I wish May 22nd would be remembered as the day Rufus Powell got a hole-in-one, but it won't. May 22nd, 2011 will be remembered as the day 161 people were killed in a devastating F5 tornado that roared through Joplin, Missouri at 5:31PM. About 4 hours earlier, me and a buddy named Don Henderson were "playing thru" a 3-some on the 12th Hole at Schifferdecker Golf Course. It was blustery, so I hit a knock-down 7 iron to the 146 yard par 3.
[TITLEIST PRO V1 BALL, TM #7 IRON]

After hitting the shot, it felt good so I picked up my tee and was walking back to let Don hit when the guys on the green (that were letting us play through) started whooping it up. "Hole-In-One" says Don and give's me a high five. The guys on the green were all smiles as we pulled up and told me about the shot since I missed it.

I was looking forward to telling all my golf buddies about the shot on Monday, but just a few hours after getting my hole-in-one, the tornado hit and changed Joplin forever.