First Hole in One – Chapel Ridge #12 – 156 Yards

Well, I have been waiting for this day for a very long time. Since taking up the game of golf in March of 2010 I have played hundreds of rounds. In fact, I have probably played more rounds in five years than most play in a lifetime. In the course of my short golf career I have hit dozens of shots that rolled by the hole or were just short of the hole on par 3s. I hit the flag on Torrey Pines North Course #3 and have almost jarred a handful of short par 3s but nothing like today. I will set up the story by showing you a picture of Chapel Ridge Hole #12, a 156 yard par 3:

Screen Shot 2015-08-01 at 9.27.42 PM

From the outset of the day I was hitting my irons poorly. It was one of those days you just cannot get the center of the club face on the ball. I played a terrible front nine making the turn at 44. Without my putting and chipping that would have been closer to a 50. On the back nine I was hellbent on hitting some good irons. On the 10th hole I hit my best drive of the day and a great pitching wedge into the green.  My first well struck iron of the day. I two putted for par. On the 11th hole I laid up into a par 5 and hit a tremendous approach wedge to within 8 feet of the cup. I hit the putt in for birdie.

That brings us to the 12th hole. The par 3 shown above plays around 156 yard but I couldn’t tell what the wind was doing. I had been missing my irons all day so I decided to hit a 7 iron and hope that it was crisp. As soon as I hit it I thought it was going to go in the water. It was terribly struck and had to get going just to cover the water. It covered and hit the front edge of the fringe in front of the green. It bounced straight up in the air and started to roll towards the hole.

My friend Mike and I stood there and watched it slowly make its way towards the cup. When it was about three feet from the cup I yelled the obvious, “get in the hole!” We watched it roll all the way in the cup. We both were in shock. I honestly could not have hit a worse 7 iron and I was rewarded with a hole in one right after a birdie. I guess that is the opposite of a post birdie fuck up.

Here I am holding the ball after the shot.

Screen Shot 2015-08-01 at 9.27.52 PM

As you can see, I am a complete idiot to bring my putter to the green. It was also a hot and long day as my shirt is a little untucked. After my sprint around the tee box I think it is “ok” to have the golf shirt a little bit untucked.