Hole-in-one witnesses

Imagine if he'd had to have Obama sign his card for it to count!

 

One time a guy called to report that his friend shot an albatross. He kept telling me how much rarer that is than a hole-in-one, but it wasn't enough for me to list it in the paper with the other hole-in-ones (which I never told him I was going to do anyway) -- he wanted a reporter to write a story about it, even though we never write up any of the hole-in-ones. After I finally got him off the phone, he called right back up to repeat what he just told me as if he thought he'd be getting someone different to pick up the phone who would think it was worth a story.

 

Albatross!

 

If the round was cut short, the hole-in-one doesn't count.

 

Not really ... a hole-in-one is a hole-in-one ... it is strongly suggested by the powers-that-be that a hole-in-one be recorded during at least a 9-hole round. But in match-play golf, a full round might be only 10 holes (if it's a 36-hole match, conceivably the second 18 would last only one hole). There are all sorts of permutations of "official" rounds in which a hole-in-one might be validly recorded.

 

Dude, an albatross is rarer than a hole in one and much harder. It's a 2 on a par-5, in case you didn't get it. We run double-eagles, eagle-twos and aces. You should have listed it.

 

The National Hole in One registry requires that it be part of at least a nine-hole round. But if make the ace on the second hole and get chased off by a storm on the fourth hole, you can come back and finish, and they'll count it.

 

I'd keep playing. I don't think the heavy stuff's going to come down for quite a while.

 

My course's first (and shortest) par-3 is No. 3. So, conceivably, I could play the first three holes and then, if I "failed" to ace No. 3, I could go back and start anew, thus preserving my chances for a legit hole-in-one.

In a semi-related note, a few years ago my club had a fall Ryder Cup-type event that you had to qualify for. It cost some nominal sum (let's say $5) to play a qualifying round. One of the guys in my foursome was trying to qualify, so he paid his $5 and then promptly double-bogeyed Nos. 1 and 2. As he was a relatively low handicapper, he felt certain there was no way that round would qualify. So, he simply quit, motored back to the pro shop, paid another $5 and started over. He qualified with that round.

 

That guy, when he was a kid, probably had a note saying he didn't have to play team sports in gym class.

 

Well, judging by the board my only hole in one wouldn't count. It was the Saturday that Tiger won the 2000 US Open at Pebble. Went out early to one of the dozens of courses in town (lived in Fla. at the time). Was by myself, got partnered up with Jesus and Cesar, two guys who worked on the course during the week but were playing on their day off.
I was about a 15-handicapper at the time. Get to No. 8, 155-yards. Storm's coming (it's Florida in June) and wind in my face. Hit a 5-iron over the bunker right at the flag. Couldn't see the pin but I hit it a little thin and spent 10 mins looking on backside of green.
One of the guys tells me, "you better look in the hole dude" and there it was.
Anyway, get to about 14. The heavens break loose. Round over.
I go to pro shop. Tell head pro what happened. He knows me, says "didn't you play here the other day" and I said, "yeah" and he said, "put your score down for the last four holes from the other day and we'll call it even."
And so I have my hole in one. Do I feel good about it b/c I didn't finish 18? You're God Damn Right I do.

 

If Max Cleland, the American hero whom Chambliss slimed to win his seat, had gotten a hole-in-one, we'd have had a real story.

Oh, in keeping with the SJ tradition of necro-bumping ... LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.