Captain Kirk, Ace of #17
Tim Cox
Fellow Classmates...On
this final day of the Tournament Players Championship, which is being held at
the Stadium Course in Ponte Vedra Beach, I thought I would share a Tall
but True tale from the archives of my 25th Class reunion ramblings, exactly 5
years ago today. I have played a lot of golf with our classmates over the years
since graduation, but this particular moment ranks as the pinnacle of our fellowship
of fairway follies. I hope all the local
Jax golf fans enjoyed the weekend and the final holes of the TPC today, but you
are very unlikely to see a hole in one on #17...if you don't believe this tall
tale, then check the plaque in the clubhouse at the TPC....and my apologies if you have read this before...Tim
On December 26, 1997, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to play the diabolical Pete Dye designed, TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course with several other class of 1982 hackers. In my group and in my cart was Kirk Sandifer, with Buddy Lewis and Butch Hofstetter in the other cart. Mike Brennan, Paul Barton, and (I believe) John Richter and Lawrence Najem were in the group behind us. As the course often allows, Mike, Paul, John, and Lawrence watched our shots from the 16th green.
When we finally arrived at the world famous par 3, #17 island green, Kirk and I were basically trying to keep our aggregate cart score under 200. The world famous TPC #17 hole was only about 125 yards on that day, but the small island green makes it a daunting task to hit putting surface with a golf ball. Watch the pros today and tell me if they don’t get weak in the knees with that shot.
At this point in the round, Kirk and I nothing to lose. Buddy hit first and put his ball on the green. Butch hit next and I believe put it in the drink...sorry Butch, but that is my recollection. Kirk stepped up next with his 9 iron. Kirk took a nice swing which resulted in a not so pretty ball flight. As we watched his ball, we yelled for it to clear the water and not hit the railroad ties. Kirk's ball did clear the water and landed on the very front of the green. It then rolled about 25 feet, and slammed into the cup for a hole in one, ACE!!!! No, not just any old hole in one, but a hole in one on arguably the most famous par 3 in the world! To this day, that is the only hole in one that I have witnessed. I have never had a hole in one, nor have I ever SEEN another hole in one...and I have played more golf than I care to admit to be such a poor player.
Oh yeah, I had to follow Kirk...I hit my ball on the green and promptly 3-putted for a bogey.
So there you have it. A true story of a fellow classmate achieving glory on most famous par 3 in golf! If you don’t believe me, then be sure to stop by the clubhouse at the TPC and check out Kirk's name on the "ACE" Hole in One plaque for #17. Who knows, you just might see Kirk hanging out there signing autographs. If you would, get an autograph for me.....HA!
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