The story of my first hole-in-one is quite interesting. In early October 2025, I was playing The Club at Sea Palms on Saint Simons Island. On the dogleg left 14th hole, I was about 100 yards out, overshot the green, and lost my ball in the brush. After taking my penalty and finishing the hole, I moved on to the 15th.

The 15th is a par three, with a large oak tree to the left and sand traps on both sides of the green. I reached into my bag to replace the lost ball, didn’t even look at it, and put it in my pocket. Then I headed to the tee box with my 4-hybrid. I teed off and hit the ball perfectly straight, directly at the oak tree. I saw it hit the tree but then lost sight of it. I searched around the base of the tree but couldn’t find the ball. My wife, who was on the green, called out that there was a ball in the hole.

When I got to the green, I looked at the ball and then at the oak tree. First, since I hadn’t checked the ball before playing, I wasn’t sure it was mine. Second, the oak tree was 40 yards away from the green. For the ball to have gone in, it would have had to hit the tree, bounce up toward the elevated green, clear a sand trap, and land in the hole, a nearly impossible shot. Because I wasn’t certain it was my ball, I didn’t claim it as a hole-in-one. I took a 5 on the hole and moved on.

Over the next few weeks, I told this story to many colleagues. Most of them insisted, “That’s a hole-in-one, you should count it!” But I kept saying, “I can’t, because I’m not 100% sure it was mine.” I’m not a great golfer, but I love the game, even if it doesn’t always love me back. My only regret was that I might never see a real hole-in-one in my lifetime.

Fast forward 30 days to November 5th, 2025. I was back on the 15th tee at the same course. This time, I hit a low shot that landed short and rolled quickly up to the elevated green. When I got there, I couldn’t see my ball and assumed it had rolled off the back. While I was searching, my partner looked in the hole and, there it was: my first true ace! This time, there was no doubt it was my ball, and no miraculous bounces were needed.