The day began with sunny skies and crisp fall breezes. By the time our golfers left the 2006 Ann Olsen Greater Danbury Golf Classic at Ridge wood Country Club on September 11th, everyone was smiling. The foursome (Tony Mercaldo, John Kortze, Ron Struski and Jim Foley) representing the Danbury firm Mittler & Mercaldo carried home the prestigious perpetual Ervie S.Hawley, Jr. Cup with a winning low net of 126, beating defending champs.
Ridgefield Bank by 1 point.
But the excitement did not stop there. Mid-afternoon, David Hawley swung a perfect ace on Hole #10. Twenty minutes later, Brian Martin repeated the hole in one on the same hole! The volunteers and players could hardly contain their excitement! The news spread like wildfire through the course.
This hole was sponsored by Mike Dimyan of Tower Realty and was insured for $10,000 for each ace through the National Hole-in-One Association. It was incredible to have even one winner; having two was gleeful. Later that afternoon, attorney Jackie Chan became the first player to sink the final putt in the Newtown Savings Bank Putt-Off and won $500. John O'Connor of the Danbury Hospital Laboratory team pitched out of the bunker to win the Branson Sandman competition.
Congratulations to our winners and to General Chairman Ed Carola, and Honorary Chairs John Martocci and Mayor Mark Boughton. Thanks to our Corporate level sponsors: Boehringer Ingelheim, Branson, PepsiCola, Buck Consultants, New York Board of Trade and Union Savings Bank.
Every sponsor, player and volunteer contributed to keeping our doors open to people living with cancer. As our client volume grows, fundraisers like the Classic are absolutely vital.
Against (just about) all odds
By
Tim Guidera
Local Marines hit back-to-back holes in one on the same hole
For 12 holes Saturday, Jonathan Parker and Crhis Crittenden were playing an ordinary round of golf, not all that different than the thousands that will be turned in at the the Hunter Golf Club this year.
Then the twosome and their day turned into 1-in-144 million.
National Hole-in-one Association: 25 years of joyful payouts, enriched charities and agents serving
Get two or three dozen really good golfers. Set them up on a 168-yard par three. Then crowd a couple of thousand people around them. It changes their whole perspective. The pressure is intense, and balls are flying everywhere. That’s how Craig Ankeney, president of Compass Insurance Agency’s Schaefer, Smith & Ankeney Division, describes the scene when golfers come together to vie for a top prize—up to a million bucks, depending on the event—in a hole-in-one competition.
Coverage for hole-in-one, half-court shots, match the key, six inches of snow on the 25th of December all can be provided to indemnify the sponsor or promoter for the amount of cash or prizes specially named in the rules. RULES--this is the key to prize indemnity: read the rules.
Connie Blair and Donna Crawford have become instant celebrities at Stonebriar Country Club in Frisco, Texas, where they pulled off a statistically astonishing feat: making their first holes in one during the same round, on the same hole, with the same club last week.
The day began with sunny skies and crisp fall breezes. By the time our golfers left the 2006 Ann Olsen Greater Danbury Golf Classic at Ridgewood Country Club on September 11th, everyone was smiling. The foursome (Tony Mercaldo, John Kortze, Ron Struski and Jim Foley) representing the Danbury firm Mittler & Mercaldo carried home the prestigious perpetual Ervie S.Hawley, Jr. Cup with a winning low net of 126, beating defending champs
Ridgefield Bank by 1 point.
But the excitement did not stop there. Mid-afternoon, David Hawley swung a perfect ace on Hole #10. Twenty minutes later, Brian Martin repeated the hole in one on the same hole! The volunteers and players could hardly contain their excitement! The news spread like wildfire through the course.
This hole was sponsored by Mike Dimyan of Tower Realty and was insured for $10,000 for each ace through the National Hole-in-One Association. It was incredible to have even one winner; having two was gleeful. Later that afternoon, attorney Jackie Chan became the first player to sink the final putt in the Newtown Savings Bank Putt-Off and won $500. John O'Connor of the Danbury Hospital Laboratory team pitched out of the bunker to win the Branson Sandman competition.
Congratulations to our winners and to General Chairman Ed Carola, and Honorary Chairs John Martocci and Mayor Mark Boughton. Thanks to our Corporate level sponsors: Boehringer Ingelheim, Branson, PepsiCola, Buck Consultants, New York Board of Trade and Union Savings Bank.
Congratulations to our winners and to General Chairman Ed Carola, and Honorary Chairs John Martocci and Mayor Mark Boughton. Thanks to our Corporate level sponsors: Boehringer Ingelheim, Branson, PepsiCola, Buck Consultants, New York Board of Trade and Union Savings Bank.
The odds
Two aces in the same round: 67 million to 1. One is the holiest number in golf.
