This past fall, after roughly 800 rounds of golf, I witnessed my first hole-in-one. The non-stop flight to the hole touched down on the green a good 10 feet ahead of the target, before beginning a slow, yet steady and methodical, march toward the flag.

Dan Poppers who’d struck the pin-seeking missile had previously bemoaned the ladies seven-iron that had somehow wormed its way into his rental set at Bear Trace at Cumberland Mountain, a beauty of a Nicklaus course an hour west of Knoxville, Tennessee. After finally putting it to good use on the 14th-hole, Poppers was thanking his lucky stars for the club mishap. Still, he miscalculated the extent of his good fortune and missed the magical moment when his ball gently slipped into the jar.

He had figured his rainbow toward the flag was fixing to end up a foot or so short. So Poppers actually had his head down trying to retrieve his tee when it dropped in and he heard us hoot and holler. After Rick, Eric, and myself patted him on the back, Poppers clambered back into his cart and jotted a perfunctory one on his scorecard. He played it off all nonchalant, but this was the first ace this 69-year-old diehard golfer had recorded and nobody was buying the cool as a cucumber act.

When we got back to the clubhouse he was presented with a Bear Trace flag that we all signed and scrawled short messages on with a sharpie to mark the occasion. I wrote: “Poppin’ like it’s hot.” It was then that the enormity of the milestone finally sunk in. When he couldn’t contain his bottled up gusto any longer, he started dialing up his kids and gleefully spilled all the gory details surrounding his glorious one-and-done golf shot.

Just a couple weeks earlier on Sunday morning at The Barclays, Brian Harman airmailed his tee shot on No. 3 priority express into the four and a quarter inch cup 183 yards away. Eleven holes later he gave the gallery at Plainfield Country Club something to really remember by dealing golf’s greatest tee-to-cup parlor trick one more time, carding a 218-yard ace.

Cousin to blue-footed booby bird sightings in the northern hemisphere and buzzer beating full-court swishes in basketball, the one-and-done golf shot is our pastime’s sash-winning spectacle, and a player potting two in one round is almost unthinkable. This was only the third time in PGA Tour history that the mind-blowing deed had been done.

While the tradition calls for a round of drinks at the clubhouse, there’s not much precedent for pulling a twofer so Harman splurged, treating the assembled media to three hundred beers and a bottle of Crown. He cracked wise about it the next day on the Dan Patrick Show: “I wouldn’t wish my bar tab on my worst enemy.”

The odds of pulling a Harman and potting a pair of hole-in-ones in a single round are astronomical. Golf Digest once ball-parked the slim to none occurrence at 67 million to one.

“IN THE HOLE!!!”

To understand the strange confluence of rhyme, reason, and random acts of green rolling kindness that must conspire together to create an elusive ace, I sought the counsel of a business whose viability is dependent upon translating golf luckiness into actuarial tables.

EPA Ultimate Concepts is a Calgary based prize indemnity specialist that insures thousands of hole-in-one contests every year, running the gambit from $2,500 sink-it-and-win-it challenges on up to million dollar shot life-changers.

“We calculate the odds of an average golfer getting a hole in one in a tournament [on a 150-yard hole for men] at 1 in 15,000,” explains Alan Vinet, EPA’s General Manager.

Now in league play, where players play the same course over and over again, the odds improve to around 1 in 10,000.

LUCKY STARS

In the end, it boils down to being really lucky, and that factor often trumps skillset. “I investigate all the hole-in-ones that happen—I not only sell the insurance but I do the claims investigations. You ask what the handicap of the golfer is and it’s all over the board, ” relates Vinet.

Dealing with as many aces as Vinet does, it takes a lot to surprise him. He’s had ones hit a tree and bounce in, or skip across a pond then carom off a rock and rebound onto the green and snake in. Still his mind has been blown on occasion. One particular $100,000 winner floored him. “It was a shotgun start and this guy had rushed into the tournament and barely had time to tie his shoes.”

Winds were gusting to 60 km an hour and the hole ran along a fence that was out of bounds. He hit four-wood, not exactly a common club, and it was heading out of bounds but the mighty winds blessed his shot blowing it back into play. “It rolled something like thirty yards across the green and hit the pin,” exclaims Vinet.

With just under two decades of insuring golf aces under their belt, EPA Ultimate Concepts possesses unique knowledge of rare outlier courses where chances to make a hole-in-one are the best. Despite my incessant pleading, Vinet would not spill the beans.

“There’s one in the East, and one in the West,” he offered coyly.

BUCKING THE ODDS

“The only thing that I know that [rings true] for people to have more hole-in-ones than normal is that they hook the ball,” explains Stephen Johnston, the founding partner of Global Golf Advisors, a consultancy firm laser focused on public courses, private clubs, real estate and resorts. It was formerly KPMG’s golf practice.

