I have been playing golf since I was 12 years old. I started playing in summer youth tournaments and developed an appreciation and passion for the game. I moved on to playing high school and a little college golf. I was, at the peak of my time available to play and practice, a pretty decent golfer. I was in the mid single digits handicap and had the ability to go at flags on approach shots and focusing on trying to earn that elusive first hole-in-one. Years have gone by, now I am no longer a regular golfer, my playing time comes on Wednesday nights for a 9 hole four man captain's choice tournament (not exactly a focus on getting my swing down and perfecting my craft).

So for Christmas I was given a gift certificate for a golf lesson where we went over my swing with video and then made changes to appropriate areas. Obviously, all the bad habits built over 18 years can not be stopped or changed in an hour lesson, but it did give me some items to focus on to help with my current swing.

So in needing to actually hit the course and see the effects of trying to change my swing, I finished up work a bit early and headed over to the golf course. I haven't played in months and was prepared for it to be pretty bad, at least at first. So I started off on a par 4, made a bogie. The second hole a par 4, made a scramble par. I arrived at the third hole a par 3 that is listed at 144 yards, however the tees were back some and the pin was also back on an uphill shot. Having made some evaluations from the previous holes, I noticed my irons were not going the length that I had been accustumed to.

In the past I would have pulled out a 7 or 8-iron out, but in an effort to focus on the actual swing and not trying to power through the ball and possibly make other mechanical errors, I pulled a 6-iron. I teed it slightly above the ground and setup to the ball. With my focus being on weight distribution on my feet. The next focus was to take the club back on plane. I took it back on plane, however at impact the club turned in my hands slightly, but not before I got off a beautiful trajectory and watched at the ball, which was slightly left of target head towards the hole.

It landed on the green probably 8 to 10 feet away from the hole, but then it seemed to be drawn towards the cup, it worked on a rolling path to the right while still traveling forward. As I watched the path, I thought, that is gonna be close, I watched as the ball met the pole and then disappeared from sight. Were my eyes playing tricks on me, did it go by the flag and I couldn't see it because of the stick being in the way? I stepped to my left to change my angle and there was no ball! I had done it, I had made a hole-in-one. I couldn't believe that on a shot that did not feel as though it had come off the club face well, had found its way to the bottom of the cup.

All the years of putting on the stick and meaning to do so, it was now on a overcast Thursday afternoon in January, 18 years later, when I had essentially stopped playing for such a long period, that I had finally done it. I had finally made the shot that had escaped me those so many years prior. I was in disbelief, but when arriving at the green, it was out of sight, out of sight that is until I walked up to the cup and saw it sitting there in the front right portion of the cup. My first hole-in-one! Awesome!