ACEs & EAGLEs as of 23-08-21

 

An Undocumented Ace

If you make a hole-in-one, but have no witnesses, does it count?

The short answer is “no”, according to the USGA.

The longer answer is “yes”, if you keep it to yourself . . . 

Scorecard from Harbor Lights GC, 23-08-21

Hole         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Par         4 4 4 5 3 3 4 4 5

Score 3 5 4 6 1 4 6 4 5

#5 is 127 yards, with a smallish green protected by bunkers 

both left and right. 

In between the right bunkers and the green  

that curls around the bunker

which is where the sucker pin was this day.

I’ve made more 5s on this short hole than 3s,

mainly due to the trough 

between those bunkers on the right 

and the green,

like an additional hazard,

a grass bunker, itself, almost, since it is so deep,

that catches any almost-errant shot 

and buries the ball in deep rough, or

throws it into a bunker.

So I hoped just to plonk the ball

into the center of the green 

and two-putt. 

I hit what I would call a half-8 iron

because either I’ve lost a club-length

due to my age, or else the ball just doesn’t carry

as far at sea-level.

The trajectory was medium,

with a fade that made me pessimistic

about being in the rough trough, again,

but the ball bounced straightish,

a little rightish, off the frog hair

toward the pin, 

but I didn’t see it go in –

I thought it had run off the back of the green,

to where I was trudging,

with only a perfunctory look into the hole,

but there it was.

I looked around,

but on Monday early afternoon,

the course was almost deserted.

So, that’s my 3rd hole-in-one,

depending on how you count