Johnston isn’t just guessing, he’s speaking from experience. Aside from being one of the leading authorities on operational analysis and financial solutions in the golf biz he’s also Canada’s Ace King with a jaw dropping 51 attested hole-in-ones to his name.

Johnston got his ace train chugging when he was 12-years-old, just getting his bearings on the game and shooting in the high 90s. The scene was the 12th hole at Whitevale Golf Club, which plays 145-yards from the white tees and you need to clear Duffin’s Creek and a bunker in front to get on the green. Clutching a 4-iron and playing with his father, who had brought two of his friends along, the moment remains crystal clear in his personal highlight reel.

“To me the ball just went in the hole, I had never played a lot of golf and didn’t really understand the significance. My dad and his friends were more excited than I was.”

When it comes to secrets of his ace prowess, Johnston chocks it up to the aforementioned playing a hook and teeing it up really low, barely off the ground on par 3s. While taking dead aim is important, he likes to factor in roll before picking his target.

“When I was younger I would just aim at the flag,” Johnston explain.

“As I got older, because my shots would always land and roll, I would like to figure out if I needed to be right or left of the pin.”

See, nothing to it.

VILLAGE OF PINEHURST, N.C. – The famed Pinehurst Resort and Country Club is extending a special offer to Canadian residents this spring – the Canadian March Escape golf or spa package.

The specially prices packages will be available March 6-31, 2016 and regularly retails for $399 per person, double occupancy, per night. But, Canadian residents will receive 25 percent off the regular price.

The package includes:

• Choice of one round of golf (a surcharge applies to No. 2) or two 50-minute spa treatments per night of stay (save 35 percent when booking additional treatments)
• Resort accommodations at either The Carolina, The Holly Inn or The Manor
• Breakfast buffet and dinner each night
• Cart fee, club storage, and unlimited access to practice areas

Children 12-and-under stay and eat free with a paying adult, and children 17-and-under play golf for free with a paying adult.

With Pinehurst’s collection of nine courses, designed by some of the game’s best-known architects, golfers can enjoy a unique and varied experience. Both Pinehurst No. 4 and No. 8 have been selected by the United States Golf Association as companion courses for upcoming championship events, and for a $195 surcharge, golfers can include a round on famed Pinehurst No. 2, site of more single golf championships than any course in America and host to the historic back-to-back U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open in 2014.

Awarded Four Stars by Forbes Travel Guide, The Spa at Pinehurst is a 31,000-square-foot sanctuary that features 28 private treatment rooms and an array of treatments designed to use the healing power of nature to renew, rejuvenate and refresh. The Canadian March Escape Spa package includes a select list of spa treatments, including the essential Pinehurst Massage and the Sweet Tea Sugar Scrub.

For more information about Pinehurst or to make a reservation, visit pinehurst.com or call 855-235-8507. All pricing is in U.S. dollars.

Before each round Dustin Johnson plays on the PGA TOUR, he goes through an extensive warm-up routine. Enjoy this all-access look at how he prepares for competition.

Fairhaven, MA – FootJoy has announced its plan to expand into women’s performance apparel with the launch of FJ Golfleisure.  With the rapid growth of its men’s apparel line after entering the market just 4 years ago, FJ expands into the women’s market with a golf focused line inspired by the women’s athleisure lifestyle movement.

“The rise of athleisure women’s apparel driven by lifestyle changes inspired by fitness and wellness, has led us to develop this exciting range.  As an authentic golf brand focused on performance golf wearables, we feel there is an opportunity in the market for a golf interpretation of the athleisure lifestyle movement,” said Whitney Trimble, Director of Marketing-FJ Apparel.  “We also believe this is not a trend but rather a lifestyle shift in women’s apparel that needs to be addressed by a brand whose sole focus and passion is golf.”

FJ Golfleisure features an array of multifunctional silhouettes in comfortable performance fabrics for the active golfer while allowing these styles to also be worn for every day routine.  The range includes body mapped base layers, performance mid-layers, full zip hoodies, skorts, leggings, space dye layering styles along with performance shirts and outerwear.  All items are specifically designed for golf while being tailored for the player’s athleisure lifestyle.

Introduction of the FJ Golfleisure line will take place at the upcoming PGA Show in Orlando and include significant marketing support such as a lookbook catalog.

The Canadian line will be available in Canadian golf shops beginning Spring, 2017.

FAIRHAVEN, Mass. – Pinnacle Golf introduced a pair of new golf balls on Tuesday, with the Rush and Soft models.

The Rush design is a distance ball, while the Soft is to live up to its name, offering great feel at a modest price.

Here’s a little more about the two new products.

PINNACLE RUSH is designed with proprietary high-energy core technology that produces fast ball speed for extraordinary distance on all full swing shots. Rush utilizes an advanced icosahedral dimple design with 332 dimples to deliver a consistent, powerful ball flight, while its soft, durable ionomer cover provides great feel.

