It’s in the Hole! Recent Hole in Ones & Other Incredible Shots
I’ve been playing this great game for nearly 50 years and have never had a hole in one. My late father, Don Brown Sr., also played his entire life without one either. I remember vividly playing with him at Green Lakes in my late teenage years on hole number 16 from the back tees. I hit a perfect 3-iron to less than an inch beyond the cup, proceeded by my Dad hitting his driver where the ball bounced off the mound on the left and softly rolled towards the hole. The ball came to rest on the lip of the cup without dropping. So close to magical father and son hole in ones on the same hole just moments apart. But it wasn’t meant to be. However, many golfing acquaintences of mine have recently pulled off that incredible feat and other remarkable shots that are worth a quick read.
Joe Mannion, Camillus hole in one on the par-3 8th hole using a 5-hybrid from 165 yards. Witnessed by Jimmy Lent.
“I knew it was a pretty good shot. As we went up to the green, I didn’t see a ball so I thought the ball went over the green. Then my playing partner Jimmy looked in the cup and loadly proclaimed, Joe Mannion Hole in one!”
PJ Clarke, Sunset Pines hole in one on the par-3 4th hole using a pitching wedge from 112 yards. Witnessed by Marshall Clarke.
“It came off the club and hit about fifteen yards right of the flag and started heading left. It kept going and I thought this is going to be a great birdie, then in another few seconds the ball was gone and my son Marshall said it might be a hole in one. We approached the cup and he screamed, Oh yeah, it’s a hole in one Dad!”
Michael Jaquin, Green Lakes eagle on the par-4 5th hole using a 3-hybrid from 180 yards. Witnessed by Kris Shore, Brian McLauchlan and Mike Krzyzak.
“The group on the 6th tee saw my shot land short of the green and track all the way into the hole. (back pin placement) They said it looked like a putt going in. When it went in they raised their hands and made the ‘it’s in the hole’ gesture. Kris and Mike immediately said, “I think you just holed out.” When I ran into the group in front of us, they came over and gave me a high five and posed for a picture.”
Mike Krupa, Foxfire eagle on the par-4 13th hole using a 3-hybrid from 230 yards. Witnessed by Brian McLauchlan.
“Gunned it with my hand held from the right rough in a little divot with ball sitting down. I didn’t like the lie, backed off the shot for a minute. Stepped up and hit my 3-hybrid, caught it on the screws with a baby fade. It hit the hill in front and disappeared over the mound. I had no idea where the ball was, maybe it got caught up in the rough. Brian pointed towards the hole and there it was smiling at me.”
Peter Goral, Tanner Valley hole in one on the par-3 6th hole using a 9-iron from 167 yards. Witnessed by Tom Hoffman.
“We got there and there was a slight wind at our backs and the pin was tucked away on the right side over a pine tree, so I took a 9-iron from 167 yards and just pured it. It went right over the top of the pine tree, I saw it bounce once and then we didn’t see it after that, so we walked up to the hole and we could see the dew trail of my ball going across the green and that’s when we knew it was in the cup. It was pretty cool.”
Ed Brown, Rockland Country Club, NJ eagle on par-4 7th hole using a 3-iron from 186 yards. Witnessed by Pat Loftus.
“Long par-4 dog-leg right, hit a good drive, had 186 yards left into the wind. Flushed a 3-iron, landed just on the front edge of the green, released towards the pin which was in front. I could see it rolling up towards it and then disappeared. It was very exciting!”
Here’s a list of recent holes-in-ones by Central New York golfers: (courtesy of Pat Spadafore of Syracuse.com)
Tim Slavik, Aug. 18, on the 136-yard No. 17 hole at Foxfire using a pitching wedge. Witnessed by Ben Slavik.
Mike Fischer, Aug. 18, on the 130-yard No. 7 hole at McConnellsville using an 8-iron. Witnessed by John Mura and Ed Graham.
