I've been playing golf for over 40 years without making a hole-in-one. I pretty much had come to terms with the fact that it was never going to happen....until March 4, 2026 when I was playing Bonaventure Golf Club in Weston, FL. The 17th hole was playing 168 yards to the pin. Slightly uphill with wind into and out of the right. I pulled 5-iron and with a swing tip I received over the winter from my coach at Cantigny Golf in Wheaton, IL, pured a baby draw that tracked directly at the pin. My playing partner and I heard the ball hit the stick, but we couldn't see exactly what had happened. My playing partner used his range finder to scan the green and he couldn't see a ball anywhere. We figured it had either hit the stick and ricochetted off the green...or it was in the hole. We drove up to the green and checked the hole. Sure enough. It had knicked the stick, drilled into the side of the hole, and dropped directly into the cup. I finally had my ace! So glad that I hit it well, it wasn't a shorty hole, and it landed directly in the hole. It was a proper hole-in-one. Can't wait for number 2!