“Pinnacle Rush is designed to max out a golfer’s distance potential. It’s a distance-focused construction with a low compression core and a firm cover. That combination gives you high initial velocity off the clubface with very low spin, which is the perfect recipe for hitting it long. And because Rush has a lower overall compression than most other distance balls, it provides a very playable feel,” said Scott Cooper, Titleist R&D’s Product Development Manager. “We design, engineer and manufacture every Pinnacle golf ball ourselves. That’s a huge advantage which allows us to deliver the distance and performance these golfers want along with exceptional consistency.”

Pinnacle Rush is available in both White and Optic Yellow.

PINNACLE SOFT is engineered with a high-energy, extremely low compression core –Pinnacle’s lowest compression core ever – that delivers extremely soft feel along with low spin for long distance. The proprietary core formulation combines with an incredibly soft ionomer cover to produce the softest-feeling Pinnacle ever made. Soft’s advanced icosahedral dimple design with 332 dimples ensures an ideal, consistent flight.

“Pinnacle Soft is designed for the golfer that wants soft feel on every single shot. It’s the softest core we’ve ever manufactured, combined with one of our softest cover blends. The ball just feels fantastic no matter which club is in your hands,” Cooper said. “Yet this is still a Pinnacle golf ball, and when golfers tee up a Pinnacle they expect long distance. We’ve made sure that this new construction, from the core to the cover to the aerodynamics package, still delivers on that expectation.”

Pinnacle Soft is available in three color options: White (with black play number); White (with pink play number); and Pink (with black play number).

New Pinnacle Rush and Soft are available in golf shops beginning January 2016.

Rock Ishii, Nike Golf’s Senior Director of Innovation for Golf Balls, and his team of engineers are constantly looking into the future to find ways to change the ball so that it performs better.

Since launching its first ball in 1999, Nike Golf has found ways to break the traditional molds and discover new construction methods and materials to give the athlete the best possible tool to succeed at the highest level. These include scientific investigations — in physics and aerodynamics — and material explorations for each layer in the ball. The result is an unwavering pursuit of improvements in distance, feel and spin.

• 2000, Nike Tour Accuracy: Nike created one of the first solid core golf balls which helped Tiger Woods win more than 20 tournaments, including four consecutive major championships.
• 2003, Nike One: One of the industry’s first 4-piece constructed golf balls.
• 2011, Nike 20XI: The first RZN core was introduced, going against conventional methods by using a new lighter and faster core allowing weight to be moved to the perimeter for better stability.
• 2014, Nike RZN: This ball took RZN material to a new level with Speedlock technology.

Nike Golf’s latest advancement is the RZN Tour ball, engineered to feel soft without sacrificing distance.

“We still have so many opportunities to innovate the golf ball,” said Ishii. “This is innovation. This is where we are now. And we are heading toward our future.”

RZN Tour

Featuring a 4-piece urethane cover design, the RZN Tour ball utilizes four key components: RZN 4.0, Speedlock X Core, Speedlock Mantle and Flight Suit Cover. These combined technologies help propel the RZN Tour/Black and RZN Tour/Platinum balls to added yardage and a softer feel versus the previous RZN Black and RZN Platinum.

“The ball feels much softer, yet I’ve maintained my ball speed and even picked up a few yards overall,” said Nike Golf athlete Rory McIlroy. “It’s easily the best combination of distance and feel I’ve ever played.”

Made with the newest iteration of RZN material, RZN 4.0, the blue center core is not only softer but also 10 percent bigger than the previous generation. This gives the ball what amounts to a bigger engine, thus unlocking faster ball speeds.

The core utilizes Speedlock X technology. The core of the RZN Tour ball features deeper grooves and a X-shaped surface pattern which creates 26 percent more surface area than the former generation to allow better energy transfer through the ball and ultimately provides more distance and faster ball speeds. Surrounding the core, the Speedlock Mantle and its Speedlock grooves help engage the cover of the golf ball for greater spin on shorter shots with high-lofted clubs.

The ball’s Flight Suit cover features visible technology: 344 dimples and 13,558 micro dimples. To achieve longer ball flight, engineers utilized advanced aerodynamics by adding the micro dimples, strategically spread across the cover of the ball, which help facilitate improved lift and drag properties especially at the end of the ball flight.

The RZN Tour ball will be available in two versions: Black for lower-spin distance and Platinum for mid-spin control.

RZN Speed

In addition to the RZN Tour, Nike Golf engineers also created the RZN Speed golf balls, two new 3-piece constructed balls designed for ultimate forgiveness and softer feel.

The same Speedlock X Core technology from the RZN Tour ball helps maximize energy transfer for faster ball speed and ultimate forgiveness in the RZN Speed balls.

