This week, we are kicking off the 2023 Hole-in-One Report. Each week we write to Golf Canada members who record a hole-in-one, congratulating them and asking if they’d tell us how it happened. These are their stories (edited for length and clarity).
Have you recently accomplished the feat of a hole-in-one? Tell us about it! Share your story, picture / video and course information with us at holeinone@golfcanada.ca.
Alan Robichaud, Burnt Store Marina & Country Club, Hole #14
Hello,
Just here to recap the hole-in-one I got. I came up to the tee box, held tight and swung away. Oddly enough it was a very straight shot over the water against the wind. Bounced just before the green rolled up and dropped right in on the right side of the cup. It was pretty surreal since four holes before it took me eleven strokes to bury it in! I’m not a good golfer by any means and it was something to see for sure. I was super excited. But also laughed because I used a 10 iron. Which I didn’t know they made. Back home it’s a pitching wedge, but this has a 10 written on it. We got a kick out of that for sure. I played with three of my close friends, Paul Desjardins, and father and son Mark and Ryan Boudens. It was about 120 yards. I was just glad I got it with my golfing friends. Made it that much more special!
This is the only photo I got on that day. We were here on a mini vacation, and it started off pretty amazing.
Ash Kayastha, Royal Colwood Golf Club, Hole #15
Thank you so much for sharing! My ace was on April, 1 (tough day to get one). I used an 8 iron. 140 yards uphill against the wind. I was playing with Carter Franks and another member of Colwood.
Brad Hotham, Ambassador Golf Club, Hole #14
Hello and thank you for the email. I was playing with Mike Kainz, Jeff Sanford, and Chris Gilbert. I used a 5 iron from 185 yards, and it bounced twice before going in.
Brandy Montgomery, Bridgewater Country Club, Hole #4
Hello Golf Canada!
This is amazing! Thank you for reaching out to me and wanting to find out the details about my hole-in-one last week Wednesday! It was an amazing feeling and witnessing it go in the hole in front of my eyes was the best feeling!
It was my first round back for the season as our club (Bridgewater Golf and CC) just opened that Monday prior. I was with my two friends, Ellen Fisher and Stephanie Noble, and they both witnessed it drop in the hole with me! We try weekly to get out for a round, just us girls and this one was the most memorable yet! I was the last of our group to tee off and I double checked the yardage with Ellen, and we clocked it at 123 yards from the red tees. I got out my 9 iron and hit the cleanest strike I had hit so far that round. I even yelled at the ball “get there” thinking it would hit the deadly front right bunker, but it caught the back slope of it instead and curved from right to left and dropped right in! It was a tough front pin with not much green to work with so it really was the most perfect shot I could have hit!
I was so nervous after walking up to the green I screamed in excitement when I saw the ball in the hole!
As the cofounder of Mishits Golf, I was wearing my favourite shirt under my long sleeve that day, but I sure didn’t Mishit that shot! 🙂
The best part about the whole thing was calling my husband (who got me into golf about eight years ago) to tell him! He was not the happiest as he has yet to get a hole-in-one himself – but he was so excited for my accomplishment!
My course gave me this flag to remember that day! It is now hanging proudly in my garage at home beside the golf simulator my husband built. Hopefully one day I can add more to the collection 🙂
Thank you again for reaching out to me!
Brandy Montgomery
Brenda Lund, Sunnydale Golf Society, Hole #10
That great day was spent with my husband, Paul Lund, who saw the hole-in-one. The yardage was 108 and I used my 5 iron. What a great day and moment.
Dave Heenan, Timber Ridge Golf Course, Hole #8
Hello,
Thanks for the email.
Yes, I had a hole-in-one on the 8th hole at Timber Ridge, a course located between Trenton and Brighton, Ontario. It’s one of my favourites in this region due to the rolling hills, elevation changes, and nice greens. The 8th hole is an elevated green, that plays 102 yards on the card, but was playing 110 yards on the rangefinder. I was playing with Robert Kimber and Graham Stratford, who I’ve played with for more than 30 years. Our home course is Loyalist G&CC in Bath, Ontario.
I hit a pitching wedge straight at the flag but did not see the result because of the elevation. Robert played the same club, straight as well. Graham hit a slight draw to the left, just off the green. When we arrived at the green, I only saw one ball (yellow) a few feet left of the hole which was Robert’s, not my white ball (Kirkland Signature #2, in case Costco wants to sponsor me on the tour). I thought I might be slightly long, so took a lob wedge and putter to the green. When Robert went to mark his ball, he saw mine in the hole.