You can't do better than put a 1 down on your scorecard. It might be the ultimate in sports perfection. The great thing about a hole-in-one is anyone is capable of achieving it. The pros obviously have a better chance of posting an ace than the rest of us. But the random nature of golf (i.e. luck) makes it possible for even the worst player to experience golf's ultimate thrill. A hole-in-one could be the result of a scratch player's perfect high draw that bounces once and lands in the hole. Or it could be the beautiful end to the ugly swing of a 36-handicapper, whose worm-burner skitters along the grass before it reaches the green and miraculously finds the cup.
With holes in one, no matter how you slice them luck is vital
By
Jim Halley
Fuzzy Zoeller never saw the shot drop. After his drive at the 170-yard, par-3 No. 16 at Glen Oaks Country Club in the Allianz Championship in June, Zoeller thought he might need his sand wedge. Then he heard the crowd erupt at the Champions Tour event in West Des Moines.
Zoeller's ball landed in the fringe just off the green and appeared to stop for nearly 10 seconds before it began to roll again, speeding its way across the green and into the cup for a hole in one, the 16th of his career.
670,000,000,000,000,000,000 to 1 Woman's run of luck confounds statisticians
By
Carl Bialik
May 19, 2007
The Desert Sun Jacqueline Gagne has enjoyed a remarkable run of aces.
Jacqueline Gagne has had 10 once-in-a-lifetime experiences in less than four months.
Since Jan. 23, the 46-year-old from Rancho Mirage has hit 10 holes-in-one, or just eight fewer than were hit on the entire Ladies Professional Golf Association tour last year.
Texan With 51 Lifetime Holes-In-One Brings Million Dollar Shootout To Baltimore
By
Matt Hombach
Growing up in west Texas in the 1960s, Mancil Davis wasn’t unlike a lot of other kids his age. With the Lone Star state producing a number of golf legends like Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson and famed golf teacher Harvey Penick, it certainly wasn’t uncommon for a young boy in Texas to pick up the game and play it competitively.
GOLF
A FAVOURABLE breeze has assisted punters during the $70,000 hole-in-one competition at the Alfa Romeo Golf Fun Fair this long weekend.
Many competitors have come within a couple of metres of the hole on a temporary green at Highlands Paceway.
They are vying for the opportunity to win a $45,000 Alfa Romeo 147 and $25,000 cash courtesy of the National Hole-In-One Company and the Rotary Club of Orange Calare.
Tony Shepherd from Calare Rotary said there are still plenty of chances to be selected for the Hole-In-One Shoot-Out this afternoon, with a final qualifying session today between 10am and 1pm.
“You’ve got to be in it to win it, so come out and try your luck,” he said.
People can attempt to qualify as many times as they like by hiring golf balls at a cost of $2 per ball, six for $10 or 12 for $20; one shot per ball.
The Hole-in-One Shoot-Out will begin at 2.30pm today and spectators are welcome.
Each qualifier is allowed only one shot during the shoot-out and the first player to get the hole-in-one wins.
All money raised from the event will go towards prostate cancer research as well as local charities. Highlands Paceway is located off Bathurst Road by turning left after Ian Parker Motors.
July 15, 2007
July 10th was one of the hottest days of the year in New York. And on that day Kevin McKechnie hit his hottest golf shot ever. He stepped into the tee box on hole 17 at the Holbrook Country Club during the 4th Annual Sachem East Touchdown Club Golf Outing. Kevin grabbed his 8 iron from the bag for the 166 yard hole. “It was downhill. You could see it. There was a woman watching. She threw her arms into the air and we all just started jumping up and down.” He had just hit is first ace.
Kevin is a retired New York Police officer who worked during the September 11th attacks. He was playing with this father and 2 friends. “It was mostly luck, but it was great. It was really special my father got to see.”
The prize is pretty special too. Kevin won a 2 year prepaid lease of a 2007 Jaguar. The hole was sponsored by Long Island Automotive Group and was insured by National Hole In One Association.
Tournament Director Tom Matuszewski says he plays in 4 or 5 tournaments a year with hole-in-one contests. “I never thought anybody in any tournament would hit one, much less ours.”
And the shot has people talking. “All of the people who didn’t play this year say they’re in next year. You can’t win if you don’t play.”
Sept 18, 2007
For 3 years golfers in California have supported children and police at the WCPD Met / LACITEA TOURNAMENT. It has been a good tournament. But this year it was great!
Especially for golfer Duran Villegas. It was the 10th hole at the California Country Club. Duran faced a 167 yard shot, downhill, with water to the left. “I saw the whole thing. The ball hit and drew back one bounce into the cup. Everyone started jumping up and down. It was amazing!”
That shot was worth $10,000. National Hole in One Association insured the prize. And Tournament Director Roberta Floyd could not be any happier than to have NHIOA on her side. “To be honest I am a non-golfer. I had to be lead by the hand through some of this. The help I received from NHIOA was great!”
A friend had used NHIOA and recommended the company to Roberta. “NHIOA provided the signs, everything. It was fantastic!”
Not only has the tournament already received a lot of publicity from its first hole-in-one winner, but Roberta says there is already a buzz for next year’s event.
This one tournament supports two organizations. One provides scholarships for students interested in technology. The other helps police officers pay for special equipment the department’s budget cannot cover.
