Most amateur golfers start each round hoping to write down a plethora of pars on their respective scorecard.  A birdie is an excellent bonus, and an eagle makes for an even more spectacular round.  However, being able to say you carded a hole-in-one merely once in your lifetime is like a dream come true.

Experiencing an ace can come in all different shapes and sizes.  Seeing a professional golfer record an ace is enjoyable.  Standing behind one of your buddies watching their shot disappear for a single stroke on the scorecard is truly memorable.  Being the player that cards the ace – therefore responsible for all the ensuing mayhem – is something no golfer will ever forget.

The numbers are staggeringly stacked against the average golfer ever recording a solo singleton.  Most will hit a stellar shot at some point, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

In 1999, I experienced the good fortune of recording two aces in one summer.  I have not sniffed another hole-in-one nearly 26 years later.  However, those shots and experiences will live in infamy.

For those that have carded one or more aces, they know firsthand that these shots weren’t – and never will be taken for granted.  But those same players can also resonate with the idea of remembering every aspect of that miraculous swing – to a tee.  Where the hole was cut that morning, how the wind was blowing or what club you hit are merely a few of the laundry list of details that will be etched in my mind forever.  I can still vividly see both of those shots as if they were yesterday. 

I couldn’t tell you what I ate for breakfast yesterday or most of what was said while I watched the Vikings’ eighth false start of the game.  But both of those scenarios are trivial by comparison.

With as special as both of those holes were, nothing compares to watching someone from your group record an ace.  The pure elation and victorious satisfaction oozing from their pores is not easily replicated.  That “someone” for me is Owatonna’s own Jay Johnson.  I had the privilege of teeing it up with Johnson during the summer months back in 2007.  He and I had coordinated a round together at Owatonna Country Club on what started as any other round. 

Good conversation and camaraderie commenced prior to Hole No. 11.  After Johnson’s stroke of perfection disappeared into the hole that day, pure chaos ensued.  Johnson’s brush with excellence reverbed throughout the rest of OCC – as those who have partaken in a hole-in-one in some capacity can relate to.  That summer day in 2007 belonged to Johnson – and will always remain as a miraculous ace for eternity.

Regardless of one’s vantage point during an ace, it is an event that is difficult to erase from your memory bank. I had started bogey/ace on the tenth and eleventh hole at Rochester Country Club that day back in 1999.  I went on to birdie hole twelve before falling apart for the remainder of the round – but that is easily forgotten after rubbing elbows with what felt like immortality as a teenager.

Whether you have come up empty on the ace front to this point in your golfing career or not is irrelevant.   Regardless of being a scratch golfer or a 110’er, keep pursuing that elusive unicorn as the player or observer because both are rewarding and will not soon be forgotten.

Until next month, hit ‘em long and straight – and most of all have fun!