In February, 8 friends went down to Bradenton, FL for our first real golf trip. After several sessions of debating how to pair people, teams, and formats, we came to the conclusion of a modified Ryder Cup point style continued match throughout the entire weekend. To keep things for for everyone throughout the weekend, we decided for Fri/Sat rounds to be a two-man scramble where each players shot had to be used each hole. The Sun round was a scramble among the full team of 4. Each 9 holes would be worth 1 point to add another layer of competitiveness. After a close Friday round, my group was down 2 1/2 to 1 1/2 and needed to come back to get in position to win on Sunday. As we approach the 8th hole, a par 3, our pair was down 1 hole, so we had to make something happen to get at least a 1/2 point for the front 9. The opposing team has the honors and puts a ball about 8 feet right of the hole. After seeing this, and knowing we had to push at worst to get a 1/2 point, it was time to go pin seeking. There was a little wind behind us blowing to the island green, where the front flag was protected by sand traps. I pull out a sand wedge, knowing it'll go high enough to be picked up by the wind and get the extra push it needs to make it to the green. This wasn't one of those shots that looks right at the flag you're watching to go in from the moment it leaves the club. We all knew it was a good shot, figuring it'd land inside the opponents leaving a short birdie putt. The ball lands about 4 feet right of the flag and instead of spinning straight back as usual, starts to spin a bit left to the hole. It rolls, keeps rolling, and then disappears! I was stunned, shocked, at a loss for words. I turn around and see my 3 friends with the same feeling and instantaneously we all start jumping up and down and screaming in excitement! Our friends on the hole behind us ran over after hearing screams to see what was happening. Families in houses lining the course came out to congratulate and asked when I'd be at the bar to buy them drinks. It was my first hole-in-one and we won the front 9.