It was the most beautiful spring day in Decatur, IL on 05-07-2022. The weather had been nothing but rain, clouds, and wind the last several days. Therefore, the course was under strict "walking only" access. I'm not much for walking 9 holes, much less a full 18. My plan was to take advantage of the nice weather and simply spend some time on the range, chipping area, and putting green. To my disappointment upon arriving at the course, I was informed that the range and chipping areas were both closed for the day. At this point I'd come too far not to do SOMETHING, so I grabbed just a putter and a couple of balls and planned to just putt around and enjoy the peace and quiet on the course. On the putting green, I bumped into a friend of mine who immediately asked if I wanted to join him and his brother for a round of 18. After expressing my hesitation around walking, I reluctantly said, "why not" and loaded up my clubs to head out for a round.....it was just too beautiful of a day to let anything get in the way of playing golf. Fast forward to hole number 12, a 129 yard par 3 that flys over a valley with a creek running across the very bottom. My friend and his brother tee'd off ahead of me........both of their shots falling well short. I looked at the 9 iron in my hand and then double checked with my playing partners saying, "129? you sure?" Trusting my instinct, I kept my 9 iron in hand, set up to the ball in anticipation of a slight right-to-left ball flight........a baby fade for me as I'm a lefty......plus a slight right to left wind that was going to support the ball flight. If you're reading this story, you already know the end to the story......it's struck well, follows the ball flight I'd pictured, lands to the right of the pin and starts to make it's way left towards the pin. As is typical, we're all expressing what we know is realistically not going to happen..."Oh that's got a chance" "Please Go In" "That's Money" ..............................then we couldn't see the ball anymore........ The other two guys lost their minds, jumping and shouting, meanwhile I was NOT convinced yet. I wasn't going to be the guy that celebrated a hole in one only to find out it was an optical illusion. Eventually, I embraced the emotions towards something that I NEVER EVER imagined would be something I'd get to experience in my lifetime. A Hole In One. Once on the green, I see that my ball had actually landed about 3 ft past the pin and had made it's way back towards the hole.....another unexpected surprise that I'm not commonly expecting out of my game. The whole scenario was just perfect. The shot felt good, the ball flew the way I was actually trying, it spun back like a "good golfer" is capable of doing (not me lol), and most importantly it was WITNESSED by other people!! I was always terrified that if I was to ever get lucky enough to hit a hole in one, I'd do it alone with no one watching and thus no one to celebrate with and/or vouch for my story! Everything about it was better than I'd ever imagined. It's so special to me that I will forever be able to answer "YES" to the question that gets asked amongst golfers all over the world...."Have you ever hit a hole in one?"

I'll Never Forget May 7th, 2022. Hole #12 at Country Club of Decatur in Decatur, IL. Titleist ProV1 #4 ball on the tee. A (1) written on the scorecard!