I was recently encouraged by a good friend to share my Hole-In-One story. So here it goes..... I swung my first club as a youngster, probably 12 years old, with my Dad at Horsham Valley Golf Club in Amber, Pennsylvania. I immediately was in love with the game of golf. I played sparingly, just a few times a year through my 20's and 30's, mostly during scramble formatted work events and some weekends with friends. I was playing in a business networking event during August of 2010. I was encouraged by my playing partner to join Spring Mill Country Club, located in Ivyland, PA (just outside of Philadelphia). I told him that I have never been there before. This playing partner stated that the membership is the best anywhere, and the course is a lot of fun. Just a week later I decided to join Spring Mill. I didn't know any of the members prior to joining and was excited to start meeting the guys at the club. Naturally, I was excited to play the course. I joined on Thursday, August 19, 2010 and immediately scheduled a tee-time for the very next morning at 8:38am. I was joined by my cousin Eddie on the spectacular day. The weather was stunning beautiful. We stepped up on the first tee box and the morning dew was still glistening off the fairway. My cousin Eddie and I were chuckling to each other about the idea of playing that day and what the day might have in-store for us both. With no wheel marks in the dew of the first fairway, the course felt as if we were the only ones there. We then tee'd off and started the day. The course found itself in magnificent condition on this particular day. The fairways mowed to perfection, the rough was thick and grouchy and the greens ran quick and true. We were having ourselves one heck of a morning making some shots, missing some others and contemplating what might have been, laughing and enjoying every moment. We made the turn after the 9th hole, grabbed some goodies at the halfway house and headed to the 10th. As we begrudgingly saw the end of the round nearly we took step on the Par 3 - 15th tee-box. On this day it was a 145yd shot, over a small pond backed by a paver wall. As stated earlier, I hadn't played Spring Mill Country Club before and my perception on the distance of this hole was not particularly great and I didn't know anything about the green size, etc. Not that the green size really mattered as I was a 22HC at the time. I was just trying to hit a good golf shot. Just before we were going to tee off, Eddie said to me, "How about $5.00 for closest to the pin?" I said, "Sure!" I tee'd off first. Remember, I was a 22HC and that might have been a little low. I pulled out a 7 iron from my back. I was playing swoosh irons at the time, and I was playing the brand new Titleist ProV1 that I bought earlier that morning from the proshop. I made my swing. The ball had good height...not super high and above what would be considered a lined drive. The ball landed on the green just short of the hole and disappeared. Eddie and I both looked at each other an smiled/laughed. I said, "I don't see the ball. It must have rolled off the back". Eddie said, "Dude...I think it went in the hole." I couldn't wrap my head around the idea and thought the ball truly went off the back of the green. Eddie was sure he heard the ball hit the pin. We were giddy for another minute, then Eddie tee'd off. He hit a great shot! Probably 12 feet from the hole. We jumped back in the cart and headed towards the green. As we got closer we only saw one ball on the green and knew it was Eddie's. More laughing and wondering ensured. We grabbed the necessary clubs from our bags and headed towards the green. Eddie with his putter, and me with a putter and my 56 degree. I headed towards the back of the green to take a peek to see if the ball rolled off the back. Eddie marked his ball and asked me, "See anything?" With a smile I said, "Nope, how about you check the hole for me...haha". Eddie walked over to the hole, looked down then looked back at me and said, "You..........!!!" Well, you can only imagine what he said. Some joyous profanities...haha!! We were jumping up and down laughing and high-fiving, etc. It was the height of emotions and excitement. Just a few holes later we finished the round and prepared for a long day of hanging out having drinking and some grub. On this particular Friday, it was a large membership event. The members reaped the benefit of my Hole-In-One with a full day of drinks at no cost to them. The tap rang and rang that day, and the seeds of lifetime friendships did to. On that day, I met some of the greatest guys of all-time. Many of them turned into dear friends still to this day. Since that day I have played nearly 700 rounds of golf. Around 600 played at Spring Mill Country Club. And I have been fortunate enough to play at many of the country's more prestigious courses including Oakmont, The Ridge at Backbrook, Commonwealth National Golf Club, The Old Palm Golf Club, and Old Memorial, amongst them. Each round has been filled with its ups and downs, literally. I've been playing with the same group of guys from that fantastically memorable August day. Here's the fun fact that I'm happy to share! Every single round, every single shot, every single great memory has been played with the same exact ball, the Titleist ProV1. I order custom balls every year from Spring Mill's Head Pro, Brendan Reedy.

I remember August 20, 2010 as if it was yesterday. It was a day that kicked-off a new chapter in my golf life, and in my personal/social life. I'll always have this great Hole-In-One story to share. I haven't hit one since. Who knows, maybe I never will. This great and most memorable event happened 5,394 days ago. I was playing ProV1's then, and I will continue to play them for the remainder of the time I play golf. We're connected forever...haha! Thanks for providing this platform for me to share my story! See the attached pics with the scorecard, tee, and the ProV1.

Kindest regards, and Hit 'em straight! -George Slater Hatboro, PA