Far From Par for the Course

For many golfers, hitting a hole-in-one, or ace, is a lifelong goal. Though often talked about, from the professional to the amateur to the enthusiast, a hole-in-one is quite rare. Doing it twice in one season—what are the odds? For Georgia Southern Senior Hayden Anderson, better than average.

Anderson aced the par-3 ninth hole with a 5-iron that led a thrilling Georgia Southern run, as the Eagles held off Chattanooga by a single stroke to claim the Southern Conference (SoCon) Men’s Golf Championship at the National Golf Club in Pinehurst, North Carolina. In fact, it was Anderson’s second hole-in-one of the season. With it, the Eagles, who were competing in the SoCon Championship for the final time, won their fourth title in school history. Anderson was also on the 2011 team that won the conference championship at the Country Club of South Carolina.

“It was a tucked pin on the left side with water on the left and the wind in our face, and I knew if the ball landed in the middle of the green, it would trickle down,” said Anderson. “I was able to hit a shot that started a little right, came back left and hit the slope about 10 feet away, and eventually it rolled in.”

An article in the magazine Navy Newsstand, citing Sports Illustrated as its source, put the odds at 45,000 to 1 for “scoring a hole-in-one on a typical par-3 golf hole.” In 2000, Golf Digest hired Francis Scheid, Ph.D., the retired chairman of the math department at Boston University, to determine the odds of making a hole-in-one. Scheid broke the odds down based on the quality of the player and the amount of play. He found that the odds of a PGA tour player making a hole-in-one were 3,000 to one. Scheid’s data also showed a low handicap player has 5,000 to one odds, while an average handicap player has a one in 12,000 chance of making an ace. Statistically, Scheid determined that a low handicap player must play roughly 5,000 rounds of golf before striking a hole-in-one. And one player making two holes-in-one in the same round—67 million to one.

The Eagles began the day 5-over through the first two holes, but got things going right before the turn. Anderson’s ace helped the entire team play holes 9 and 10 at 4-under par. Georgia Southern held a four-shot lead heading into the final hole, but carded a 4-over on the par-4 18th, leaving the door open for Chattanooga. But the Mocs’ Chris Robb, who was 7-under on the day, lipped a 25-foot birdie putt that would have tied the Eagles score and forced a playoff. In the end, the golf team finished with a +9 and the 1-stroke victory.

Charlie Martin posted nine birdies and shot a 1-under 71 to lead the Eagles, while Anderson finished with a 73. Henry Mabbett carded a 74, and Will Evans notched a 75. Scott Wolfes, who started the day 6-over after four holes, grinded his way to a 76. Georgia Southern coach Larry Mays was named SoCon Coach of the Year, while Wolfes, Evans and Martin all earned All-Conference honors.

“Charlie’s round took a couple years off my life with nine birdies to shoot 71, and it was a roller coaster ride all day,” said Mays. “I’m really proud of this crew. This is a special group of guys. They worked hard for this, and they deserved it.”

Chattanooga (+10) finished second, followed by UNCG (+13) and Western Carolina (+14). Catamount J.T. Poston (-10) won medalist honors, and Robb finished second (-8). Martin (E) placed fourth for the Eagles, Evans (+2) tied for sixth and Wolfes (+3) tied for ninth after shooting a 66 on Monday of the tourney.

In addition to winning the SoCon Championships, for the first time in the 35-year history of the Schenkel Invitational, Men’s Golf won its home tournament during the rain-soaked event at Forest Heights Country Club back in March. As one of the most prestigious events in college golf, the Schenkel Invitational featured four of this year’s top-20 teams. Honors went to Anderson and Evans, who both recorded holes-in-one heading into the final day of the three-day tournament.

Georgia Southern finished the event at 14-under (850), beating out runner-up University of Alabama at Birmingham by eight strokes. Wolfes won the individual medalist honors after firing a final-round 68 to finish the Invitational 7-under-par. The golfers dedicated their win to former teammate Thomas Sharkey, who tragically died in an arson fire at his home in Scotland in 2011. This would have been his final season at the University.