I must admit I never thought to take a photo, because there was a group behind and I would have had to walk back to the cart to get my cellphone (pace of play, of course!). Graham made an up-and-down for par and a kick-in birdie for Robert meant we scored 1-2-3 on this hole!
Ironically, about 5 years ago both guys had a hole-in-one on the same hole at Amherstview golf course (the 3rd) about one year apart, so I was the last of this group to achieve an ace.
Regards,
Dave Heenan
Gail Fennell, Chesapeake Golf Club, Hole #3
My wife Gail Fennell, 61 years old from Stoney Creek, ON, got a hole-in-one at the Chesapeake Golf Club in Chesapeake, Virginia. We originally had a reservation at another course, but they were overbooked. We looked for another course in the area and booked a tee time for 12:00pm. It was the third hole and she hit it with a 9 iron. It sailed towards the hole, one bounce and about 25 feet of roll an in!
It was an awesome thing to watch, and we couldn’t be happier for her!
Geramy Powell, Paraiso Del Mar, Hole #14
So nice of Golf Canada to notice my little accomplishment. It was an exciting moment for all four of us. I couldn’t believe the ball went in but the rest all saw it hit the green and “go in the hole”. It was on hole #14, about 88 yards so I used my wedge. With a wind coming in off the water at about 30 kmh. I was with my good friends Bill Rafter, Leonard Johnson and his wife Diana Johnson. All this after crossing the paths of two rattlesnakes.
Helen Knowlton, Superstition Golf Course, Hole #3
I’m a social golfer but got three hole-in-ones in less than a year!
My first hole-in-one occurred on December 2, 2021, at Superstition Golf Course in Mesa, Arizona. Happened on hole #3 which measured 105 yards.
Then, on June 3, 2022, at Olds Golf Club in Olds, Alberta, I got a hole-in-one on hole #7 (110 yards).
My most recent hole-in-one happened on hole #16 at Foothills Golf Course in Phoenix, Arizona. 112 yards. November 27, 2022.
Jerry Parnell, Creston Golf Club, Hole #13
March 31st, 2023. It was a blustery day for the first day of the season. I went out with friends Noel and Larry to knock the rust out of my game. I was having a rather rough time until hole #13. A par 3, 138-yard shot. Noel, a much better golfer than me, tee’s up and struck a nice shot onto the green ending up with a seven-foot putt (and I’m sorry I can’t, for the life of me, remember if he sunk his birdie). I’m up next, so I take my trusty 8 iron, place the Callaway ChromeSoft ball onto my lucky orange tee and gave it a nice solid hit. Felt good…flew high and a little left of the flag…rolled toward the hole and looked like it might have settled just behind the pin. Larry pulled his shot a tad so off we set to assess the situation. My ball was nowhere in sight, so we looked in the cup. Sure enough, there the baby was nestled snug as a bug in the bottom of the hole. At this point, I’m in a state of disbelief. WOW. JUST WOW! Finished the round in a haze. Or rather, blaze of glory!
Here’s to the start of a great season! Cheers!
Jerry Parnell
Joanne Webster, Desert Falls Country Club, Hole #3
Wow, thank you for the congratulations, how awesome!
Played Desert Falls Golf and Country Club, Palm Desert, April 12, 2023.
3rd hole is a short 101-yard par 3 from the front tees, flag middle back. My nine
iron landed 15 feet to the right of the pin and slowly rolled left until we saw it gently nudge the pin and disappear! “Think I just got a hole-in-one”, but never sure (had not played there before so wasn’t familiar with the green), “maybe it disappeared over a ridge and rolled off to the back?”
Partner, Sue Rea, and I scurried up to the green. Sue’s ball (pretty shot) was 20 feet short of the pin (which she sank for a bird) and my ball was in the hole!!
The serendipitous part of it all was I witnessed Sue drop one, 134 meters on hole #16, County Sligo Golf Club, Ross’s Point, Ireland in 2013! The hole-in-one Sista’s!
Must mention Tom, the single we let through on hole #2. As he was passing by our tee box, he said “Thanks. I’d like to share something with you.” Tom had a hole-in-one on hole #3 the first time he played Desert Falls! “Wow, good on you” we said, and calling out as he drove away, “Send those hole-in-one vibes our way.” Seems like he did!
This was my second hole-in-one with my first being at Predators Ridge in Vernon. My husband said to our son Scott, as they were waiting for me to tee off, “Your mom is going to get a hole-in-one!”
4th hole – 133 yards, slightly downhill big green, pin middle right. 6 iron landed on the left side of the green and fed down to the hole, didn’t see it drop, but Ralph knew it was in, and it was!