A softer RZN formulation provides a softer feel without sacrificing distance.

The RZN Speed ball will be available in two versions: Red for longer carry and White for softer feel.

Both the RZN Tour and RZN Speed golf balls will be available on January 29 at select retailers.

PGA of Canada Master Professional Henry Brunton took to the Golf Channel studios to share some tips that will help you to improve your game. Check  them out…

As the year winds down, we look back at the most-viewed news stories on golfcanada.ca in 2015.

No. 10 – Team Canada’s band of brothers embark on next stage of golf careers

No. 9 – Don’t forget to post your scores

No. 8 – Brooke Henderson defends her PGA Women’s Championship of Canada title

No. 7 – PGA TOUR Canada announces 2015 Qualifying School dates and sites

No. 6 – New membership model welcomes everyone to be part of “golf in Canada”

No. 5 – PGA Tour Canada announces 2015 schedule

No. 4 – Final field announced for 2015 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open

No. 3 – Golf’s governing bodies announce Rules of Golf revisions for 2016

No. 2 – Golf Canada announces 2016 Team Canada

No. 1 – Field announced for 2015 RBC Canadian Open

Little by little, greatness drips away from elite athletes as they grow old. Nick Weslock, however, did his best to squeeze out every last drop.

In fact, when he passed away six weeks before his 90^th birthday in late October 2007 from an aortic aneurysm, the legendary Canadian amateur golfer had played a round of golf only a few days earlier, trying out a new set of clubs.

He still was searching for a more reliable swing well after a remarkable career that yielded more than 400 career victories. But he didn’t allow time to weaken his passion for the game nor diminish his skill.

For example, three of Weslock’s four Canadian Amateur Championship titles arrived in his late 40s and his final of 11 Ontario Amateur was celebrated four months before his 53^rd birthday.

“Nick probably played his best golf in the late 1950s and 1960s when I was playing some of my best golf,” said Gary Cowan, one of Weslock’s closest rivals on the amateur scene. “You knew if you could beat him, you had a good chance to win the tournament.”

Weslock also overcame a serious gall bladder condition in the late 1960s to dominate the senior scene, winning six Canadian Senior titles and 11 Ontario Senior championships.

He particularly enjoyed testing his talents against the professionals. As a result of his four Canadian Amateur titles, he played in four Masters. He finished low amateur in the Canadian Open a remarkable 16 times, including a surge in 1947 that allowed him to finish third, four shots behind the winner, Bobby Locke of South Africa.

Weslock also won seven Ontario Opens against a field of mostly professional golfers he admired like his close friend Moe Norman. Yes, beating the pros always was special for Nick the Wedge, who earned the nickname because of his short-game prowess.

“Being an amateur and beating all the pros seven times was really something,” Weslock once said of his Ontario Open wins. “It gave me a lot of satisfaction.”

Weslock, who would have turned 98 on Dec. 13, also represented Canada more than 15 times at international team events like the World Team Amateur, the Commonwealth and Americas Cup, and played on 25 Ontario Willingdon Cup teams.

Born in Winnipeg as Nick Wisnick (he changed his name to Weslock in 1947), his family moved to Windsor, Ont. as a youth. It was there he fell for golf, caddying at the Essex Golf and Country Club. He liked to tell the story of how he once caddied for the colourful Walter Hagen, when the latter visited the acclaimed Essex layout.

After high school he worked in the then booming Windsor auto industry, learning the tool-making trade.

Weslock never turned pro. He had a successful business in Burlington, Ont. that made and developed components for assembly line systems, mostly in the automotive business.

As a result he had plenty of time to play golf and study the game. He had a library of film of the game’s best swings he devoured.

He loved to tinker with his equipment in his basement workshop. He also liked to talk to shop about his game with legends. A conversation with Masters champion and Canadian Open winner Gay Brewer or his close friend Moe Norman would send him to retrieve his little black book to jot down some notes.

He later turned all his log entries into an instructional book, Your Golf Bag Pro: Nick Weslock’s Little Black Book of Key Golf Secrets.

Weslock had game, and gamesmanship.

“He was like Mutt and Jeff on and off the golf course,” Cowan said. “He was much nicer to be around off the golf course. He had a win at all cost mentality.”

Welsock was opinionated, too. But most of all, he loved hitting a wedge close or softly landing a long iron or finding a secret with his putting stroke.

“You can’t play this game just on natural swing ability,” he once said. “You’ve got to think about it and put everything in place.”

Mr. Weslock did just that on many occasions.

On the final hole of the fourth round of the 2015 RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club, Jason Day sank an unbelievable 22-foot birdie putt which helped him capture his fourth career victory on the PGA TOUR.

That putt comes in at No. 5 on the PGA TOUR’s 10 Best Shots of 2015 list.

For those who weren’t there to witness it live, or missed the telecast, you can watch it below. Congrats Jason!