First Ace

First Ace

It was a windy afternoon in Simi Valley at Tierra Rejada Golf Club. None of us were playing exceptionally well as our group was getting dominated by the front nine. Then, on the back, we turned it on and I was quietly only a few strokes over. We stepped up to hole 14, a long par 3, playing 198 with a diagonal wind right to left and in our face. The first three gents got up and torched the green, all within 30 feet of the pin, 2 hybrids and one 4 iron. I stepped up, pulled a brand new Titleist Prov1x number 1 out of the sleeve, plopped it on a broken tee I found on the teebox, and let it rip. I hit a low cut, trying to take the wind out of play. The ball stayed low, flew over the lake surrounding the front left side of the green, and started heading directly at the pin, with the wind straightening out the cut as it descended. The ball hit about 8 feet in front of the pin and dunked the cup on the bounce. We all saw the ball bounce on the green and then disappear. There was a slight glare, so we thought nothing of it and joked as we drove down the cart path to the green that it must have went in, with no sincerity whatsoever. The excitement as we walked up to the green and only saw 3 balls was almost more than I could handle. I had been trying for the illusive hole in one since I was hardly able to hold a club. I took a look in the cup and there she was, my Prov1x number 1 staring me in the face. I rarely ever play odd numbers, and never number 1's, but for some reason I did that day. That ball came out of the sleeve, took one stroke and one stroke only, and is now sitting on a shelf at my house. I have been smiling since Saturday. Glad my boys were there to see it too. Its shots like those that will keep you coming back for a couple decades or more.