The (almost) unrealized Hole-in-One

by Angela Bolyard

I always envisioned various scenarios of how my first hole-in-one (HIO) might happen, and how I would react. None of those actually occurred.

The hole was at the back of the green and couldn’t be seen because the green slopes uphill, crests, then runs downhill. My shot hit short, ran hard up the green and over the crest. I guessed it rolled into the rough.

Searching the rough with no luck, I then headed into the desert beyond. Still no luck, so I used a wedge to examine the desert bushes. Playing solo with no one behind me, I wasn’t pressed for time.  After 20 minutes, I finally gave up. Annoyed about losing a ball, I put a 5 on my scorecard and headed for the next hole.

An idea suddenly struck me…I should have looked in the hole. I debated whether to walk back while my thoughts jumped from, “You know it’s not there” to “Wouldn’t that be great”. My pace slowed as I looked into the hole, and there sat my Srixon golf ball. I was in shock and stared at the ball in disbelief for a minute or two! I thought, “THIS ISN’T HOW IT’S SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN”. I wanted to see it go in the hole! I wanted to shout, “Woo Hoo!”, but that moment had passed.

However, the more people I told, the more excitement I felt. It finally hit me that I had achieved the feat every golfer dreams about on Hole #14, par 3, 110 yards at Alta Mesa Golf Club. The joy I had expected to feel at the hole finally washed over me.

The moral of this story: Always check the cup first!