Terry Bowen of Spanish Fort, AL made a hole-in-one at Steelwood County Club on Tuesday, April 2nd. While an “ace” is quite an accomplishment for anyone under any circumstances, this one was even more extraordinary.You see, Bowen’s hole-in-one came on Steelwood’s 16th hole, which is a Par 4 measuring 317 yards. That makes his incredible shot not “just” a hole-in-one, but also a double eagle (or albatross).
But wait, there’s more….
Bowen and his three playing partners were participating in a scramble benefitting St. Michael’s Catholic High School Booster Club. Witnesses were his scramble teammates: friends Robbie Jaeger, Dewayne Hayes, and Father Jim Morrison. Could there have been some Divine Intervention??
The shot came on the team’s last hole of the day and tied them for 1st Place. A scorecard playoff was used beginning on number 18 going backwards. The first two holes were tied, which gave Bowen and his team the victory on, you guessed it, number 16.
“Father Morrison hit a nice tee shot right down the middle,” said Bowen. “So, I just hit a hard one dead straight over the corner of the pine trees. I said that’s as good as I’ve got right there.”
“I was putting my driver in the bag when Dewayne said the ball was on the green and that it was turning towards the hole,” Bowen continues. “Then we all started really paying attention when it got about 6 or 8 feet away and it just rolled right in the hole.”
“It was crazy.”
“They all started screaming and I just thought ‘that didn’t really just happen’…I couldn’t believe it.”
The odds of making a hole-in-one on a Par 3 have been estimated at 12,000 to 1. For a low-handicapper, like Bowen who has a 3 handicap, they are approximately 5,000 to 1.
What about on a Par 4? Well, the numbers vary pretty widely, but somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 million to 1 is the number our research found most often.
Here’s some perspective. How many Par 4 holes-in-one do you think have ever occurred on the PGA Tour? That answer is one. Andrew Magee did it at the 2001 Phoenix Open on the 332-yard 17th hole at TPC Scottsdale. And his ball ricocheted off Tom Byrum’s putter (who was in the group in front) before going in the hole. Jason Kokrak made one in unofficial competition at the McGladrey Pro Am in 2013 on the 409-yard, par-4 fifth hole at the Seaside Course in Sea Island, Ga.
Whatever the odds, whatever the circumstances, it’s something most golfers will never pull off or even witness.
Terry Bowen is the “6 Million To 1 Man”. Great shot, Terry!
Now, how many strokes do I get?
Joey Johnson is the publisher of Southern Fairways Magazine.
He can be contacted at joey@southernfairwaysgolf.com
