After a chaotic and emotionally draining 2 weeks at work resulting from some surprise layoffs right before the holidays, I decided to play hooky the day before Thanksgiving to take my mind off of things. I called my buddy, Tim, who gladly joined me at our home course, Tustin Ranch GC, to get in a quick 18. I had zero expectations for the round, as I had been fighting the shanks on the driving range and was simply hoping to get the ball in the air, let alone taking dead aim at any flags this day. I decided to play a new Pro V1x from a 2-pack that a Titleist rep gave me just 2 weeks prior at a demo day event, recalling that she told me the new balls would have a higher trajectory, and trust me, anything that could help get the ball up was worth trying after my Shankopottamus session on the range. Miraculously, I had been piecing together a decent round, driving it great and with great touch around the greens. I approached the signature 11th hole, which was playing at 147 yards over water, which I was all too familiar with, as I'd found the drink 3 consecutive rounds prior! With the flag in the front portion of the 2-tiered green, I knew that I had a good 5 yards of wiggle room long, but little margin for error if I landed short of the flag. I decided to take an 8iron and give it a full swing, with the sole objective of getting it in the air and solid enough to find dry land. After contact, I knew I hit it well enough to clear the water, but the line was a bit left of where I was aimed. The ball landed on the slope about 15 feet away with a good amount of spin and started making its way down towards the front tier. I expected the ball to settle about 10 feet away, but the spin off the slope had more zip than usual and was moving at good pace towards the hole and as it got near the hole moving from left to right, I was expecting to see the ball emerge on the right side as it passed the hole, but instead, I saw it disappear and dart into the ground like the gopher in Caddy Shack! What happened after is a blur, but there was a lot of jumping around, screaming and high fives with my pal and also a single who joined us. Unfortunately my alibi from work was blown as I just HAD to share my first ever Ace on Facebook and Instagram but it was SO WORTH IT! Thank you Team Titleist for hooking me up with the magic ball that finally found the bottom of the cup after 25+ years of playing golf.