing partners and it was off to the next hole. I had a grin as big as a bunker for the next few holes. It was a memorable day that I will never forget. Finished with a 78.

The cliffhanger

Our trip last fall was just a golfer's dream,” said Sandra Honl, from Wisconsin. “ The scenery was awesome and we sure enjoyed the unique challenges of the mountain courses. I will always remember the par three #6 at Greywolf, the Cliffhanger. What a hole!! Of course, my hole-in-one on #15 was one of the highlights of our trip. I can't wait until we are able to return for some more fabulous golfing.”

My first hole-in-one

“It was on the sixth hole and it was my first hole-in-one,” said Michelle Schaufert from Calgary, referring to the Greywolf course. “I generally always send it down into the canyon, but this time I hit the green, it rolled about 20 feet and plunked into the hole. It was pretty neat. My husband told me that after that, it was really important not to finish out the rest of the course with eights or nines—which I didn’t.”

High fives

“Hole number five is sure a pretty one,” commented Mary Thompson from Invermere, referring to the Riverside at Fairmont Golf Course. “I was sure surprised. I didn’t know it went in until I got there . This was my fifth one. My daughter has six—we do a lot of golfing.”

Out of the blue

Last September 2 I got a hole-in-one on the number one tee at The Ridge. As I have only been playing for two years this came as such a shock to me I had to go and ask the manager what the procedure was to register the event. Then I had my picture taken with my wife and golf ball used, which I have managed to misplace (the ball, not my wife). Both the long and short courses at Cordova Bay are a delight to play and even if you have a bad game the view of Mount Baker and the Straight more than make up for any bad shots.