My Only Hole In One

by Larry Gavrich Owner, Home On The Course LLC
(Hartford, Connecticut Area)

My only hole in one was in 1964, when I was 16, a 137 yard 7 iron at our local muni in NJ. My friend Lenny holed out for eagle (par 4) later in the round from about 120 yards. My best shot, though, may be the one I should have played but didn't. My ball was in the left hand bunker at eye level, a foot and a half below the lip, at Pine Valley #10 (The Devil's Asshole). When I looked at it, I thought "Hell, I should swing up on it and hit it back over my shoulder." But prudence got the better of me and I went at it conventionally, whiffed once by hitting the top of the lip, then scuffed it down into the middle of the bunker, on in 4 and 2 putted for my triple. A week later I read in Sports Illustrated that Phil Mickelson had exactly the same dilemma in an NCAA tournament match, he did hit it over his shoulder, and made the putt for par. The only regret I have in a lifetime of golf was that I didn't try that shot at Pine Valley.