The Perfect Shot: My First Hole In One
It was the fourth of July and the pups and I got an early start to the morning, enjoying the dog park all to ourselves before the Texas sun was even above the horizon. Cool and fresh, the dogs ran around while I did my usual morning journaling and preparation for the day. I jokingly sent a text to my buddy Kevin Kraft about how I had yet to make an ace in Wordle (guessing the word on the first try).
I had a new client coming in for their first lesson and we had a great session. It set a great tone for the morning full of positive energy and excitement about what was to come. I went home to put together a session recap to send to the new client then spent the afternoon shifting my attention and working on some new music I have been putting together.
I got a text from my buddy Phil saying the boys all wanted to play The Swing at PGA Frisco when they got off work. It was the fourth of July and you can’t call ahead or go online to make a tee time at The Swing. The only way to book a tee time is to go in person so I drove to PGA Frisco to reserve a time for later that day. I sent a text to Phil confirming the tee time, asked him to spread the word to everyone, and said “let’s make an ace”.
A few hours later we all met at the course, happy to be off work, on the course, celebrating a great day. The Swing allows you to play with up to 6 people in a group so we all got to play together. We set the goal for ourselves to get 12 birdies by the end of the 10 holes with aces counting as 2.
For those of you who haven’t played The Swing yet, it’s a world-class short course similar to The Cradle at Pinehurst, The Preserve at Bandon Dunes, or The Gimmie at The Concession Club. The greens are firm, fast, pure, and undulated. Designed by Gil Hanse and Beau Welling, it plays like its neighboring championship courses, the east and west courses at Fields Ranch.
Going into the ninth hole we had collectively made 7 birdies as a group. I remember getting to the ninth hole and casually pulling out my 58*. I looked around the group and realized no one had made a birdie on the last hole so making sure I wasn’t stealing the honor from anyone I just walked up, threw my ball down, and took in the shot for a moment.
The hole was in the front right corner on the bottom of a slope that cuts through the middle of the green from 7:00 towards the center then out to 3:00 creating a little bowl in the front right corner before falling off on the sides down towards a swampy hazard area. The hole was sitting on the slope.
Phil asked if I wanted a number and I remember saying I was fine, I was just going to feel it. The number I had in my head was 63. I went through my routine, set up over the ball, took the club back, and as this was all going on, the guys in my group were still getting ready for their shots, joking, laughing, and enjoying the day. I remember as I’m swinging, Phil is lasering the flag getting a distance. I remember immediately after impact Phil saying “65” to one of the other guys in the group.
I looked up and saw my ball going exactly where I wanted. Dead straight at the ridge in the front center of the green. It faded slightly right, hit a spot about 6 feet short left of the hole, checked hard, took the slope down to the right, and hit the cup coming in from 8:00. It was the most incredible feeling. My eyes never left the ball. And to see it disappear was as if time slowed down.
I’ve been playing for 30 years now and up to this point I had never made an ace. But I’ve jokingly for years said I hope when I do make one it’s a good shot. I’d hate for my first one to be a poor shot that gets some lucky bounce or something. Luckily for me, the universe gave me something I’ll never forget. Of the hundreds of thousands of shots I’ve hit in my life, this one was the best so far. I hit it exactly where I was trying to, it did exactly what I intended, and it went in.
After it happened there was the usual shouting, cheering, and celebration that comes with making a hole-in-one. I think one of the reasons it felt so great was having friends there to celebrate with, on the fourth of July nonetheless. It was something we all got to enjoy and will all remember. And that’s what makes golf so great. It’s a game we can all enjoy and relate to regardless of how good we are or where we are in the world. It’s a universal game that brings us all together. And moments like these keep us coming back for more and growing the game along the way.
If you haven’t made an ace yet, keep at it. It’s elusive and honestly, may never come. But like the lottery, you can’t win if you don’t play. So be sure to give yourself as many opportunities as you can. And even if you never make one, you got to play as much golf as you could, and that in itself, is all you really need.
MOVE BETTER - PLAY BETTER
COACH BLAINE ⛳🏌️♂️
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