Mike Mathews, Aug. 17, on the 167-yard No. 2 hole at Tuscarora using a 7-iron. Witnessed by Ryan Matthews and Dean Matthews.
Ken Ryan, Aug. 16, on the 124-yard No. 11 hole at Rogues Roost East using an 8-iron. Witnessed by Ken Reschke, Mike Scheemaker, and Tim Scheemaker.
Matt Straub, Aug. 12, on the 174-yard No. 9 hole at the Links at Erie Village using a 6-iron. Witnessed by Dan Nieman, Jim Lerch, and Chuck Shannon.
Mike Michaels, Aug. 16, on the 158-yard No. 2 hole at Tuscarora using a 7-iron. Witnessed by Mary Michaels, Jim Sherlock, and Honor Sherlock.
Larry Lewandowski, Aug. 15, on the 178-yard No. 6 hole at Drumlins East using a 6-iron. Witnessed by Brian Martens and Michael Gordon.
Marion Rogers, Aug. 13, on the 100-yard No. 6 hole at West Hill using a driver. Witnessed by Deb Glisson.
Jonathan Massett, Aug. 13, on the 138-yard No. 7 hole at Bellevue using an 8-iron. Witnessed by Andrew Tarkowski, Mark Muthumbi, and Zachary Zuckerman.
David Stewart, Aug. 11, on the par-3 No. 6 hole at the Pompey Club using a 6-iron. Witnessed by John Finn, Anthony Maglisco, and John Barlow.
Tom Wheaton, Aug. 11, on the 132-yard No. 11 hole at Greenview using a pitching wedge. Witnessed by Bob Clark, Al Hampton and Scott Russell.
Deborah DiFlorio, Aug. 8, on the 100-yard No. 11 hole at Rogues Roost East using a 6-hybrid. Witnessed by Heidi Barron.
Joseph Merritt, Aug. 8, on the 159-yard No. 4 hole at Greenview using an 8-iron.
Tina Ashlaw, Aug. 7, on the 106-yard No. 12 hole at West Hill using a driver. Witnessed by Steve Ashlaw, Tom Cameron, and Josh Cameron.
Bob Deming, Aug. 7, on the 120-yard No. 9 hole at The Wood in Baldwinsville using an 8-iron. Witnessed by Dave Martin, Dan Martin, and Dan Deming.
Jason Murray, Aug. 5, on the 155-yard, par-3 No. 13 hole at the Pompey Club using an 8-iron. Witnessed by Bronce Bersani, David Swift, and John Stewart.
Jeff Rolince, Aug. 5, on the 120-yard No. 15 hole at Tanner Valley using a pitching wedge. Witnessed by Jamie DeGilio, Phil Kries, and Rob Sgarlata.
Anne Trachtenberg, Aug. 4, on the 124-yard, par-3 No. 16 hole at Cavalry Club using a 13-wood. Witnessed by Harriet Mead and Patine Ryu.
Larry Calabrese, Aug. 4, on the 152-yard No. 14 hole at Rogues Roost East using a 9-iron. Witnessed by Sue Calabrese, Russ Haynes, and Molly Haynes.
Michael Failla, Aug. 4, on the 100-yard No. 17 hole at Rogues Roost East using a gap wedge. Witnessed by Curt Hammer and Jeff O’Neill.
Sam Barney, Aug. 4, on the 167-yard No. 2 hole at Tuscarora using an 8-iron. Witnessed by Pat Louer and Landon Kelly.
Mark VanApeldoorn, Aug. 4, on the 165-yard No. 8 hole at Timber Banks using an 8-iron. Witnessed by Kevin Smith, Alex Zapalla, and Jeff Ippolito.
Lauren Ward, Aug. 3, on the 120-yard No. 8 hole at Timber Banks using a driver. Witnessed by Anson Ward.
Terry Langan, Aug. 3, on the 162-yard No. 2 hole at Green Lakes using a 6-iron. Witnessed by Mickey Novak, Joe Szombathy and Dwight Case.
