An Ace At Age 103
Let’s be honest. Every time you tee up your ball on a par three, does the reality or the fantasy of hitting a hole-in-one cross your mind? I really don’t think we are conscious of trying to hit an ace, but if you can reach a par three from the tee, then anything can happen.
Three years ago, on Fathers’ Day weekend, I proved a recreational golfer with a handicap of (around) eighteen can accomplish that feat when I hit a seven iron one hundred and fifty yards over water to an elevated green in between a grove of pine trees.
No one was more surprised than I when my son shouted, “Dad, that ball went in the hole!” I am still surprised to this day, but it was my only ace to date, and at age 67 I still hold out hope for another one after hearing the story of Gus Andreone.
In December of 2014, Mr. Andreone, at age 103, hit a hole-in-one at the 113 yard par three, fourth hole at Lakes Course at Palm Aire in Sarasota, Florida. Golf Buzz reports that Gus is now the oldest person on record to have accomplished that feat on a regulation course.
The previous male recordholder was Otto Bucher, 99, of Geneva, Switzerland, who hit his ace while playing the 130 yard, 12th hole at La Manga Golf Club in Spain in 1988. Golf Digest lists Elsie McLean, age 102, as the oldest female to hit a hole-in-one while playing at her home course of Bidwell Park Golf in 2007.
Gus has been playing golf for over 75 years. At the Palm Aire Club, where he plays three times a week, there is a wooden statue of him that overlooks the Gus Andreone Practice and Teaching Facility.
The statue was presented to him in 2011 on his 100th birthday and “…symbolizes the humble man’s unpretentious affection for the game, his profession and what it means to wake up every day knowing that there’s more golf to be played,” writes PGA senior association writer, Bob Denney.
Gus is a local legend and father figure to all golfers who strive to master the game, but he takes it all in stride. “Each time I play, my par is 90, if I shoot a bogey on each hole, that’s 90, he said. “As long as I can swing a club, I’ll be playing golf,” he added in recent PGA interview.
Other Incredible Aces:
The first recorded hole-in-one in tournament play came in 1868, when young Tom Morris, playing in the Open Championship (also known as the British Open) holed his 145 yard shot on the 8th hole. Morris went on to win that tournament and the next three Open Championships to cement his place in golf history.
These next two golfers are in a class all by themselves and only luck can explain their place in links history. In 1964, Norman Manley, playing at the Del Valley Country Club in Saugus, California hit a hole-in-one on successive par four holes. His first ace was on the 330 yard 7th hole and the second ace came on the 290 yard 8th hole. He shot a course record of 61 that day.
When was the last time you went on vacation and had the opportunity to play a morning round, eat lunch and then play an afternoon round? In 1992, Jim Whelehan had a day to remember. Playing at the Heather Glen Golf Links in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Whelehan aced the 155 yard, par three, 4th before lunch and then aced the same hole with the same ball in his afternoon round.
So next time you tee it up on a par three or short par four, think hole-in-one.
19th Hole Trivia:
Gus Andreone hit his first hole-in-one in 1939.
The day he hit his ace at age 103, he shot an 83 at his home course.
Andreone is the PGA’s oldest card member.
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Answers to Jeopardy Quiz
1. What is The Open or British Open?
2. Who was Bobby Jones?
3. What is a Burn?
4. Who was Sam Snead?
5. What is the Rookery South Golf Course?
6. What is 4 inches?
7. Who is Jack Nicklaus?
8. What is Baywood Greens Golf Course?
9. What is a brassie?
10. What is the Rookery North Golf Course?
Final Jeopardy: What was “The Legend of Bagger Vance?”