Thanks for asking. Everyone’s hole-in-one story is a story and a lifelong memory! ⛳
Joanne Webster
John Cormier, Bear Creek Golf Club, Hole #14
Thank you for your response.
It was after some 55 years of playing, my first. I was playing with my wife, Shelley Keyser, and a couple from Dundas Valley Golf Club and good friends Bill and Brooke Hutchings.
The shot was 156 yards into the wind. I hit a 6 iron and the ball landed two inches behind hole and one hopped back and in! Coming off a birdie on the previous hole it felt great.
Cheers,
John Cormier
John White, Myrtlewood Golf Club, Hole #6
Thank you. The hole measured 156 yards with my range finder. It was downwind and I used an 8 iron. Playing partners were Kirk Steele, Garth Cousins and Jamie Stride. It was my third career hole-in-one, the last one in 1995.
John White
Kim Tran, Loomis Trail Golf Club, Hole #16
I was playing with three buddies’: Mark Vaughan, Scott Hurdle and Keith MacKinnon. The yardage was 190and I used a 4 rescue. It was a high shot that landed eight feet short of the hole and rolled right in.
Michael Fines, The Links at Penn Hills, Hole #6
I was golfing with my two daughters and my son-in-law. We are having a beautiful early spring and a few courses had opened so why not. I had just come up short from 100 yards out with my pitching wedge the previous hole into the wind, so for this tee shot on hole #8 I decided to club up just in case. I didn’t want to force a full swing, so I used my 9 from between 105-110. As soon as I struck it, I knew it was close and the water was not a factor. It landed about six feet short of the pin and went in on the second bounce. This was my second hole-in-one. The other one being on hole #6 at Furness Golf Club in 2001. That one I didn’t see as it was to an elevated green.
I had a stroke in 2014 and it has limited my time golfing dramatically, and until last year I never really thought I would be able to continue playing. Needless to say, I was a little excited for this one.
Thanks again for reaching out.
Respectfully,
Michael Fines
Michael Mayer, Champions Gate Golf Resort, Hole #5
Details:
– Group: Steve Bryksa, Rick Holden and Tom Smith
– Davenport, Florida
– Champions Gate (National Course)
– Hole #5
– 5 hybrid used
My first one. Just turned 70. Thought it would never happen.
Thanks,
Mike
Mike Gibson, Rolling Meadows, Hole #4
Hi,
I was very excited to receive your email. Took me completely by surprise.
Thank you so much for the graphic. It is now my screen saver, and I flash it to everyone.
I played with three buddies who are members of Rolling Meadows: Greg Waters, Ron Labatt and Don Yaki. I am a member of Niagara National Golf Course. We played the white tees, and it was 171 yards. I used a 5 hybrid.
Unfortunately, I left my phone in the car that day, so I plan on playing again soon, and will get myself a photo taking the ball out of the cup.
My son is getting a plaque made for me.
Thank you so much again for the email and the graphic keepsake!
Rhonda Thompson, Tobiano Golf Course, Hole #7
Hi,
Thank you for the acknowledgment and the graphic!
I was playing with my husband and two friends when I got the hole-in-one. The yardage was about 120 and I used my 4 hybrid. There was a 10-15 kmh wind and I was hitting into it. The hole has an 80 yard carry over a deep gully as well. It was a very chilly windy day and no joke; I had 6 layers on! I could barely swing my club.
I would be honoured if you used my story, I feel it proves that anyone in any circumstances can get a hole-in-one it just has to be “your time”.
Rob Charron, Victoria Golf Club, Hole #13
Thanks for the interest in my hole-in-one 😀. It was on hole #13 on April 6th at Victoria Golf Club. It was a very windy day, and the wind was directly behind us. The pin was set to the front and was playing 135 yards. I played a pitching wedge to the right side of the green, it landed soft, and curled down to the left, and the four of us were able to see it roll in. Another group a few holes down from us said they heard the cheers. That was my second hole-in-one.
Shannon Schrader, Heritage Bay, Hole #6
I’ve been golfing since I was five years old when I started with my grandpa and this is my first hole-in-one!
My playing partners were Murray Schrader (husband), Jim Costello and Paula Costello (friends). 129 yards. Used a 7 iron.
Steve Jung, Mayfair Lakes Golf Course, Hole #15
Thanks for the congratulations!
It was during a VGT event. 15th hole. 178 yards on a rainy windy tournament. It sat wedged on the hole for over two minutes as the flag was bent over from the wind and then dropped after the other competitor hit his shot!
My brother hit a hole-in-one eight days later at Quilchena!
Thanks.
Steve Jung