Zachary MacNabb, Aug 3, on the 119-yard No. 17 hole at Beaver Meadows using a 56-degree club. Witnessed by Terry MacNabb and Mike Kuss.
John Comeau, Aug. 3, on the 175-yard No. 11 hole at Cazenovia using a 7-iron. Witnessed by John Redmond.
Rich Volcko, Aug. 2, on the 129-yard No. 17 at Beaver Meadows using a 9-iron. Witnessed by Mitch Weigand, Dr. Eric Croucher, and Gregg Bilyeu.
Rick Cote, Aug. 2, on the 122-yard No. 6 hole at Onondaga using a pitching wedge. Witnessed by Parker Cote.
Steve Eriksson, Aug. 2, on the 162-yard No. 17 hole at Camillus using a 9-wood. Witnessed by Mark Eriksson, Bill Rogers and B.J. Simone.
Clyde Duble, Aug. 2, on the 110-yard No. 8 hole at Hickory Hill using a 7-iron. Witnessed by Paul Luteran.
Jed Jecen, Aug. 1, on the 140-yard, par-3, No. 12 hole at WaNoa using a 25-degree fairway wood. Witnessed by Donal Mackey, John Beczak, and George Markowitz.
Janis Cianfarano, July 31, on the 122-yard No. 17 hole at Foxfire using a 7-wood. Witnessed by Donna Cornacchia, and Brenda Goebel.
Sandy Hicks, July 31, on the No. 3 hole at Glenwood using a 6-iron. Witnessed by Ron Gasowski, Karl Reester, and Zeke Zakrzeski.
Scott Sellers, July 29, on the 176-yard No. 3 hole at Woodcrest using a 7-iron. Witnessed by Jerry Hook and Bill Hall.
Jeff Turner, July 29, on the 350-yard No. 18 hole at Pine Grove using a driver. Witnessed by Nate Shapiro.
Jim Magnarelli, July 27, on the 160-yard No. 12 hole at Lakeshore using a 6-iron. Witnessed by John Pennisi, Dan Tropea, and Don Destefano.
Paul Doane, July 27, on the 123-yard 2nd hole at Seven Oaks using a 9-iron. Witnessed by Charlie Borgognoni and Nick Marsella.
Chris Burns, July 27, on the 135-yard, par-3 No. 13th hole at Links Erie Village using a 9-iron. Witnessed by Steve Port and Lawson Bali.
Brett Torrey, July 27, on the 186-yard No. 2 hole at Oneonta using a 5-iron. Witnessed by Brad Hess, Mike Woods, Tim Miller, and Ty Cosgrove.
Andrew LaRocca, July 25, on the 104-yard No. 16 hole at Pine Grove using a 3-wood. Witnessed by Benny Foss and Jon Wixson.
Nick Bova, July 24, on the 113-yard No. 5 hole at Pine Grove.
Jay Graham, July 23, on the 190-yard No. 10 hole at Drumlins West using a 5-iron. Witnessed by Terry Horan.
Matt Costello, July 21, on the 160-yard No. 14 hole at Dutch Hollow using a 9-iron. Witnessed by Mike Kehoskie.
Lisa LaClair, July 18, on the 135-yard No. 7 hole at West Hill using a driver. Witnessed by Ann Bryant, Lisa King, and Mary Negnetto.
Bill Owens, July 18th, on the 110-yard No. 15 hole at Twin Ponds using a 9-iron. Witnessed by Bob Fay.
Peter Kratsios, July 10, on the 152-Yard No. 8 hole at Lakeshore using a pitching wedge. Witnessed by John Catanzarita, Al Siegel, Mark Centolella, and Jonny Petrin.
Ryan Shute, June 15, double-eagle on the 449-yard par 5 No. 18 hole at Battle Island State Park. Witnessed by Stephen Schoemaker.
